• by Amy Corr , Staff Writer @MediaPostOTL, March 24, 2006

Oscar Wilde once said that "Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months." This quote is emblazoned on the spine of the March/April issue of Mean magazine, the pub's first-ever fashion issue. Already I'm guessing Mean doesn't take itself too seriously.

Mandy Moore graces the cover in a low-cut white dress that makes me wish I were a betting woman, for I'd bet the house that a hefty amount of double-sided tape was used at that photo shoot. Interestingly enough, Moore's Q&A discusses her clothing line MBLEM, which focuses on "modest" offerings.

Mean is part music, part celeb Q&A, part fashion, and also correlates social world issues into the mix. For example, a front-of-book item discusses a California-based clothing line that uses politically themed slogans on its T-shirts, and whose sales help impoverished children in Uganda.

The front of the book also contains car and tech-gadget reviews, but it was the story on artists using commercial products such as sneakers and snowboards to create contemporary works of art that interested me most. The story asked exactly what I was thinking: do I wear it or store it in a safe place?

Each celebrity profile runs in Q&A format, a layout that ideally suits the pub. I didn't like that multiple actors from the same movie were profiled, albeit they were distanced from one another. Both Mandy Moore and Seth Meyers were interviewed and both can be seen in the upcoming "American Dreamz." In addition, you'll find fellow actors Gabriel Mann and Sarah Polley in "Don't Come Knocking" and while each Q&A takes a different spin on the actors, I would have preferred a Q&A or update on actress Rachel McAdams to find out what movies she'll be starring in next.

The award for best Q&A goes to director Spike Jonze interviewing Nathanial Hornblower, director of countless music videos for The Beastie Boys. Readers of Mean would be privy to the fact that Nathanial Hornblower is a pseudonym/alter-ego of Adam Yauch, one third of the Beastie Boys.

"Hollywood Loves Dick" listed the breadth of sci-fi movies ("Minority Report," "Blade Runner," "Total Recall," "Paycheck," etc.) that evolved from ideas or short stories written by Philip K. Dick, a man that has been dead for 23 years.

The fashion portion of the magazine was nothing to write home about, although I did stare intently at the Louis Vuitton-branded chainsaw that actress Kristen Stewart brandished in one photo.

Mean's layout is striking and the Q&A format offers answers to questions not likely posed by the writers at Entertainment Weekly, such ashow John Waters convinces his partners to accept his sexual quirks. Mean is aptly suited for those looking to keep their hands on the beat of underground music, offbeat movies and one-of-a-kind celebrity interviews. As for the rest of us, snappy inside jokes would be lost on us, and we'd end up feeling like we were the last to be picked in gym class.