Fashion Magazines are Seeing an Increase in Trim Size, But Is Bigger Really Better?

Stack of magazines

Among fashion and lifestyle magazines, the growing consensus seems to be that bigger is better.

With its March 2016 issue, Elle US debuted a new trim size of 9˝ by 10 7/8˝, up from 8˝ by 10 7/8˝. But the Hearst-owned publication is not alone. In the last year, Condé Nast Traveler, former "lad mag" Maxim and women’s lifestyle magazine More — which has since folded — all increased their trim sizes.

For the most part, larger pages are a bid to increase these titles' appeal as a platform for advertisers — particularly luxury brands — at a time when driving revenues from print ads is increasingly tough.