Jane was an American magazine created to appeal to the women who grew up reading Sassy Magazine, both of which were founded by Jane Pratt. Its original target audience (pitched to advertisers) was aged 18–34, and was designed to appeal to women who are irreverent. Pratt originally intended the magazine to be named Betty, but she was voted down by everyone else involved in the making of the magazine. The magazine was launched in September 1997; the final issue was dated August 2007. The events surrounding the magazine's fold were chronicled through the experiences of two assistants on the SOAPnet series The Fashionista Diaries.
Sassy, created by Pratt in 1987, was intended to appeal to adolescent girls, but because of its sexual candor and coverage of topics other teen magazines didn't touch, such as the riot grrrl movement, its popularity exploded beyond its intended audience. When Sassy ended its New York editorial run in 1994, readers were left heartbroken and waiting for something to take its place. In September 1997, Jane Pratt's new magazine, Jane, published by the Disney-owned Fairchild Publications, hit the stands with Drew Barrymore as its maiden covergirl. (Fairchild Publications has since merged with Condé Nast Publications.)
The winner of America's Next Top Model from cycle 2 appeared in a fashion spread shot is Yoanna House respectively.
On 25 July 2005, Pratt announced that she was resigning from her position as editor in chief of Jane and would be leaving the company on 30 September 2005, exactly eight years after the magazine's debut. Insiders speculated that Pratt wanted a change in her life after she lost the twin daughters she had been carrying in April, and had been expecting in August.
In August 2005, Brandon Holley, editor in chief of Elle Girl, was named to take Pratt's place, and Christina Kelly, its managing editor, took over Elle Girl, which then folded after just 5 issues under Kelly, a veteran editor of both Sassy and Jane, as well as YM, and who was rumored to be the favorite to take over Jane because of her decades-long friendship with Jane Pratt.
An episode of the MTV animated show Daria entitled "The Lost Girls" would poke fun at Pratt's image and magazine. In the episode, an over-the-top name-dropping fashionista named Val, editor of Val magazine, visits Lawndale High after Daria wins an essay contest (Daria's English teacher had submitted the essay without her knowledge). Ultimately, Daria confronts Val about the unrealistic expectations that these fashion magazines force on young girls and about the mass-marketing of popular culture.
When Jane announced that it was ceasing publication, the magazine notified its readers that they will receive one of a number of sister magazines (Glamour, Allure or Lucky) for their remaining subscription durations. Glamour, Allure and Lucky were all Conde Nast publications that were suffering from lower circulation. Subscribers who did not wish to receive these publication in lieu of the cancelled magazine could call Conde Nast and request any of the other magazines that they published including the popular Vanity Fair.
