Houyhnhnm: A Japanese web fashion mag for men

The well-curated, info-rich consumer magazine may be Japan's greatest contribution to global media culture, and so it's been a real shame to see great titles like Relax (R.I.P 2006) and Studio Voice (R.I.P. 2009) -- disappear at an alarming rate. (We were even a bit sad to hear that Pinky would bite the dust.)

Good news is that there are better and better Japanese web magazines popping up everyday. Everyone must know Honeyee.com by now, but what are the other options?

Today we discovered Houyhnhnm -- a men's fashion and lifestyle magazine that's been operating more or less since 2004. Unless you know your Swift, the name may sound a bit odd for a Japanese publication. The Houyhnhnm -- pronounced "Whin-em" or (huinam, フイナム) -- were the ultra-intelligent horsemen of "Gulliver's Travels."

Perhaps aspiring to Swift's utopian equestrians, Houyhnhnm magazine provides a refined take on the contemporary men's lifestyle. To give you a sense of the gentlemanly tastes contained inside, the cover model is a hot curvy pair of navy blue Alden saddle shoes. And the "girls on the street" snapshot feature looks at the adorable store clerks at Beams Boy -- Tokyo's number one source for hipster girls dressing in navy blazers, bow-ties and over-sized denim overalls.

Houyhnhnm is a part of the Yahoo! Fashion magazine set, so we are also privy to some slick animated ads. Print magazines still beats Houyhnhnm on sheer volume of information, but the web magazine lets us at least imagine a future where fashion stylists will still have steady paychecks.