Jacquie Myburgh: I suppose it's for purely personal reasons that I cannot let the closing of Femina magazine pass without comment.

Femina was my first introduction to the world of glossy magazines. I joined up as Joburg bureau chief in 1995, and one of my first jobs was to interview James Small and Christina Storm on the steamy fashion shoot on which the then glamorous couple met.

It was the day after the Currie Cup final. He was bruised and sexy she was a sultry, unknown model and the chemistry was electric.

For a young, wannabe magazine journalist like me, it was a magnificent first look into this seductive, glossy world.

It is a world that continues to entrance and inspire me and one that I believe is far from dying, as so many commentators see fit to suggest every time a title closes down.

Fashion labels come and go, as do chocolate bars and IT companies. The ones that survive are the ones that sell. In Femina's case, the reasons it wasn't selling were many, but the recession and a competitive environment full of international titles were the main ones.

In the early '90s, before Marie Claire launched in SA, Femina was the perfect mix of grit and glamour. Then editor and owner Jane Raphaely identified the iconic women of our time in all spheres and gave them a voice and a face.

But when international titles came marching into the South African market, Femina's search for a new identity began. With global glossies like Elle and Marie Claire now competing for readers with their alluring international content, Femina's attempts to find a new place in the world were more than could have been expected. At one stage, it was said to be targeting the 30-something Bridget Jones generation; three years ago, that changed to the 40-somethings.

But I can't help thinking that the original Femina formula, of a glossy mix of news and fashion, could have found a home in the current magazine market.

In this global media age, the bland formulas of so many international magazine titles often leave us hungry for something new and different. More and more women talk of tiring of the sameness of the local versions of such titles. Faced with yet another international celebrity interview or motivational piece that could have been written anywhere in the world in any month of the year, don't you yearn for something that captures a unique South African flavour?

In fact, there is a local mag that's putting back a bit of the Femina magic: Khanyi Dhlomo's Destiny is offering South African women a mix of the intelligent and the glamorous - and it's selling.

My favourite reads these days are You magazine and Vogue. In both, I am guaranteed a solid and satisfying dose of information and entertainment.

I'm sorry Femina was never given a chance to go back to its roots.