Sarj said she instantly thought of me when she saw the maiden issue of The Gentlewoman with Phoebe Philo on a magazine rack back in 2010. So she bought me a copy and I have been hooked since then.
I have religiously collected all 4 issues, each one as delightful as the last. Even though it says Fabulous women's magazine under the title, on the cover, there's nothing cringe inducing about the self-appointed fabulousness. It's no Kimora Lee "fab". Fab here is honest to goodness. It truly is all that. And more.
Never have I read a magazine as effortless and as thoughtfully written as this title. No hard sell. Each girl featured is a class act. A gentlewoman through and through.
What sets The Gentlewoman apart from today's magazines is that it focuses on "the women of the future, on women who live extraordinary lives". Penny Martin, the magazine's Editor in Chief says in her own words:
The Gentlewoman welcomes you to a new decade of inspirational, international women: stylish, intrepid and often hilarious ones. Remarkable subjects: contemporaries (not celebrities) who are setting new agendas, solving new problems and forming new opinions...
...The Gentlewoman champions the optimism, sincerity and ingenuity that actually get things done...
...The Gentlewoman delights equally in discovering new, surprising characters and in reminding us of the ones who have been quietly being brilliant for years.
The women here, although established in their own fields and stars in their own right, are still all very much relatable. Maybe because the portraits and interviews present the women as they are - "how they actually look, sound and dress." Save for the famous faces that have graced the covers, inside you will meet in various instances - the artist Jenny Holzer, the hardworking royal Princess Mabel, the remarkable Poilâne heiress, Apollonia and more. They may be little known names outside their circle but all worthy of being profiled.
Maybe its the genuineness that resonates with me. Sometimes reading magazines can be exhausting. The way you get barraged with products and dictated on what's in or who's hot. Featuring people, the same people, every time. Even if you don't really want to read about them, but they're there because they sell.
The Gentlewoman would have none of that. But still, it is one magazine I read from cover to cover, and something I can imagine building a collection on. Thank goodness it's a biannual, I only have 2 to store each year. Kind of sucks that it does not come out as often as I would like, which then again makes it all the more precious to me. The release of each new issue is an event I look forward to.
I am pretty sure I won't see the likes of Kimora or Kim K. here.
WHERE TO BUY:
Singapore - Kinokuniya
New York - Barnes & Noble, newsstands
SUBSCRIPTIONS:
US -
Amazon and
ExpressMag
UK/Worldwide -
Magazine Cafe
