Magazine Aims to Be ‘Guilt Free’

By Mica Soffer, COLlive Publisher

The publisher of Valour Magazine, a new glossy geared for frum Jewish women with feature articles about fashion, beauty and empowerment, only identifies as Gitty T..

The 24-year-old, who is married and has one child, won’t have her full profile taken in a photo and is adamant about keeping her last name private these days.

“When I first started, I really wanted to keep my identity private. I wanted the magazine to speak for itself, and for people not to create an association of who I am as a person with the content of the magazine,” she told COLlive.com.

It was while attending the Institute for Culinary Education in Manhattan that she learned about staying true to her faith and its practices, even if it may seem different. “Being in that environment, was the first time I was out of my circle and surrounded by people who weren’t Orthodox Jews,” she says.

When she wouldn’t wear the chef uniform pants due to Tznius, “they suggested that I ask the uniform company to create a skirt for me out of the same fabric, and they did,” she said.

“Growing up, my parents always encouraged my curiosity, they wanted us to question and find answers. But when the people I met asked me questions about Judaism, that was the first time I started looking into the reasons why we do the ‘basic’ things, and that gave me a real sense of pride in who I am as a Jew.”

After a stint in a non-kosher pastry shop, and meeting many people who were genuinely interested in her and accommodating to her as a frum Jew, “I realized then that I can be a proud Jewish woman and still make it in any industry,” she says.

Reading the current selection of frum Jewish newspapers and magazines gave her an idea for her next gig. “Every magazine that we have in the Jewish industry is geared to women as they relate to their husband, their children, as a wife and mother,” she says.

“But, as my rav pointed out, ‘V’ahavta leraiacha kamocha’ won’t work until first you love yourself. Often, women spend hundreds or thousands of dollars and hours on their families, but feel guilty about spending anything on themselves, and that needs to change,” she says.

She set out to create something that was interesting and relatable to all women, yet it would be something special for themselves.

“When women read, they want to escape their busy lives, to step away from motherhood for the moment. To have a few minutes of ‘me time,’ and read about fashion or beauty, or be inspired by someone’s life story,” she says. “The kind of thing you can read on the couch with a glass of wine or in the bathroom when the couch is full of laundry.”

As far as fashion goes, she wanted to create a magazine that is interesting and applicable to all women, not only featuring expensive items or unattainable items, but in all price ranges.

The magazine includes feature articles about strong, accomplished women, who are making a difference in their communities, industries and the world.

While being glossy and boasting modern design, Gitty says the magazine maintains tzinus standards so that a frum woman can feel comfortable bringing it into her home, which is certainly lacking in most secular publications, in both images and content.

Valour Magazine is printed 6 times a year, with Gitty in the role of editor in chief. She works with a team of writers such as Mimi Minsky as well as graphic designers and experts in the fields of fashion, beauty and travel. The focus on getting professionals in each field is what makes the magazine so compelling, “and is how I know my readers are getting top-quality content,” Gitty says.

The printing of the 200-page full-color magazine every 2 months is not an easy feat, Gitty admits. “I put a lot of effort into making sure it’s the kind of magazine you’d read and refer to countless times. Quality is non-negotiable. I can’t tell you how many times women beg me to lower the paper quality because they can’t bear to throw it out,” she says.

Women from all over the world have been subscribing to the magazine, but Gitty hopes that in the future, “Valour Magazine will be on every coffee table.”

“People call it ‘the Jewish Vogue,’ but I don’t necessarily see it as a compliment,” Gitty says. “I want the magazine to appeal to all sorts of women, and to be a relatable version of a high-end fashion magazine, with even better and more inspiring content.

“My goal is to make every woman feel inspired by reading it and feel like they want to be the best version of themselves.”

Subscribe to Valour Magazine at Valour-Magazine.com