Top 10 Holiday Gifts

for Stylish People

Looking for gift ideas? We've listed our top 10 holiday gifts for stylish people of all ages, sexes and persuasions. How can this be possible? Read on to find out how!

10. A shaving set

Most people shave every day or just about. Give them a deluxe shaving set, with a high-quality razor, and you give them a reason to think about you every day.

Try to find a shaving set where the various creams, gels and balms come in scents that the recipient will enjoy. If you don't know what they enjoy, it's easy to ask without giving away your present; simply ask "What kind of scents do you like?" and "What kind of scents do you dislike?" If they wonder why you're asking, you can say "Oh, just wondering." If you enjoy honesty, say "I'm not saying why; just know that it might be Christmas/Hanukkah/holiday-related."

Enjoy Your Style recommends: 4 piece Chrome Shave Set with safety razor from Smallflower.com; The Art of Shaving gift sets in sandalwood, lavender, lemon and unscented.

Budget Buys: Pacific Shaving Ultimate 4-piece gift set, $24.99, Target.com; Mr. Taylor shaving and aftershave cream, $36.50, Smallflower.

9. A Classic Menswear Book

Wait a tic. Why menswear? Isn't that only good for, y'know, men? Au contraire, mon ami; menswear is actually a very good topic for almost any style-conscious friend you're looking to gift. Here's why:

1. Men, gay or straight, want to look good whether they admit it or not. Giving them a guide on the rules of classic, masculine dress gives them a way to be stylish without being (gasp!) metrosexual. For the man in your life, we recommend Alan Flusser's excellent Dressing the Man: Mastering the Art of Permanent Fashion.
2. Straight women like men. They also like looking at pictures of men, especially well-dressed men. For those looking to help a boyfriend, husband or other partner to dress to kill, we recommend Make Over Your Man: The Woman's Guide to Dressing Any Man in Her Life by Lloyd Boston. For all the single ladies, 100 Years of Menswear and Sharp Suits have eye-candy aplenty.
3. Now we get to the tricky part: women who like women. It's not true that all lesbians wear and like men's fashion, though some certainly do. The ABCs of Men's Fashion is a handy reference book for anyone, of any sex, interested in menswear; ditto Men's Style: The Thinking Man's Guide to Dress, a small, entertaining tome on modern fashion. (Read our review here.) If, however, your ladyfriend is as interested in men's fashion as she is in men, it might be wise to skip this item for one of the other top 10 holiday gifts listed here.

Other recommended books: Cary Grant: A Celebration of Style is an engaging photobook/memoir/guide to one of the best-dressed film stars of all time. Even people with a passing interest in Mr. Grant will find it compelling reading.

8. At-home spa kit

Yes, this is a cliche, especially for women. But it's a cliche for a good reason: people like feeling pleasure, they like being pampered and they like gifts. A gift of home spa treatment gives them an excuse to relax––and who doesn't need that?

Important Tip: STAY AWAY from anti-aging kits. Even if your gift-receiver is in their sixties and wishing they were twenty, do not buy anti-aging anything. To most people, this is a tacit admission that they're old and past it, even if they aren't. If your receiver wants an anti-aging kit, buy him/her a gift certificate to a store that sells them instead.

7. Gloves

If you live in a cold part of the world, gloves can be a godsend. If not, gloves are an excellent retro-chic accessory that can make an ordinary outfit extraordinary. The hands are wonderfully erotic parts of the body, and drawing attention to them––as Rita Hayworth did in Gilda––makes your gift-receiver even more memorable.

6. A "Style Porn" Movie

No offense intended to actual porn actresses and actors. Style porn, like food porn, is an intoxicating pleasure, allowing you all the pleasure of these gorgeous outfits without the headache of the credit card bill afterwards. Here are some of Enjoy Your Style's favorite style-licious films, arranged chronologically:

Elizabeth: The Golden Age with Cate Blanchett. Renaissance costume drama, with Blanchett as Queen Elizabeth I of England.

Age of Innocence with Daniel Day-Lewis, Winona Ryder and Michelle Pfeiffer. Turn-of-last-century upper-class New York.

Swing Time with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Basically any Fred and Ginger film will be wonderful for style.

The Women with Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford and Rosalind Russell. George Cukor's classic has arch-rivals Shearer and Crawford in their prime.

Judy Garland: Signature Collection. Need I say more?

Vertigo with James Stewart and Kim Novak. An Alfred Hitchcock classic, set in San Francisco, is a showcase of late-50s, early-60s fashions. Perfect for any Mad Men fanatics in your midst.

O Lucky Man with Malcolm McDowell, Alan Price, Rachel Roberts and Ralph Richardson. 1970s classic by genius film director Lindsay Anderson, this film shows Mr. McDowell slipping in and out of the variegated uniforms of different British social classes.

5. A unique, hand-made accessory

Nothing says special like one-of-a-kind. If you can make someone something unique, that nobody else has, they'll be happy, even if it's not quite professional quality. Here are some things you can make:

1. Tote bags. Perfect for grocery shopping or going to the beach. The Hip Handbag Book will show you how, as will this wonderful tutorial.
2. Cupcakes. They may not last very long, but the good memories will. Bring along a cupcake recipe book and some "I.O.U. more cupcakes" cards as well.
3. A sweater. Everyone loves a homemade sweater.
4. Paper dolls. Like the Sims, but less addictive. Read our paper doll tutorial for more information.
5. Song. Write and sing a song about someone. They may be touched by your thoughtfulness, or a bit embarrassed.

4. Vintage Fashion Magazines

Many fashion's magazines, like Vogue and Esquire, have been around for years. Here are a few that you can find on ebay, as well as books that have collections of them.

Vogue Magazine. You can find many back issues from the 1960s and earlier on ebay. Also see: In Vogue: The Illustrated History of the World's Most Famous Fashion Magazine.

Esquire had some of the best magazine covers of the 1960s.

Seventeen Magazine goes back to the 1950s.

Sassy Magazine was a teen girl's magazine in the 1990s. Today it's best known for a throwaway line in the comic book Ghost World, where Enid calls its readers "trendy prep-school bitches." If you like 1990s trendy prep-school bitch-style fashion, find some of these magazines.

3. A Ring

Rings are a timeless, classic accessory with deep emotional significance. If you want to give your friend, lover or family member something to remember you by, you can hardly do better than a ring.

2. Gift Certificate For A Facial

Even if your friend has skin like Keira Knightley, they may still enjoy a facial by a professional, who can clear up their pores, smooth out their pockmarks and make their face look brighter, healthier and younger. Be sure to try out the spa first though, to make sure it has both a professional staff and a soothing atmosphere––when done wrong, facials can be quite painful and end up in redness, making this less of a gift and more of a backhanded favor.

Another nice gift is a manicure or pedicure at your local salon. This works for men as well as women; men can get their nails cleaned and trimmed. Since hands are so erotic, giving your friends cleaner and prettier fingernails gives a subconscious boost to their self-esteem.

1. Wallet

Of all the top 10 holiday gifts, this is the most universal. Everyone needs money, and they need a place to hold it. Giving someone a wallet is a practical way to help your friend be as stylish as possible, every day.

Related Reading:

Holiday Gift Ideas for Women

Holiday Gifts for Guys

Last Minute Christmas Gifts

Cheap MAC Makeup

Books on Style

1950s Fashion

Get the Beatnik Look

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