• Los Angeles fashion, style, shopping and culture
CALIFORNIA COOL: James Perse's wool-cashmere striped blanket.

Seasonal Senses

Finding a gift for a true style-and-culture aesthete in your life is not an easy mission. We've got you covered. (Above, a wool-cashmere blend blanket from James Perse.)
By Style Section L.A. Editors
Published on December 05, 2010

We'll be brief: Gift guides are aplenty this season. But do they always satisfy all five senses for the fashion and style aesthete? Not really. Here's what gets all our neurons firing this holiday season:

 

 

 

SEE: Isabella Blow by Martina Rink ($31.50 at Amazon.com)

The late Isabella Blow, who ascertained the genius of the also-late Alexander McQueen before the rest of the fashion world did, is the subject of a few 2010 publications; Isabella Blow, written by the couture hat empress’ former assistant, Martina Rink, has an inspiring mix of first-hand accounts, along with Isabella's personal letters and the requisite photos of her famous headgear. A must for any true fashionista.

 

TASTE: Tower of Homemade Sweets by Joan's on Third ($125 for five tiers, $50 for three tiers)

Dean & Deluca has nothing on Joan’s. It’s the reason why West Third Street between Crescent Heights and La Cienega is a retail corridor still brimming with vitality. A table remains annoyingly difficult to score on most days, but the gift packages are much easier. The three-tier option of the Tower of Homemade Sweets comprises plenty of treats, though the five-story alternative is bliss. We speak from experience.

 

FEEL: James Perse cashmere blend throw ($675)

Is there a designer who embodies idyllic Southern California lifestyle more than James Perse? Probably not. Cashmere throws (or, in this case, wool-cashmere blend) are almost always pricey gifts. Then again, nothing says I’m home, I’m home, I’m home, then curling up in one at the end of a tough day. Certainly a gift to be remembered.

 

SMELL: Winter Health essential oils gift set ($40) from Floracopeia

We raved about this line of essential oils recently on our blog, and we stand by the post. Prices vary, but an $18 bottle vial of lavender has officially gotten us through the stress of both a turbulent flight through stormy weather to San Francisco (where’s it’s almost always glum) and the inevitable traffic jam on the northbound 405 at 6 p.m. Can be used for aromatherapy, personal scent, bath fragrance, or … well, we haven’t fully considered all the possibilities. But this gift package from Floracopeia is worth it.

 

 

HEAR: The $50 Beatles iTunes card

Unless you really know your favorite music snob, the holiday season is no time to gamble that he or she will appreciate the latest Nicki Minaj or Far East Movement. Go with a gift card; digital is the best option. The whip-your-hair fluorescent silhouette ads for iTunes have finally been complemented by cards featuring something everyone (or at least so we think) can enjoy without rolling their eyes: The Beatles. Any dissent?