Fashion’s Favorite Gifts

By Paige McKirahan

 

Hello TalkingFashion lovers! It is finally December; since its the season of giving, we feel that there is nothing better to give or receive than the gift of fashion! If you’re one of the elves who has made a dent in their holiday purchases with our cyber sale last week, you’ve got the right idea! But if you’re like me and haven’t even came close to formulating gift ideas for your loved ones, not to fear; the perfect holiday gift inspiration is here! We have decided looked at some of our favorite fashion fanatic’s holiday gift lists and found some great ideas for the most flamboyant to the most minimalist on your list. Read on to see our top five gift ideas from the industry's finest and how you can find similar items in our store to get that quick holiday fix!

Marina Larroude, fashion director at Barneys New York, says she looking for shine this festive season.

She would love to add more sparkles to her wardrobe for the holidays; she specifically mentioned a sparkling Sonia Rykiel bag, but you can find some shimmering pieces right in our collection!

 

Dion Lee, women’s ready-to-wear designer, is all about giving jewelry to her loved ones. 

The talented creative claims that the only purchase she's made so far this winter is a custom jewelry piece. She finds jewelry to be one of the best gifts because of its “intimate and timeless” feel. We agree, Dion! 

 

 

Rickie De Sole, fashion director at W, is hoping for a new timekeeping piece this Christmas.

He claims that classic watches that go with everything are essential to ones outfit; this is proven by the fact that he's worn the same watch since college! He loves the Chanel Boyfriend style, and it has been the only piece that have prompted him to consider breaking his longstanding devotion to his current watch! Check out a similar style below!

 

 

Michelle Cordeiro Grant, founder and CEO of Lively, is all about vintage pieces with a story. 

Number one on this boss woman’s list is vintage scarves or other vintage accessories from secondhand stores! She loves when her gifts have a story and a well known history as it adds new depth to any classic piece. 

 

 

Tanya Taylor, Toronto-born designer, is in the market for beach-inspired fashions!

This colorful designer loves all things tropical; this ocean affintity stems from her son's name, which is palmer! Palm themed accessories and earrings are a sure to be a success under the tree this year!

 

 

To shop any of the items you see above, click on the image to buy with ease! For other gift options, head over to our collections and start checking off those items on your list!

 

 

Elsa Schiaparelli was an Italian fashion designer who, along with her rival Coco Chanel, is regarded as one of the most prominent figures in fashion between the two World Wars.

Schiaparelli was born in 1890 and raised in Rome, Italy. The cultural background and erudition of her family members served to ignite the imaginative faculties of Schiaparelli’s impressionable childhood years. She became enraptured with the lore of ancient cultures and religious rites. The content of her writing alarmed the conservative sensibilities of her parents, so they sought to tame her fantasy life by sending her to a convent boarding school in Switzerland. Once within the school’s confines, Schiaparelli rebelled against its strict authority by going on a hunger strike, leaving her parents no alternative but to bring her home again.

Schiaparelli was dissatisfied by a lifestyle that was refined, but ultimately cloistered and unfulfilling. Her craving for an exploration of the wider world led her to try to remedy this and when a friend offered her a post caring for orphaned children in an English country house, she saw her opportunity to leave. The placement, however, proved uncongenial to Schiaparelli. She subsequently planned a return to the stop-over city of Paris rather than admit defeat by returning to Rome and her family.

She married a charlatan, whom she got engaged after one day of dating. They moved to NY in 1916 and their lives were followed by FBI and others suspicious of his career credits along and spy actions during war times. Soon after Schiaparelli and then husband Dr. Kerlor had their daughter in 1920, he left them behind. So, in 1922, she moved back to France with her daughter "Gogo". Schiaparelli relied greatly on the emotional support offered her by her close friend Gabrielle 'Gaby' Buffet-Picabia, the wife of Dada/Surrealist artist Francis Picabia.

Schiaparelli’s design career was influenced by couturier Paul Poiret, who was renowned for jettisoning corseted, over-long dresses and promoting styles that enabled freedom of movement for the modern, elegant and sophisticated woman. In later life, Schiaparelli referred to Poiret as "a generous mentor, dear friend."

Schiaparelli had no training in the technical skills of pattern making and clothing construction. Her method of approach relied on both impulse of the moment and the serendipitous inspiration as the work progressed. She draped fabric directly on the body, sometimes using herself as the model. This technique followed the lead of Poiret who too had created garments by manipulating and draping. The results appeared uncontrived and wearable.

Schiaparelli was also renowned for her unusual buttons, which could resemble candlesticks, playing card emblems, ships, crowns, crickets, or silver tambourines. Many of these fastenings were designed by Jean Clement and Roger Jean-Pierre, who also created jewellery for her. In 1936, Schiaparelli was one of the first people to recognise the potential of Jean Schlumberger, who she originally employed as a designer of buttons.

Schiaparelli's output also included distinctive costume jewellery in a wide range of novelty designs. One of her most directly Surrealist designs was a 1938 Rhodoid (a newly developed clear plastic) necklace studded with coloured metallic insects by Clément, giving the illusion that the bugs were crawling directly on the wearer's skin. During the 1930s, her jewellery designs were mostly produced by Schlumberger, Clemént and Jean-Pierre. 

Schlumberger's jewellery, with its inventive combinations of precious and semi-precious stones proved successful, prompted him to launch his jewellery business in New York at the end of the '30s. Schiaparelli also offered brooches by Alberto Giacometti, fur-lined metal cuffs by Méret Oppenheim, and pieces by Max Boinet, Lina Barrette, and the writer Elsa Triolet. Compared to her unusual couture 1930s pieces, 1940s and 1950s Schiaparelli jewellery tended to be more abstract or floral-themed.

 Schiaparelli also designed the wardrobe for several films, including Moulin Rouge in which Gabor played Jane Avril. She famously dressed Mae West for Every Day's a Holiday (1937) using a mannequin based on West's measurements, which inspired the torso bottle for Shocking perfume. 

Schiaparelli's fanciful imaginative powers coupled with involvement in the Dada/Surrealist art movements directed her into new creative territory. Her instinctive sensibilities soon came to distinguish her creations from her chief rival Coco Chanel, who referred to her as 'that Italian artist who makes clothes'. Schiaparelli collaborated with a number of contemporary artists, most famously with Salvador Dalí to develop a number of her most notable designs. 

The House of Schiaparelli was first opened in the 1930s at 21 Place Vendôme, but was shut down on 13 December 1954. The failure of her business meant that Schiaparelli's name is not as well remembered as that of her great rival Chanel. But in 1934, Time placed Chanel in the second division of fashion, whereas Schiaparelli was one of "a handful of houses now at or near the peak of their power as arbiters of the ultra-modern haute couture....Madder and more original than most of her contemporaries, Mme Schiaparelli is the one to whom the word "genius" is applied most often". Schiaparelli relied on inspiration rather than craftsmanship and, "it was not long before every little dress factory in Manhattan had copied them and from New York's 3rd Avenue to San Francisco's Howard Street millions of shop girls who had never heard of Schiaparelli were proudly wearing her models".