It has been our tradition to lighten up by the end of the year, and compiling our annual gift guide has become the entry point. Below are our picks for what we think will make a cool gift to your loved ones (or yourself) this holiday season. As usual, we try to keep it a) on a high level b) in line with our taste c) uncomplicated.
FOLIO SOCIETY BOOKS
If you value books as physical objects and are looking for something (much, much) nicer than your average trade paperback, Folio Society is our absolute favorite. They publish gorgeously illustrated hardback renditions of many classics. This season we are into their new editions of 1984 by George Orwell, and The Crossing by Cormac McCarthy.
PERFUMER H ROSE WITH INSECT
We love a new Perfumer H release, and the brand’s new fragrance series, A Painted Life, is another reason why we think Lyn Harris is doing everything right. This series is based on paintings, as you may have guessed, particularly those nature mortes of the old masters. Take a close look at one, and it will make total sense to use all those fruits and flowers as ingredients. Our particular favorite of the three is Rose With Insect, because we never say no to subversion. Take something as cliché as a rose and put a tiny sinister thing in it, and you have our attention. You can get a perfume, a candle, or incense, though we would naturally spring for a gift set.
RICK OWENS CANDLE
Rick Owens has been flirting with perfume on and off for a while, and we are sure there will come a day when we will get an RO scent. But we are equally excited about him releasing a candle. Called L’Apparition, it combines notes of lotus, labdanum, myrrh, frankincense, and ambergris, and comes in a reusable glass vessel, so you get a mini Rick vase in the end, which is not a bad deal.
WILD ARC WINE
Todd Cavallo was an OG StyleZeitgeist member back in the good old days. Eventually he decided to hang up his Paul Harnden in favor of real life farmwear and moved upstate from New York City to cultivate wine. The result is Wild Arc Farm, whose natural wines are consistently brilliant. If we had to choose, we’d go for Blackbird and Riesling, but any of these will make a worthy holiday tipple.
ROKNAR RYE WHISKEY
When it comes to whisky, we can hardly be faulted for gravitating to Scotch or to Japanese fare, perhaps unfairly snubbing American distilleries. Until we discovered Roknar from Far North Spirits, and it knocked our socks off. It is one of the smoothest spirits we have ever tried, so much so we had to double check the alcohol content when we did. America has been undergoing a renaissance in craft alcohol, and Roknar is a testament that we can still make great stuff here.
NORLHA SCARF
Norlha scarves are made by nomadic artisans in the Tibetan Plateau, utilizing knowledge of hand spinning and weaving that spans generations. Naturally, most are made from yak hair. If you haven’t handled yak, we can tell that it’s the most underrated material out there, as smooth and light as cashmere, and as warm as virgin wool. We are partially to this undyed “white,” though it’s more like silvery gray in real life, and utterly gorgeous.
TO MY SHIPS GIFT SETS
To My Ships is a new grooming brand we’ve been paying close attention to, as we do with anything started by Aesop alums. We already recommended their products last year, but this year they come as neatly packaged gift sets, some of which have newly released products, such as an excellent 24hour antiperspirant. And who wouldn’t a chic version of that?
TEKLA VASTA CANDLE
The Swedish brand Tekla Fabrics has built a venerable empire of trendy home goods, and is now expanding into candles with flair. This year it released its first three scents, and our favorite of these is Vasta, an incensey, woody scent that is perfect for winter. All candle vessels are handmade by a ceramic artist Sara Flynn, and are refillable.
HAKUDO HOME SCENTS FROM AOIRO
Speaking of home scents, Hakudo, from Berlin-based perfumery Aoiro, emerged as a new favorite this year. These Japan-inspired scents are ethereal in their olfactory effect, and the products include a room spray, incense, and a unique oil diffusers. It’s hard to pick a favorite, but we’ll stick with the Hinoki-inspired INK.
LAIBACH 40TH ANNIVERSARY VINYL
When the Yugoslavian band Laibach seemingly came out of nowhere forty years ago, it was hard to make heads or tails of it. Was it goth? Was it camp? They were from where? On some level it still makes no sense. But the band has gone down in the history of post-punk as a testament to keeping things weird. To celebrate the 40th anniversary of its first album, Mute Records (who else?) is releasing a box set of its first album, now with its original name, Nebo Zari.
