When it comes to holiday gifts, leave it to a personal shopper to have some very useful advice. (In case you don’t have one of your own, “personal shopper” describes someone who acts as a cross between a tour guide and a wardrobe consultant, squiring you around the city in search of just the right clothes and accessories.) City Guide sat down with luxury personal shopper Joan Kaufman for her insight into where to look for great gifts for this 2015 holiday season.
“I think it’s very important, the joy to give and receive,” Kaufman says. She’s worked with New York locals and visitors of every stripe, with a quick eye for what’s going to look best on a client, no matter how long she’s known them. She recalls one woman at the end of a session gushing, “How did you find all these clothes the first time you met me?”
It’s not all about big price tags, either. Sometimes a client will balk at the offerings of New York’s modish department stores. Kaufman’s response? “Fine, I’m totally going to Century 21. I can work with any budget, but at least it’s going to be elegant.”
Kaufman’s gift guide takes a different approach. She advises that it’s “best to buy something you love and that’s timeless—you’ll enjoy it more—rather than trendy shopping.” Her gift selection focuses on meaning. But it’s always elegant. Like Kaufman herself.
2. The gift of saving an animal: Central Park Zoo.
3. The stellar style of Valentino.
4. Cashmere slippers from Loro Piana.
5. Panettone (Italian Christmas cake) from Eataly.
6. Monocle x Mark’s Pocket Planner/Weekly Diary for 2016.
7. Burberry’s multicolored scarves.
8. Sometimes the packaging can have as much meaning as the gift inside. Iconic boxes, like the rich orange of Hermès or the robin's egg blue of Tiffany, signal more than just the elegance (like this Tiffany key ring) that waits inside.
