Hello Indianapolis Fashionistas!
Deck the halls with boughs of holly, fa-la-la-la-la…Okay, not into the spirit yet? For me, Christmas really is about all the beautiful music. I love it. I’m usually in the choir and we do a special Christmas concert. It’s fun to dress up and sing.
I also like to bake at Christmas. I might make my mom’s popular Snowball cookies with lots of butter, powdered sugar and pecans. They are good, and I usually make a rich chocolate fudge, but this year…
Anyway, of course, beyond the traditions we all have at the holidays, at the core of it is buying gifts. This can be intimidating to people. I have not always been the best at buying gifts. I will never forget really early in my professional career we had an office gift exchange. I bought my co-worker brown bathroom towels. Now, they are popular, but back then…She was so angry, she wanted me to take the towels back. Not nice (well, she wasn’t nice, overall anyway.)
Since then, I have improved at personal shopping — I hope so since I do it for a living. I really think the best gift givers are good listeners. They try to find clues year-round to find the perfect gifts for family and friends. I remember one friend and I discussed Downton Abbey constantly. When our public radio station offered a special gift, I “gifted” it to her. She loved it. Or just keep up with what’s popular: my husband is a great gift giver because he see’s what’s popular and knows someone will want these items. (It’s an interesting perspective.)
For those on your Christmas list who are more difficult to shop for, I recommend just asking them to make a list of items they’d like to have. It takes the guesswork out of your shopping, and you both end up happier at the end!
I really caution you about buying clothes for loved ones — unless you 100 percent feel as though you can nail their style. I have one friend that I buy clothing for because she always loves what I buy her. But really she is the only person I gift in this way.
What I recommend instead is a gift card to her/his favorite store or a mall gift certificate. This gift is especially valuable for your besties who work in an office and often need to buy work clothes or want to splurge on something cool he/she might never buy.
You might ask…a gift card? That’s not creative! I base this suggestion on my work as a stylist. So many times the clients who hire me are “victims” of someone who shops for them or passes along their hand me downs. The recipient of this “goodwill” is too polite to stop this process. So — I am talking to you (remember Robert Dinero in Taxi Driver?). Give your friends a gift that allows them to buy their own clothes and figure out their style!
Give the Gift of an Indianapolis Personal Stylist
Of course, since I am an Indianapolis Fashion Stylist, I have to mention: if you need help putting together outfits, building a wardrobe or just cleaning out your closet, consider a gift certificate to Beth Divine Style. I often sell many of these at this time of year, and I am thrilled to help someone new discover how fabulous and freeing it can be to love your clothes and have a closet with items you reach for over and over. Contact me at beth@bethdivinestyle or purchase the gift certificate here.
Keep it sassy, Indy.
Beth Divine, Indianapolis Personal Stylist
