Get inspired for the holidays with the Style Advisor: November 2019 edition
Tiny housewares
Photography by Joseph Saraceno. Styling by Suzanne Campos.
Whether you’re shopping for someone with a small space or the perfect finishing touch for grand decor, look for housewares that pack big personality but take up minimal square footage. For frequent entertainers, connect a tiny turntable to a speaker and you’ve got instant, retro sound, or give a Hermès carved maple, wool and bridle leather dice game to the host who has everything. An incense holder and stick combo is so compact it can infuse the smallest nooks and crannies with the calming properties of essential oil, while a squared-off candle creates an equally warm vibe. Brook Drabot’s glass miniature vase, available in a variety of transparent hues, is the perfect home for discarded buds, but you might want to leave a Gucci – or “Guccy” – tray empty to show off its subversive take on branding. Finally, an elegant glass-blown pipe seems like just the way to mark cannabis’s first full year of legalization.
(Clockwise from top left) Mini USB Stereo Turntable, $51 through ebay.ca. Brook Drabot handblown mini bud vase, $22 at Souvenir Studios. Province Apothecary lavender oil incense, $16, Japanese brass incense holder, $12 at Cambie. Declick dice game, $1,125 at Hermès. Laundry Day Millie pipe, $69.23 through laundryday.co. Mystic Cat trinket tray, US$230 at Gucci. Pironii Square Candles, $24/set of two at Souvenir Studios.
Finishing touches
Photography by Joseph Saraceno. Styling by Suzanne Campos.
The “purse” that inspired a million memes (and this gift guide’s theme), Jacquemus’ Le Chiquito bag is for the lightest of packers. If you need to carry more than a mint, Givenchy’s belt bag is a more versatile option. Small is big in every sort of accessory, as seen in Acne’s The Matrix-style eyewear, Yves Salomon’s ski bunny hair tie and velvet bow baubles from Shushu/Tong. In cosmetics, a golden flecked pink lipstick is just what the mistletoe ordered and might be enhanced by a Libertine Fragrance scent, which balances woodsy and floral with notes of black pepper, balsam fir and vanilla bourbon. Shiseido’s brightening and nourishing radiance serum features extracts of the fabled enmei herb, picked on tenshanichi, one of the most auspicious days on the Japanese calendar. A little luck might get you the classic diminutive gift, a precious ring such as Yi Collection’s aquamarine and emerald stunner.
(Clockwise from top left) Future Solution LX Legendary Enmei Ultimate Luminance serum, $480 through shiseido.com. Givenchy Nano Eden bag in crocodile effect leather, US$2,690 at Givenchy. Yves Salomon Yellow Rex rabbit fur bobble, $25, Acne Studios, gold Astaria sunglasses, $480, Shushu/Tong red velvet bow earrings, US$80 at Ssense. Yi Collection aquamarine and emerald Spring ring, $1,950 at Holt Renfrew. Dior Diorific Happy 2020 lipstick in Delight, $49, Jacquemus Le Chiquito bag, $340 at Hudson’s Bay. Libertine Fragrance Soft Woods perfume oil, $56 through libertinefragrance.etsy.com.
Travel tokens
Photography by Joseph Saraceno/The Globe and Mail
Upgrade your favourite frequent flier with these carry-on friendly travel essentials. Take your preferred caffeine hit on the road with a portable espresso maker that uses hand pressure to extract a bold shot, and pack your plane snacks in Alessi’s three-compartment lunch box. Capture a bit of the look of the golden age of travel with Georg Jensen’s engravable steel tag, encased in a leather sheath. Monogrammed Louis Vuitton earbuds scream luxury and come with a charging case and leather holder. Plug them into the latest iPod, which packs an A10 Fusion chip, up to 256 GB of storage and Wi-Fi capability. A silver pill box and Glow Recipe’s mini eye mask help infuse wanderlust with some wellness.
(Clockwise from top left) Tiffany & Co. sterling silver AM/PM pillbox, $745 at Tiffany & Co. Alessi Food a Porter lunch box, $105 at William Ashley. Wacaco Minipresso GR, $79.95 at MEC. Helena Rohner Shades travel tag, $70 through georgjensen.com. Horizon red monogram earphones, $1,330 at Louis Vuitton. Glow Recipe Avocado Melt Retinol eye sleeping mask, $56 at Sephora. IPod touch in blue, from $249 at Apple.
Small appetite
Photography by Joseph Saraceno. Styling by Suzanne Campos.
Palates are as varied as opinions these days but there’s something diminutive to fit any foodie’s taste. Laura Slack’s handmade chocolate bars double as tablescaping…if they last until dessert. Should they disappear, keep a jar of Rosen’s cinnamon bun spread stashed away to sweeten things up. For cocktail buffs, a Himalayan salt glass is said to add nuanced flavour to shots of tequila and mezcal. Add an extra kick of seasoning via table salt stashed in Mikaroc’s teeny porcelain mug, or soy sauce in a Hermès dish crafted in the style of Persian miniatures. A hammered brass spoon is the perfect accoutrement for your morning cup of tea, served from a Scandi kettle in an earthy hue.
(Clockwise from top left) Hermès Cheval d’Orient Soy Dish, $170 at Hermès. Laura Slack artisanal chocolates, $7 each at Holt Renfrew. Viva Saga iron kettle, $79.95 at Drake General Store. Himalayan Salt shot glass, $35/set of two at Cocktail Emporium. Rosen’s Cinnamon Bun spread, $8.99 at Drake General Store. Mikaroc Mini porcelain shot glass with handle, $19 at Souvenir Studios. MLKANHNY Double Brass Spoon, $55 at Cambie.
Styling by Suzanne Campos. Market edit by Randi Bergman.
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