A Gift to Myself
The final stretch
I’m officially holiday-shopped-out, and feel like I still haven’t crossed everything off my list!
So far I’ve bought stocking stuffers for everyone, most of which were purchased on my Tokyo trip, a Cecilie Bahnsen skirt for me and a couch for my mom’s holiday / upcoming 60th. Gift giving is something I really enjoy - I’ll usually remember someone needing or desiring and surprise them with it months later. I hate shopping IRL (an interesting quality for someone who was once titled “Head of Retail”), but I do enjoy and am very good at finding whatever I’m looking for on the internet. I live for this hunt, and the thrill of finding an item I’ve usually been coveting for several years. Currently I’m after:
a pair of the very old celine wayfarer sunglasses, the ones before the Edge, that my best friend is gutted she lost. If anyone is selling theirs (black frame green lens) I really want to find them for her!
The Prada skort in black or red or green in IT40, as well as this Miu Miu jacket, IT36 or IT38, long or short.
A Bellini Bambole sofa in original striped fabric from the 70s - I have 3 Italian furniture dealers on whatsapp who can’t wait to delete my number.
“What do you want for XMas?” my mom asked the other day. I panicked! In spite of everyone coming to me for gift advice, I have not yet figured out who picked my name so I can subtly help them out. I’ve been dropping hints for weeks about Loewe Incense, to the point that the Loewe PR team reached out to me (bucket list: check). This perfectly sums up being the eldest who lives abroad - no one has any idea what is going on in your life. “Olive oil from your garden! Design books!“ I told her. Books are easy to find, affordable and make for a pretty package under the tree. “You always ask for the same thing” she responds. Damn it.
I do have a few items on my wishlist, but sadly none of them fit the $150 price limit required for my family's White Elephant. So, without further ado, I share with you all the items on my wishlist I absolutely cannot share with my mother:
A new handbag. I’ve been loving my Lizard Hunting Season top handle bag for the past 4 years, but it’s very beat up and it’s time for an upgrade. While I’m not usually a branded ‘it bag’ lady, I have been drooling over The Row’s Half Moon Bag. It’s a great shape for day or night (not because I go from work to the party, but because I’m lazy and will use the same bag day and night), and is way more reasonably priced than most ‘it bags’. I’m a huge proponent of celebrating success with a hard-earned reward. When we launched our Le Spritz, I treated myself to a single Boticelli earring from Sophie Bille Brahe. I wear it often, and every time I take it out of its box I think of all the hurdles to bring this product to life and the feeling of accomplishment when it was finally out in the world. Le Spritz is now 55% of Ghia’s sales - I did good that year! I’m not yet fully in the introspective part of the holiday season, but I know one thing: 2023 nearly broke me. Don’t let my sassy instagram stories fool you. “Pedaler dans la semoule'' which roughly translates to “Pedaling in couscous” is what comes to mind. I’m really tough on myself in general, but in spite of trying my best, I have spent 85% of the year feeling like a loser, like nothing I did was ever good enough. But I made it through - I’m closing my fundraising round with a great partner and great terms on top of launching Berry and our new Ghianduja Crunch, both outstanding products if I can say so myself. My biggest pride and also my biggest anxiety? Ghia is in 500 Target stores (Let’s be real, we are a bit young for a retail rollout of this size, and if we don’t move on those shelves it will really not great for us). All to say, I have the best team and I’m so damn lucky. And I am buying myself a fucking handbag by The Row, in that brown-ish color that goes with everything.
A giant daffodil lamp, since I’ve yet to make contact with anyone at Prada to buy one of the hundreds of flowers sitting in their windows and will likely get tossed out. Ugh!!
A fun color of High Sport pants. Many scriptures have now sung the praises of these ultra-flattering, washable, wear anytime anywhere pants. They feel like sweatpants but make you look like a million bucks. They used to be so hard to get your hands on that I snagged any color I could (read: black, brown, yellow, red) from a friend who works at a retailer, Poshmark and TRR, but the ones I wanted from the beginning were the lilac ones and now they’re back in stock exclusively here.
This snowboard
+a boyfriend who snowboards
+a week off to go snowboarding
This Tory Burch tunic to wear over my favorite Tory Burch skirt or fun tights if I decide to go all out.
Knock offs of the Miu Miu beaded undies. These actually fit the < $150 rules but I would have way too much explaining to do in front of my uncles.
A vintage Cartier baignoire - I’m so into the Arabic numbers or this diamond bezel.
Purple High Sport Pants, The Prada jacket I want to wear everyday, Dyson hairdryer. Tennis necklace(s). In a dream world I would have a few so I can layer them. You know nothing gets me excited like a clean supply chain, so I’m all about recycled gold + lab grown diamonds - these from Dorsey are perfect, so is the Salazar bracelet designed by my friend Juliana.
The Dyson Hairdryer, since I’ve failed every attempt to learn to air dry my hair. Actually, make that 2! One for LA, one for Paris.
This insane Prada jacket. No explanation needed
A page turner book I can get lost in on Boxing Day! I LOVED this one and really liked that one. Please send recs.
Have a nice weekend!
Melanie