From the Holiday Stockpile

I have a weak spot for things. Namely, I have an inexplicable predilection for scrolling through grid after grid of meticulously curated products halfway between meaningless objet d'art and handy daily necessities with a look of rapt appreciation on my face. As such, I can be a lot of fun during the holidays.

It's not that I'm an expert gifter - no, I have spectacularly misjudged friends in the past and gifted them anything from basic Neutrogena toiletries to high end fragrances that stayed sealed in their boxes for years afterwards. 

My usefulness, instead, is in mentioning the right label to the right person and helping them look like they really know what they're doing when they shop for their Xmas lists online. Like they spend their downtime perusing hyper-modern lifestyle magazines filled with more empty space than text. Like they lurk around Brooklyn and the West Village, trying out gastropubs and tea ateliers wearing Oxfords and oversized knits. Like they have 100k Instagram followers and an apartment in Portland where they lovingly house the world's largest collection of artisan mugs. Like they've traveled a lot and have developed such specific taste that mainstream department stores just don't cut it anymore. For that, I'm here to help.

Below: 15 brands and / or retailers that are doing something so very right:

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15 // Scandinavian Designs

Skrive desk $500, Spotlight table lamp $140, Klemens chair $900

Next time you find yourself in a posh furniture store like this one, asking, "What moron would consider a fucking $140 lamp," just know that it's me. Hi, I'm the dummy. Mind you, I would never actually shell out the cash, but I like knowing that a lamp of the perfect angularity is out there and buyable for less than an entire paycheck.

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14 // Mullein & Sparrow

Facial steam $22, bath salts $29, body oil $18 

I'm a big believer in personal care products that are almost too pretty to use up, because they add to your living space in a subtly soothing way. I mean, bathrooms are ugly enough to begin with. 

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13 // Are You Am I

Lilia top $179

Most were understandably skeptical when fashion blogger Rumi Neely debuted a line of luxury clothing, because the initial offerings were a set of perhaps poorly chosen loose tees. But in the months that followed, aggressively Californian blouses and crop tops and slip dresses were rolled out, and now I'm not convinced that Kendall Jenner shops anywhere else anymore.

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12 // Poketo

Cory bifold wallet $68, journal $16, wall vessel and planter set $28

If anything on this page is at all useful, it's probably sold by Poketo, a retailer of cute odds and ends for the home and office. They remind me vaguely of being in a toy store, surrounded by bright colors and eye-popping textures and adorable packaging.

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11 / Mast Chocolate

Most flavors about $20 for 7 oz.

This Brooklyn-based chocolatier's products are not typically stocked where one would buy food, and that just tickles me. It's like they've already admitted to themselves that chocolate is secondary, and branding comes first. That's cool. Why give out Ferrero pyramids when you can give out these babies & look super stylish by association?

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10 // Larsson and Jennings

Lugano $295; Lugano $315; Saxon $1395

I like a timepiece that is as likely to belong to a man as it is to a woman, and Larsson and Jennings' Swiss-made watches have so few few embellishments that they fit that niche. In the watch world, these sit on the other end of the swinging pendulum from the chunky, glitzy pieces we're more used to.

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09 // Hem

Key side table $175

This photo by Hem is great because 1) I would never think to market tables by arranging them like War of the Worlds alien pods coming to exterminate us all, and 2) there is nothing happening here. Three lines and a disc and that's supposed to be a table. All it takes is one of these beauties to make you look like the kind of person who goes to the MoMA and knows what's going on.

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08 // Sort of Coal

Hand soap $10; bincho $93; char oil cream $33; binchotan sculpture $396

Did I read the 14-paragraph "about" page on this label's website? No. Did I need to read it to know that this oak charcoal bath product venture is mostly BS? No. But do I love the stark minimalism of their packaging and the unabashedly self-important feel of the whole thing, bordering dangerously on the absurd? Yes. 

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07 // Anna Sheffield

Hazeline ceremonial stacking suite, $8300

The holiday season is engagement season, which means I know what I'll be doing: scrolling through Instagram crying inside at all the jewelry posts flying past. One profile I follow is that of New York based designer Anna Sheffield, who offers the perfect antidote to all the tired, staid styles we're too used to seeing on our grandmothers' fingers. Sheffield's signature concept is a striking burst of ray-like stones that are meant to sit atop a solitaire like a crown.

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06 // Ode to Things

Cinqpoints Archiblocks $70, Kami wood cups from $70, Ancap Verona cappuccino cup $36

I'm not entirely clear on what Ode to Things really is. It's part museum, part curio cabinet, part IKEA on steroids, and part actual, functioning home goods shop. Here there be everyday objects barely recognizable as what they are, pared down and Designed within an inch of their lives.

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05 // The Reformation

Aurelia top $128, Gemma dress $278

As label names go, I don't think there's one more striking than this. I always love telling friends about this eco-friendly clothing line: Reformation - gawd, that name. Even before you show people the plunging necklines, drapey silhouettes and 90s influence, it already sounds great. 

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04 // Le Labo

Santal 26 home fragrance, $125 for 100 ml

By now it's inescapably clear that I like my objets pretentious to the point of humorous absurdity, and near the top of the hierarchy is the unisex fragrance line by Le Labo of NYC. They have a "manifesto." There's a section of their website titled "oddities." They sell a diffuser made from reclaimed wood & vintage style bulbs. It's fantastic. Pair responsibly with craft beer & Restoration Hardware furniture.

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03 // Leibal

Lift coasters $69 for 4, Bang and Olufsen Beoplay H7 $449, marble wall clock $269

Like Ode to Things, Leibal is a curated collection of aesthetically pleasing odds and ends that seem to exist simply for curation's sake. Browsing the site, I'm left with a lot of questions. Who has nearly 300 bucks for a marble wall clock? And more importantly, what wall would support the sheer weight of said clock?

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02 // Article Magazine

Issues range from $14 to $17

Often I have trouble finding man-gifts, but soon I may just start ordering copies of London-based Article magazine for the more sartorially-inclined men in my life. They're printed on thick paper - coffee table-worthy - and feature moody, intense photography of everything from modern art and architecture to a star du jour.  

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01 // Artifact Uprising

Envelopes for $1.40 Save the Dates, wood calendar $30, soft cover photo book from $18

And finally, nothing inspires me creatively to the point of full-blown anger like the online print shop Artifact Uprising. Neutral paper tones, crisp serif fonts, generous white spacing - this place ticks all my aesthetic boxes re: how I want my photos of the Pacific Northwest to be presented. A gorgeous, unexpected photo gift source if you ever want to distance yourself from Shutterfly and Tinyprints.

Meet the Chanel "Flap"

If the world of luxury handbags were your typical high school, the Chanel flap would be Queen Bee: beautiful, popular, expensive, immaculately put together and possessing astronomical levels of can't-touch-this charisma. I don't own one (oh if only), but I sat down with my friend (we'll call her L. for brevity) and had a chat about what makes the Chanel flap bag a great wardrobe addition, and what could stand to be improved.  

L. owns two Chanel flap bags, one classic and one seasonal. Chanel flap bags range in size from extra mini to maxi, and the two in L.'s closet are maxi and mini, respectively. L.'s family of bags gives us a nice spread of attributes across only two of the same product. 

Note on size: though it seems like a secondary concern next to color and material, we think size is the single biggest determinant in whether a Chanel flap is right for you -- setting cost aside, of course. 

Construction

Material: can be patent leather, lambskin leather, caviar leather, etc.
Build: turn lock closure top flap bag with up to 8 or so pockets and an internal flap on the classic models

Measurements

Mini: about 8"x5"3" 
Maxi: about 13"x9"x4"

Strap drop varies as chain is continuous and can be doubled back on itself

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Aesthetics

From my vantage point, the Chanel flap bag's aesthetics are its strongest suit. There are other bags that occupy this niche in terms of size, function and quality, but only the flap bag is able to speak volumes while maintaining visual simplicity. If you pare the bag down to its basics, it isn't much more than a rectangle on a strap, but Chanel has dressed it up with quilting (ever seen a flat, non-quilted Chanel? looks unsettling), as well as a delicate leather-and-chain strap that looks and feels like built-in jewelry.

IMO, some flap bag sizes are more proportionate and pleasing than others. For me, the closer the flap-height-to-total-body-height ratio is to 1:2, the happier I am, but I have heard others express a preference for a flap that reaches almost all the way down the front of the bag (see the black bag in above photo). Generally speaking, the larger the bag, the larger the flap-to-body ratio.

Then there's the patent vs. caviar vs. lambskin dilemma, and for most Chanel admirers, the lambskin is prized, as it looks as buttery as it feels. However, it seems most people gravitate in practice towards the caviar leather, since its pebbly texture protects against stains and scratches. Personally, I find caviar leather more beautiful up-close vs far away, since it tends to reflect blueish light when viewed from a distance. This make the bag look less of a rich black shade. Again, not a a real issue, and for nine out of ten, the functionality of caviar leather trumps its relative inelegance next to smooth lambskin.  

Daily Use

Size is of primary concern when it comes to evaluating the daily usability of a Chanel flap. All are versatile and durable and sport a variety of pockets, so on that front, the flap bag fulfills a basic level of functionality. Thus we are left with size to consider, and L.'s advice (as well as the advice of Chanel SAs) is this: before purchasing a flap bag, you should know exactly what and how many items you plan on carrying in it. This of course means it's not a great choice for shoppers like me, who like to have flexibility in how a single item can be used. But for those who have defined habits re: what they carry and rarely, if ever, switch bags, the flap is an okay choice.

What else the flap bag is not great for: irregularly shaped objects, loose objects, or objects that cannot be stacked on top of each other in the bag's main compartment. It is also not ideal for those who prefer to get in and out of a bag quickly, since the flap bag has just that -- a flap -- underneath the main quilted one. For L., the flap is a comfort because it offers privacy while hunting through one's bag, and a pleasure because it offers a glimpse of the burgundy lining underneath. But if you're like me, that flap is another level of stuff in the way. I'd favor the Boy bag's lack of a secondary flap, were I shopping for a Chanel myself.

Among L.'s other grievances were the weight of the maxi and its open body style (as opposed to compartmentalized). Though the bag’s oblong shape means you can efficiently use all of its volume, the bad news is you will certainly have to stack your belongings, and digging out the right object can be a pain.

Since so many drawbacks of the flap bag depend on its size (amount carried, weight, ease of access), it's recommended that a potential buyer take the time to assess their assortment of Things to Lug Around. The best approach: take those things into a Chanel retailer and fit them, Tetris style, into every size of flap bag they offer until you find the one that works.

Maintenance

How the flap bag needs to be maintained depends on its material. L.'s caviar leather is as tough as her SA mentioned: it shows nary a scratch, hasn't faded, and still looks brand new, despite never having been treated. She brushes it off occasionally but doesn't find the need to do much else. The patent leather, on the other hand, is at the risk of drying out. It seems to do best, surprisingly, in ever-so-slightly slightly moist conditions. Shortly after purchasing it in a cold and dry store, L. found white corners appearing on the bottom of the bag that at first looked like wear or scuffing, but turned out to be spots where the leather had dried. Upon the return of a more humid fall season, the spots took care of themselves. 

Quality & Value

When it comes to value, Chanel bags make things a little complicated.

If your idea of value is  "will the price tag of this bag guarantee perfection forever," the answer is no, and the bag would not be a good value-for-purchase item. The number of digits on a Chanel price tag do not have very much to do with quality and value, so if you're expecting unchanged flawlessness, the flap bag will disappoint you. Yes, it gives with wear. Yes, some of the stitches will stretch over time. Yes, the strap will stop squeaking when no longer brand new.

Realistically, no matter what an SA tells you in order to justify dropping up to nearly $7k on a plain leather bag, you’re still getting a plain leather bag. You should only own this if its history, branding, and social significance mean something to you — and they do to many people, myself included, to some degree.

That said, Chanel flap bags do well on the resale market, with many shoppers specifically seeking out a vintage model from a preferred year. They also tend to age better than other bags in similar classes, with plenty of people handing classic flap bags down to their children or grandchildren. Finally, if you subscribe to the belief (as L. and I do), that value when it comes to Chanel is more closely tied to "can I afford it and does it make me happier than any other piece does," then I can think of no reason to knock a few points off the flap bag's value rating. 

Long story short: it's personal. If you're willing to accept that the flap bag's price tag is not perfectly correlated with any functional quality, and you still think the flap is right for you, then it is. The end.

Pros & Cons

(-) expensive, hard to find in stores in exact configuration desired, no compartments, some leathers are fragile, flap can be a pain to get in and out of, larger sizes are dense/heavy, smaller sizes don't fit all the essentials, inside may scratch 

 

(+) goes day to night and casual to dressy, never looks dated, can survive a generation or two, high resale value, quality hardware, caviar leather is durable, recognized name, secure turn-lock, variety of size and color choices, not maintenance-heavy

Meet the Michael Kors "Selma"

After French label Céline debuted the winged luggage tote in 2010, other designers high- and low-end began to imitate its distinctive flared gussets, releasing products with similar silhouettes in the years that followed. In the contemporary range, the most successful of these winged luggage-influenced beauties is the MICHAEL by Michael Kors "Selma," easily the most understated piece to come out of Kors' diffusion range.

MICHAEL by Michael Kors is not known for exercising restraint or subtlety. A quick glance at the site's offerings reveals a host of bags in blocky shapes and loud colors with logo hardware, monograms, and chain link accents. The Selma, though, is different -- so different, in fact, that it hardly feels like a Kors piece. It's not out of place in my muted, professional-looking bag collection. 

My thoughts below.

Diffuser by Jo Malone, notebooks by Dear Maison via Poketo.

Measurements

Dimensions: roughly 13" x 10" x 5"
Drop: handles 4", adjustable strap 18"

Construction

Saffiano leather with cloth lining
4 pockets, incl. 1 that zips

Aesthetics

Clearly the Selma photographs well. It's angular, structured, and sports minimal hardware, all atypical of its siblings and punching well above its $358 price point. (Figure cited is for the large size, which is no longer available. The medium, its replacement, retails at $298.) It comes in a variety of colors and materials, including some colorblock leather-and-fabric ones, and while all are popular, I find the bag does best in a solid neutral shade that lets its silhouette shine.

A nitpicky opinion: I'm not fond of the squarish hardware that attaches the bag's handles to its body. I wish Kors' diffusion line team had decided to fix the handles directly to the bag à la Saint Laurent's Sac de Jour, but doing so likely would have changed the bag’s price point.

Interior pocket view.

Daily Use

I picked up the large Selma in summer 2014, and honestly, I regretted the gargantuan size of it until I started seeing the medium pop up everywhere this past summer and fall. The large is more proportionate, with a more pleasing gusset-to-body ratio. It also holds more stuff without being unwieldy, which, as a pack rat, I appreciate. It has the volume of a tote with the rigidity of a briefcase, easily holding a continental wallet, phone and charger, cereal bars, tablet, makeup, and even a DSLR camera...all at once.   

The Selma comes with a detachable strap, which I frequently used in the beginning, as I was unused to hand-carrying a bag. Over time, I grew more comfortable with the look of the large, rectangular bag in the crook of my arm (how very Los Angeles) and now carry it there, with the strap tucked in.

The Selma’s zipper placement is fantastic: tucked down slightly and framed by stiff leather strips on either side. This is not a bag that will spill your belongings, even if it is unzipped and tips over on its side, since even the open zipper has enough support on either side that everything is contained. This gives me flexibility in how I carry it: I can either use it like a shopping tote and throw things in the open top, or treat it like a satchel and secure everything beneath the zip.

Does the Selma go casual to dressy? Eh, it's debatable. While I've seen people style it casually, the structured look of the Selma is probably more of a professional silhouette -- especially if the bag is black. In black, it's almost indistinguishable at a distance from the executive Prada range. When carrying the Selma I often feel like I need to try a little harder (no t-shirts and certainly no sneakers). 

Maintenance

When it comes to care, the Selma is out-of-this-world accomodating. It is virtually indestructible, does not fade, is unaffected by humidity or rain, and its saffiano body is just about impossible to scratch. Once in a while I go over it with Collonil cream to clean off smudges, but it does not need moisture treatment the way higher end leather would.

Quality & Value

IMO the Selma is the ultimate contemporary range bag. It doesn't run in the let's-not-push-it-for-this-level $500s to $600 range like many Kate Spade or Tory Burch pieces -- especially now that the $358 large size is discontinued, leaving the $298 medium size the priciest Selma option. 

That said, it also doesn't feel like a budget bag. The saffiano leather, though it does cave slightly with wear, shows virtually no signs of aging, even without being stored outside of its dust bag and in a hot, humid climate. Mine looks brand new, even though it's two years old and I treat it mercilessly. The bag even has metal feet to protect the bottom from the surface you're setting it on. That's a nice touch, considering that not even Givenchy (ahem, leather feet on the Antigona) is great about executing this protective feature.

I also appreciate that where corners are cut on the Selma, it's in invisible places. The stitching on the strap is not as secure as I'd like to be, but let's be real, no one looks there. The lining is an unappealing faux-silk monogrammed fabric, but I can live with that, as it won't be the end of the world to stain it.

Pros & Cons

(-) It's Michael Kors, not occasion-versatile, bottomless pit, cheap interior lining, saffiano does not feel luxurious, heavy when full, awkward hardware

(+) under $300 in medium size, easy to care for, both hand- and shoulder-carried, structured, great work bag (fits a tablet or laptop), roomy, logo is subtle, many pockets, photogenic

And finally, I can't say how glad I am that the MICHAEL by Michael Kors team managed to resist putting chunky logos all over this piece in particular. So glad. Gotta diversify the offerings, man.