Two styles of shopping, two philosophies for gifts: Do you buy special things all year long or are you wrestling with a long list and basically no time before the holiday dawns next Wednesday? (Okay, we know the answer—you’ll do better next year.) With the finish line looming on holiday shipping, you might be more inclined to buy silly things, the kind that are fun to unwrap—even if they have little else going for them. But what if you opted instead to spend a tiny bit more and give something that had enduring appeal, something that we are calling heritage gifts?
Before you decide that we are no fun and that heritage sounds kind of stuffy, think about it: Is there anyone you know who would not like to strap a super-classic Cartier tank watch on her wrist? (This will make her stop checking the time on her phone every two seconds!) Would a chilly neck not take comfort in a Drake plaid muffler, jaunty enough to warm a friend for years to come? In that same cozy vein, a creamy pullover from the aptly named Extreme Cashmere could be dressed up (long satin slip skirt!) or down (yoga pants, if you insist).
Serve the Christmas cookies from a green-and-white floral plate that looks like it would not be out of place in a British country house—but since it’s from Gucci, a Tuscany estate is more like it. To get to one of these far-flung locales, give her a Bottega Veneta leather tote and a Globetrotter trolley case! And, of course, sometimes the best things come in the smallest of packages—there is still time to pick her up an emerald Prounis ring, so simple, so chic, so deeply desirable (no, you cannot keep this for yourself . . . well, okay, maybe) that you will never sneer at the word heritage again.
