Make It Personal
For the stylish woman on your shopping list this holiday season, spell out how much you care. Just add a name, initial, message or photo. Not only is a personalized gift unique, it happens to be one of this year’s hottest trends.
Instead of wearing the logos of a Louis Vuitton (LV), Calvin Klein (CK) or Donna Karan (DKNY), personalized items let the wearer flaunt her individual style.
“People want to express themselves,” says Hannah Gilligan, founder of Preppy Chicks, a Boston-based custom embroidery company.
In addition to buying popular retro-style monogrammed items, Gilligan says her customers want to “wear phrases or sayings that reflect their unique personality or mood. It’s like a mini-billboard.”
Celebrity divas who flaunt their initials have given the personalized trend some serious star power. In this fall’s Gap ads, Madonna and Missy Elliot wore corduroy jeans embroidered with their initials; a closer look shows Madonna wearing an “M” necklace and Elliot an “MSE” ring. We can thank Sex and the City’s Carrie Bradshaw, played by Sarah Jessica Parker, for the return of initial and ID necklaces. And who hasn’t seen a paparazzi shot of a celeb shlepping around Hollywood in a personalized Juicy Couture sweat suit?
A personalized gift does take a little more effort; you have to order in advance to receive it in time for the holidays.
But for that hard-to-buy-for person on your list, customizing and personalizing a gift speaks to people’s desire to remember what truly matters most to us in a very tangible way.
Source: The Province