Vogue Editors Share Their Holiday Gift Secrets

0:29This is The Run Through. I'm Chloe Mel. refer to you when I need to gift anyone anything because I'm terrible at it. Gift giving and receiving is my love language. I feel very strongly about it. We had Maddie Fass, our senior market editor, and Kiana Merton, the senior beauty shopping writer, both pillars of the Vogue commerce shopping team. And they both had their hands all over the holiday gift guides. Maddie Fass really was the mastermind of these gift guides. Kiana was an integral member with all of the amazing beauty gifts, which are always everyone's favorites. And we all shared our holy grail gift ideas and gave some gifting tips.

1:14What's your gift giving approach, Choma? I mean, I like, I obviously love giving gifts. Like, who doesn't love giving gifts? Because I think I like surprising people, but I hate basic gifts. So I obviously agonize about it a lot. And generally in my family, we do Secret Santa. So it's a little bit less intense. Oh, that's cute. Yeah. So what was, give us the example from last year. What did you gift and what did you receive? I think I got my nephew some slippers. It's kind of like the North Face kind of puffy slippers, something like that. And what did I receive? I think I received a really nice book.

1:54I think books are always a good gift, especially because for me, just sitting on the sofa and reading a book is something that I get to do over those holidays. You know, at the end of the year. I just think it's a one holiday where I can actually switch off. And I just love to have a stack of books. We are on Thanksgiving break next week, but you have a big week. Understatement, the understatement of the year. Walk us through the Chominati itinerary for next week. So next week we kick off on Thanksgiving night with the Lightroom launch, which is being hosted by me, Anna Wintour and Cate Blanchett, which will be very, very cool.

2:40I hope you can get over to London to see it or they can bring it over. People are loving it. Yeah, it's really something special and it was very cool to have been part of it. So there's that. Then we're doing a screening of Lee at the weekend for Kate Winslet. For people who don't know, Lee Miller is a photographer, a really iconic photographer in the 30s and 40s. She did everything from art photography and spent a lot of time with glamorous artists in the U.S. and Paris and London to really powerful war photography during World War II. And Annie Leibovitz shot a beautiful Vogue cover of Kate Winslet as Lee Miller last year.

3:24And now the film starring Kate Winslet as Lee is coming out. And Anna and Choma are hosting a screening. Yeah, I have to finish reading her autobiography because I started over the summer and then I didn't. So that's another Christmas to-do list. Oh, that's a good idea. I bet that's really interesting. Yeah, it's actually really her life. She led such a fascinating life and especially the early years. And she just was such a free spirit. And I can't imagine someone of that time. I mean, I think this movie obviously focuses more on the wartime aspect, not when she's leading up to that moment. but just she was so free-spirited and she's so bohemian in a way and made choices according to her own wills and desires and she just seems like such a liberated woman so I think her autobiography is well worth a read in fact it was a gift from Anna so love a book love a book gift and then on the Monday is the big event is the big one it's a British fashion awards and we're hosting a couple of tables and I am also presenting an award but I can't say who to yet so this week I had to kind of go through all the events I have coming up and figure out what the hell I'm wearing which is obviously okay that's what I was gonna ask what are you gonna wear to the British Fashion Awards just give us a hint uh it's still up in the air there's a couple of things a custom look that I'm thinking about um and but I'm not sure yet so I can't I can't reveal I loved your red ferragamo last year.

4:54I know. It's a hard one to top. It was a really good look. But yeah, it feels like, and this week the nominees have been announced, which is pretty exciting. Yeah, who are the nominees? Give us just a little TLDR of what we should be excited about. So the nominees for Best Designer are Shamina Kamali, who is a creative director at Chloe, John Galeon, who is currently at Margiela, Jonathan Anderson and Muchia Prada. Peter Moulier and Rick Owens. Excellent. So it's a good lineup. So it's going to be, it's always a fun night. Choma, you're a December cover star. I know, I know. And it was a really special moment for me because I've known SZA for a long time.

5:39I've known her SZA before she was famous. We met through mutual friends. Oh, really? Yeah, I remember having like brunch with one of, with her and like her former partner. And I was dating her partner's best friend. So like we had like we have this long connection. I love that for you guys. I know. So, yeah, it's kind of surreal. I always kind of I always thought she would be. I know it sounds so cliche, doesn't it? But I thought she would be famous. I thought she would be mega famous because she just. And you were right. She has it. Yeah, she has it. She has that thing. And and when her first she she released some EPs and then she released that album Control.

6:18And I mean, my nephew, I still listen to the album to this day. And my nephew is obsessed with her. And I remember over the summer texting her a video of my nephew kind of telling her how much he loves. He's eight, by the way. And she was so moved. She sent back this wonderful voice note. Oh, my God. Yeah. What a nice story. Yeah. You know, she really loves her fans. And I think she's also very connected to like a sense of childlike wonder and innocence. And she's very open and raw. And the interview that she gave to my former colleague, Mel, who's actually just recently gone freelance, is an amazing writer, was just so gripping.

7:02Like she's such an open heart, you know. So it was a fun, it was a really great read. So I'm very excited for this cover. And I think I've gotten so much great feedback on it. That's amazing. It looks fabulous. She looks incredible. I think so, too. I think so, too. Please explain to me what's going on with all these lookalike contests. People have lost the plot a bit. There was the Timothee Chalamet lookalike contest in Washington Square Park, which Margot and Booba was really ahead of the game with. She saw a poster and immediately her bloodhound nose took her straight there. Oh, my God. So we photographed it, but Timothy showed up and it was such chaos ensued that people ended up getting arrested.

7:48And then for some reason in like the way that there's this alchemical way the Internet works and things sort of translate IRL, everyone started, these started popping up all over the place, both in London, in New York. There was a Harry Styles one. There was a Zayn Malik one in Bushwick. There was even our very own political correspondent, Jack Schlossberg. There was one in Central Park. Was it convincing, though? Because some of them have been more convincing than others. I don't believe it was convincing. And I think it was mostly women showing up. Oh, apparently the Zayn Malik one was really fun.

8:28I was looking and I felt like not so many of them looked like Zayn. But, you know. And I like that for the Jack Schlossberg one, the prize was a$50 Chipotle gift card. Oh, my God. Really low stakes, huh? Raven Smith wrote a very funny piece about lookalike contests and how they should probably go away. But what we can learn from them. And Emma Spector actually was crowdsourcing Vogue.com staff about who what would be their dream lookalike contest. Hers was Christine Baranski looking for her future wife. Mine was Jerry Orbach. And it could be either him in his Law and Order days or him in Dirty Dancing.

9:07I mean, the options are endless.

9:12The Governor's Awards were last week. Very good fashion. It felt like a preview of sort of awards fashion to come. I loved Elle Fanning in her like Marabou fringed negligee dress from Alessandro Michele's Valentino. She looked really fabulous. It's a dream to be able to wear that collection on the red carpet. So, so good. I mean, I thought for me, Jennifer Lawrence in that fantastic Bottega sort of chocolate brown jersey dress pregnant was just heaven. That was a very good pregnancy look. I mean, it is a really hard thing to pull off. But I think she's just at that point, too, and she's looking so fabulous.

9:53I don't know how many moms she is, but she looks so good, you know. She just looks like heaven. And I mean, it was interesting because I think, you know, whose red carpet streak is kind of unstoppable at the moment. Sasha Ronan. She looks amazing. She started working with Danielle Goldberg. And I really just think she's been taking such fun risks, but still staying true to who she is. I still love that Huda Kova sort of deconstructed jacket dress that she wore. And I love this kind of mint, mint green Louis Vuitton off the shoulder dress that has these fringing all along the bodice. that was very, very cool.

10:34Yeah. What did you think of Angelina Jolie's vintage look and her son Knox? He looked really handsome and excited to be there, actually. I love a mother-child red carpet moment. Me too. I liked that Angelina was in sort of unmarked vintage, but it wasn't my favorite dress. Right, yeah. Oh, well, you know what my best dress of last week was? Was Mikey Madison walking her dog. Oh, my God. It was amazing. Let me see that. she has this little rescue chihuahua mutt oh my god why was she in that look named Jam and Jam is really giving everyone a run for their money Pilaf watch out she was going on Jimmy Kimmel or Jimmy Fallon and so she was wearing this great Luwewe shirt dress and in a full Jackie O slash Babushka silk scarf hat moment and then she also was wearing this like velvet boucher frock.

11:32It was really, I mean, the way that I walked Lloyd in my pajamas was really not standing up to this. And just a friendly reminder, we have an inbox where you can send us your most burning questions for the run-through. You can ask Choma who she would vote for for the British Fashion Awards. You can ask Choma what she's considering wearing to the British Fashion Awards. The options are endless. The email is the run through at Vogue dot com. And we can't wait.

12:11The run through will be right back.

12:25Right now in movies and the opera, even in pop music. Divinely inspired women are everywhere. This week on Critics at Large, we make our case. Saints are having a moment. Look, I can spout off any number of cliches, but they're all true. The world is moving faster and faster. Materialism is now reaching every single corner of the globe. It's very hard to say no and to say stop and to say I will do without. And I think that explains some of the modern cultural appeal. I'm Vincent Cunningham. Join me and my co-hosts on Critics at Large from The New Yorker. Find us every Thursday, wherever you get your podcasts.

13:12And we're back with Gift Giving 101.

13:19Ladies, this is so exciting because I am one of those annoying New Yorkers who loves Christmas time. And I love gift-giving season. And my two-year-old Alice and I went walking all over Midtown Manhattan yesterday looking at all the decorations. And I said to myself when I got home, I need to start buying my Christmas presents tonight. And I did. I bought some Bombas Kids No Slip slippers for my nephews, which I love. I'm obsessed with those. I have a pair. Do you? Obviously the adult version, if that was not clear. But they're so comfortable. And I like that they're flat, so I keep them as like a travel essential.

13:59They're very good travel. Yeah. So I got them for my nephews and also for my own children. So that was my first gift purchase of the season in mid-November. I was very proud of myself. Of all of the hundreds of gifts that you guys have evaluated, edited, chosen, what is the gift that you each want the most for yourself? I want a lot of things. so Kiana's face just went in total panic it's like I like asked you to spell it's a big question exactly supercalifragilisticexpialidocious at the spelling bee literally that's how I feel right now I feel like the first one is going to be fragrance I'm obsessed with a fragrance gift I think that there are endless fragrance discoveries to be made and so I don't know it's really special and I feel like I always think about the person or like a wellness service I think is something that is like a really underrated beauty gift What's your top wellness service gift right now?

14:54I was really enjoying Remedy Place. I was doing a cold plunge challenge there earlier this year. Oh, that's a fun gift, like a cold plunge series for someone? Yeah, exactly. So I think they sell them as packages. If you're brave enough. Okay, it's like a six-minute cold plunge, just like guided. It was truly one of the best things I've ever done. My sister-in-law just did her first marathon. I should do that for her for Christmas. Yeah, I think she would love that. Okay, what about you, Maddie? I mean, I definitely do not want cold plunge. Any new handbag, I think, is a great, great gift. What do you think is the most luxurious it bag that you could receive?

15:29I mean, I think if you can get your hands on one, the Roe Margo. I was going to guess that you were going to say that. Yes, we should have had you guess for it. No, no, the Margo is that predictable. Even the tackle bags of Malaya, those are always constantly going out of stock. So I feel like if you can get your hands on something like that, it would make a great, you know, surprise gift. I feel like it's just such a thoughtful gift because the amount of time and energy you have to, like, search for that bag to, like, get it. I know. I have preschool mom friends, like, texting me, like, where can I get a Margo bag?

15:56I was like, not my job. I mean, there's also something to be said for those kind of, like, specialty bags that do come out during the holidays. Like, you know, if you are into, like, a rhinestone embellished, you know, Prada or Gucci Jackie or, you know, Fendi baguette, there's always something super festive to be had during this time of year. Okay. But there's that argument, like, do you ask for that or do you want something more classic, like, you know, something in brown or black or burgundy or – it's always that debate. I feel like these, like, limited edition things are for, like, the person who kind of, like, has it all and they want something that's, like, truly unique, you know, because they're not looking for classics.

16:32Or especially people who are, like, extremely online because they haven't gotten it yet but they know it exists. Exactly. Like, I got you the special one. I feel like it's like that in beauty, too. I always think about gifting, like, how can I give someone something I know that they'll love but, like, in a different way? And if you know that they love, like, a certain brand or, like, silhouette or something, then just, like, a limited edition shade or something like that, I feel like it's a good way in. I would say one of the things I was most excited about on all of the gift guides, which, of course, I have loved perusing, are the amazing Dorsey lab-grown diamond drop earrings.

17:05I'm a proud owner of those. So many ladies on the 25th floor at Vogue have them and are wearing them constantly. Florence and Willow are both wearing them today. Actually, my mom just got me very tiny but very cute drop real diamonds. And everyone's like, are those the Dorsey? I'm like, no. But now I want the Dorsey ones. That shows how good they are. I know. And so that's like my gift. I'm getting them for my stepsister. But she listens to the podcast. So now she knows that I got them for her. Redacted. I also I want to know what's your go to gift giving strategy. Are you guys personalized gift givers or luxury items or like personally I'm a big fan of giving comestibles like fancy food.

17:51Like I love the Ed Ruscha honey from Flamingo Estate or like a beautiful bottle of olive oil. It's a really nice gift. I love receiving that too. Frog Hollow Farms is my favorite fruit farm. I order from them a lot for presents for people. There's also this great company, Via Citrus, that sends you little small citrus trees. I was going to say, are those with citrus trees? They're so cute. I have kumquats. That's such a good idea. And they've lasted like two months. I thought they would die. I went at the end of the summer. I was like, here we go, fall. And they're still giving me little kumquats.

18:21And those kumquats. It's the gift that keeps on giving. I love that Flamingo Estate honey, by the way. Have you tried it? It's so good. I have two jars. If I got it, I wouldn't actually use it because I'd be like, oh, this is a cliche's honey. So last year I got my partner the LeBron James honey from Flamingo Estate. It was like a perfect personalized gift because I don't think you need to monogram something or. You're right. Personalized doesn't have to be a monogram on an ill bully or a bully of a chin lip balm. It can be a gift that makes sense for someone. Just shows that like extra thought and care.

18:55Even at bully you can pick out, you know, a comb and then you get to pick the color of the case. So it's like, OK, what is your grandmother's favorite color? For people who don't know, Officine Universal Bouli is a French apothecary, very old school with amazing tiled floors, and they make beautiful gifts. But I think that kind of personalization is really lovely. I also love a personalized – not personalized, but a specific Christmas tree ornament like from John Darien or Rebecca Gardner's House and Parties. I was wondering when the John Durian pentatone candles are going to come up. Also a candle.

19:33A trompe l 'oeil. I love a trompe l 'oeil gift. It's a giant pentatone that everyone thinks is real. It's now sitting in my office and people keep coming in and going, is that? Oh, and it's a candle. It's a candle. And it's really fabulous. It's a conversation starter. It sure is. How far in advance do you guys start planning your gifts and how do you keep track of who you're getting gifts for? Like, what's the to-do list look like? Like my family doesn't really do like a proper sit-down gift exchange type thing. I mostly gift the people I'm spending the holidays with. Yeah, that makes sense. So sort of once I figure out what I'm doing for the holidays, then I start thinking about who's getting what and if they're making the list kind of thing.

20:12I understand that. That's fair. And then how do you keep the list? I have a Google Doc. Oh, you do? Really? And every year— I'm like, how am I supposed to keep the list? Is there a strategy that I should be aware of? I have a Google Doc, and every year I copy and paste last year's Google Doc, and make a new one and change the year and then delete all the gifts and re-put new ones. But it's helpful to keep the old ones because then you don't get people the same thing. Are you like into gift wrapping in a certain way as well? I love gift wrapping. I feel like that's like kind of the best part about it.

20:36And I feel like my kids are just old enough to be into making gift wrapping paper. So I got like brown butcher paper and I want to like stamp them. Oh, that's a good idea. That is so cute. Are mundane gifts a yay or a nay? Like I feel like there's been this real smear campaign against the candle and I don't appreciate that. Who sang that? I've never heard that. Oh, no. That person's never received a candle for the gift before. A good one. Lauren Sandemir did an interview with the Financial Times a few years ago where she was like, no one ever buy me a candle. And people were really upset about it.

21:07And she referred to it as Candlegate. That's how it feels. I'm very pro-candle. It's such a delight to get a luxe candle. But same for me with socks. Like if anyone's listening, I really want the Diptyque hand lotion and soap set. is so chic and like I would not buy that for myself. Right. And then also on the mundane, I know you mentioned about the like slipper socks from Bombas you said? Yeah. I became obsessed last year with these, I forget what they call them, but they're almost like slipper booties that are for around the house from Falk and they're amazing. They also have like the grippy bottom.

21:44They go up to, you know, just above the ankle. There's so many different colors. They come in sizes for the whole family and they're actually very chic. And I'm very into like a house shoe. So I think those would be. Oh, these are chic. Kind of like a fun upgrade to a sock. You know, you're not just getting a sock because you don't like the person. You're getting the sock because these are great socks. Are these going on your gifting list? They might be. These are so fun. The kids ones are so cute. And they're really comfy. Anyway, we digress. Well, this is what the people want to hear. If we're going to go down the sock rabbit hole.

22:15I mean, the Comsi socks are the ultimate fashion girl sock. They come in a variety of. Oh, very chic trios of colors. Trios of colors, but also, like, if you want cashmere, they make cashmere. If you want cotton, they make cotton. If you want silk, you know, there's a sock for all preferences. Maybe the sock isn't the whole gift, but maybe it's like a stocking stuffer or, like, it's a part of, like, a larger, you know, gift presentation. I like to get a nice candle with a cheeky matchbook. Oh, that's cute.

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23:15I feel like your under 100 gift guide was great this year. And there were some, like, I'm definitely going to get the Gohar World lemon squeezer trio for someone. The lemon squeezers were my most anticipated thing I wanted to call in for our shoot. Really? I don't know why. I think they're so fun. It's a whimsical spin on the typical bar lemon squeezer. It's for a wedge of lemon or a slice of lemon, not for a whole lemon squeezer. And these ones are metal shaped like various animals that you would like to. And they come in a really chic red velvet pouch, which I guess would, you know, take the place of gift wrap if you were, you know, out of time.

23:57Because there's a trio. Yeah. It's a trio, yeah. It's a trio. It's very good. But Go Horwold has like the coolest. Very, very good gifts. Gifts, yeah. Another gift that I love in the under 100 is especially for a recently engaged friend or honestly anyone is the Sophie Bilbrah velvet jewelry box, which I feel like is a staple on the Vogue shopping gift, guys. They are. They're so pretty. They come in so many nice colors every year. Velvet tassel jewel boxes. They're literally jewel boxes, but they evoke what the term jewel box means. This isn't under 100. It's technically like$150, but I'm really obsessed with the Lillette hair accessories this season.

24:39What is Lillette? They have like accessories and things like that. Hair accessories. Yeah. And they have like these really chic like gold domed like scrunchies essentially so that when you put your hair in a ponytail, like it looks like. Oh, I like these. Like it looks like you have like a piece of jewelry like adorned to your ponytail and it's just really chic. Yeah, I don't know. That's a really good gift because you wouldn't really get that for yourself, but it really dresses up a ponytail. Exactly. I feel that way about the Jennifer Bear monogrammed hair bows as well. I think that's a really nice gift that you would definitely never get for yourself.

25:11One thing I just thought of from the under 100 are these silver or gold match box holders from Matilda Goad. Oh, I like those. And they are also engraveable. So that kind of ties in the you can get as personal as you want or not. But they're meant for, you know, the kind of like old school, super large matches. So you would have to, like, buy the set of matches, like, maybe on Amazon or something like that. But then they kind of look great in your living room or, you know, on your bedside table or wherever you need a match handy. But those are quite chic as well. And what's the best gift you've given someone else?