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Cable ties, Zippos and pom poms: what a fashion person wants for Christmas

Fancy tights and cable ties

Well, I’m sure she’d love a Chanel 2.55 handbag. But unless you are (a) a billionaire or (b) being blackmailed, handbags costing two grand probably aren’t particularly useful gift suggestions. You could buy her a £95 keyring by a fancy designer brand, as suggested by every gift guide ever. But, then again, you might as well get two £50 notes and rip them into tiny pieces, for all the value that represents.

Falke tights, £18.

I’m not going to lie, fashion people can be snobby about brands. Don’t buy a cheap handbag or sunglasses. Much better to buy the kind of pretty, of-the-moment accessory that doesn’t need to have a fancy label. A fur collar in a bright colour, say. A yoga mat. Or – my top tip for this Christmas – a pair of fancy tights. Polka-dot sheer tights, as seen on the Diane von Furstenberg catwalk in New York fashion week, are a quick way to update a black party frock for New Year’s Eve. (The 1989 Tatler Bystander Pages Party Look, I’m calling it. It’s very now.) They are a sexier gift than socks, but not as intimate as knickers.


Multicoloured cable ties from Screwfix, £5.28 for 200.

Or if she’s truly cutting-edge on trend, what she really really wants is a pack of multicoloured cable ties (£5.28 for 200) to fasten around her ponytail and pretend she’s on the Christopher Kane catwalk. The stone-cold bargain fashion hack of the season. I’m not making this up: look. Jess Cartner-Morley

Cheap jewels and grosgrain ribbon


Crystal pendant earrings from Mango, £14.99.

I don’t have a single fashion colleague who isn’t easily impressed by cheap jewellery. It appeals to our inner snob. Straight from the “people with money buy precious jewels, but people with taste buy fun jewels” school of thought. Obviously this creates a massive margin for error, as fun jewels can go hideously wrong. So I am going to suggest these from Mango. Specifically. The fact that they come from a lesser referenced high street shop will only add to the win.


Alexa Chung wears a ribbon in her hair. Photograph: Chris Jackson/Getty Images

My other top tip is even cheaper. This Christmas, there is kudos to be had from wearing a grosgrain ribbon in your hair (very Alexa Chung) or around the collar of your blouse in a Saint Laurent meets new-era Gucci kinda way. But a length of ribbon from the John Lewis haberdashery department doesn’t look like much of a gift, so I suggest wrapping any Fashionable’s present in a length of black ribbon, then at least if she hates the present and returns it on Boxing Day, all is not lost. Imogen Fox

Trainer tassels and Nike socks

Here’s how to please fashionable feet for less than £10. Adidas Stan Smiths have long been the style set’s favourite trainer. Thanks to design duo Hillier Bartley, tassels are currently big news, too. Marry both trends with Office’s removable tassel fringe, which offers a whole lot of fashion nous for just £7.99.


Veronika Heilbrunner wears Nike tick socks, £8. Photograph: Silvia Olsen/Silvia Olsen/Rex Shutterstock

Or, if predicting the recipient’s reaction to a “trainer merkin” is too risky, here’s a safe bet: the fashionable person in your life is bound to know the street-style star Veronika Heilbrunner. Much of her wardrobe is four-figure Valentino – sigh – but her Nike tick socks are just £8. They must be these exact socks, mind, and no other – a clean Nike swoosh and nothing else at all – suitable for use with high-heeled sandals and trainers alike. Hannah Marriott

Cheap specs and a posh Zippo


Krusty silicone phone case by Skinnydip at Topshop, £16. Photograph: Topshop

People in fashion are some of the funniest people you’ll ever meet. Honestly. A colleague just sent me a gif which is so good that I’m actually crying. It’s really the little things that keep you going on a day-to-day basis, which is where this comes in. Yes, it’s ostensibly a silly phone case perfectly sized to ruin the pocket-lining of your structured camel coat but Krusty’s colour scheme is also bang-on Gucci AW15 meets seapunk. Which is precisely how you couch in when the recipient pulls a face.


Aubrey glasses by Specsavers, £25.

The 1970s really is the pan-seasonal gift that keeps on giving so failing Krusty, it’s worth looking once again to Gucci (and Prada, and Angelina Jolie in By the Sea) with these gold-rimmed, oversized, budget Specsavers men’s glasses which are so weird they’re cool. Don’t bother getting lenses fitted because the novelty will wear off pretty quickly. Finally, failing all that, this Zippo lighter designed by Christopher Shannon is Pantone 2016 pink and windproof and, at £40, a great gift for a guy, regardless of whether they smoke because someone will always need a light. Morwenna Ferrier

Anything with a pom pom on it


Pom-pom beanie hat,
topshop.com, £14.

Look silly, are silly, which is why they’re good. Pom-poms are a thing this year – and work sort of like that face emoji in an otherwise boring text, a device to lighten the mood. Fashion people love an accessory that shows they’re fun, even if they’re wearing layers of serious black clothes (see novelty phone cases). While a pom-pom on your beanie performs this function and keeps you warm, this pom-pom is entirely useless, and is therefore genius. Don’t worry about the logic, embrace the fluff instead. Your fashionable friend will thank you. Lauren Cochrane

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