holiday gift guide: independent designers
things we mostly just want for ourselves.
by Hannah Robbins Hopkins + Sarah Caroline
Favorite place to gift shop: Midland in Los Angeles
See our joint Pinterest board for visual aids <3
An Outfit...
Flair: This Girls Gone Mild pin is the cutest stocking stuffer material we've seen in a while!
Neck Scarf: Give us any good thrifty bandanas, silk scarves, or other random ribbons you can find... but if you feel like splurging, the colors and soft texture of these Ozma silk ones are to die for.
Necklace: Perennial favorite for all of our Athens, Georgia girl crushes, Laurel Hill’s pieces are gorgeous, sustainably-crafted works of art. As notoriously inept accessorizers, we love this understated and elegant bronze Rising Crescent necklace.
Tops: Nashville-based Jamie and the Jones creates beautiful pieces crafted to stand the test of time. The Blank Canvas Top comes in so many gorgeous colors and is the perfect wardrobe staple. From breakfast meetings before work to a night out with your besties, the Blank Canvas Top does it all.
For a slightly more affordable but no less great alternative this "Girls Doing Whatever The Fuck They Want Since 2017" tee from The Wing will do the trick.
Sweater: Okay so this LITERAL PERFECT creamy colored dolman sweater by esby is on sale but only left in a Medium... so in case that doesn't work for ya, check out Doen's collection + the collab they did with Reformation. Dreamy California dressmaker Christy Dawn is also branching out into sweaters this season... AND Patagonia may be a bigger name but did you know they do really great stuff for the environment and their workers?! #SustainableAndSexy
Pants: After these clay-colored esby Val Twill Pants sold out at Midland (my dreamy place of work), I regretted holding out too long on them and scoured the internet to see if I could find any remaining pairs to put on my Christmas list. I found this adorable boutique called The Sunroom and they still have a number of pairs there on sale! It's worth the lofty price if you can swing it, my Grandma bought them for me as an early Christmas gift and I've been wearing them almost every day.
Shoes: Mohinders is a brand with an amazing mission as well as top-notch quality, you can learn all about the artisans who hand-make their shoes from water buffalo hide on their site. Fair warning: it takes a few weeks to break these babies in. But during that time, they mold perfectly to your feet – totally worth it in the long run.
Jumpsuits: Or, if you want to skip all the moving pieces of a "normal" outfit, how about just gifting a killer jumper? I have too many favorites this season to just pick one so here's:
1. A denim Ilana Kohn gem which I have in black but would LOVE in that sunflower-y brass color (size down for a more tailored fit),
2. Dreamy ruffle chambray situation from Ei8ht Dreams,
3. Ivory Dusen Dusen overalls I'd probably wear every single day,
4. Corduroy overalls because DUH, and
5. The jumpsuit version of a wear-everywhere, classy-ass LBD... because I haven't completely kicked my Madewell habit yet, even though they're not a small independent designer.
Favorite place to gift shop: Highland Row Antiques in Atlanta
A Book...
We firmly believe in buying from independent bookstores when and wherever possible, but just as a fun and easy guide, we're just gonna leave Sarah's Amazon wishlist here for your reference ;)
Our top book picks this year are:
1. Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng is Hannah's top pick - and Avid Bookshop in Athens, GA is her top indie bookstore pick! Pls only buy her things from them because they are basically her best bookshop friends.
2. Call Me By Your Name by André Aciman because Sarah saw the movie and it thoroughly wrecked her in the best way.
3. Wild Seed by Octavia Butler, as recommended by one of our favorite podcasts, The Call with Erica Williams Simon (listen on iTunes or Soundcloud!).
4. Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert, as recommended by Sarah's creatively magical coworker Natalie Cañizares.
5. Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo because Sarah is in desperate need of a good new fantasy series.
6. Legendary Ladies and Bad Girls Throughout History both by Ann Shen, who is our favorite illustrator / adorably geeky gal to follow on Instagram!
Favorite place to gift shop: Ali Golden in Temescal Alleys, Oakland