FASHION Magazine

See all the Christmas gifts
for best friends »

Buying a Christmas gift for your best friend should come as one easy task. You know your best friend inside and out, and chances are that you have similar tastes and shopping habits. But for those out there that don’t have a clue where to start, we have many ideas for Christmas gifts for best friends (and sisters and girlfriends too!) included here in our 2012 gift guide.

Christmas is a season of giving, and why not choose a Christmas gift idea for your best friend who you’ll likely be spending some of the holidays with? The affordable gift ideas for best friends featured here are all under $100, so even if the Christmas season is draining your wallet there are still cute, but cheap options out there for your best friend.

See Christmas hostess gift ideas »

Christmas is often the most stressful time of the year for many people. Even more so for those who decide to host the cocktail parties, the dinners, and the new years bashes (hats off to them). Because it’s a party faux pas to show up empty handed—especially when someone has spent hours preparing—we’ve thought of creative Christmas hostess gift ideas for those who bare the grunt of the work.

The bonus of shopping for a friend or family member who is constantly having people over, is that a gift that works as a thank you for planning a holiday party is also useful to their everyday life. Give them gifts that will help them relax after the fete dies down like a red wine and chocolate set or a scented candle that will make the rest of post-party worries melt away. From Cooking with Siracha to the now-classic Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty coffee table book, these items will look beautiful in a new apartment or well lived in home.

See all the Christmas gifts
for kids »

Christmas is the time when the younger ones in our lives declare what they want to see under the tree. And if you’re sick of hearing “puppy!” year after year it’s time to take back the reigns from Santa and plan creative gift ideas for kids all by yourself. While our selection of holiday gift ideas represents a wide range of ages from tiny toddlers to teenagers, they are all products that will make them look forward to your gifts for years to come.

If you want to head down the clothing route for girls, step away from the cutesy pink dresses and choose a studded and totally trendy Topshop headband—which is sure to make the other girls in class envious. And leave it to Marc Jacobs to create a high fashion version of the swappable and coveted Silly Bandz that all spell out his name—a fun and new take of the popular rubber accessory. And when you’re young, the $16 price tag means nothing, but the designer name says it all.

Check out all the images from the Gap holiday 2012 campaign »

It isn’t a true holiday season until you’re bundled in cozy knit mittens, toques and layered sweaters. Or at least, that’s what the latest Gap holiday campaign 2012 proves to us. In keeping with the tradition of having A+ holiday ads (remember the year of Love Train?) the American company has taken portraits of celebrities in colourful knitted goods.

The campaign is titled “Love Comes in Every Shade” and aims to show a-typical relationships and the many forms of love ranging from puppy love, best friend love and even regular ole romantic love. From rapper Nas in a puffy vest with his dad showing off fatherly love to Rufus Wainwright in khakis alongside his husband Jörn Weisbrodt being the example of wedded bliss.

See the article photos »

It’s a sweltering summer day, but in a cavernous (and thankfully, cool) Montreal loft studio a model is glammed up like a hostess at a holiday fete. The shoot is for a capsule collection that brings together 365-store-strong Canadian retailer Reitmans and two-year-old fashion label Martin Lim, designed by Montreal-based husband and wife team Pao Lim and Danielle Martin, who won last year’s Mercedes-Benz Start Up competition. But these designers aren’t exactly new kids on the block. After both completing a master of arts in fashion at London’s prestigious Central Saint Martins, Martin and Lim honed their design skills in Paris: she worked at Christian Lacroix; both put in time at Roland Mouret. In 2004, they returned to Canada, and launched their own line in 2010.

Finally, some Rodarte we can all afford! If you missed their collaboration with Target (which, chances are you did because it was only available in the states), you’ll be pleased to know the Mulleavy sisters have teamed up with Starbucks to create a holiday collection of accessories. Coffee accessories, that is.