Find out what Nina Garcia, Atoosa Rubenstein, Ophira Edut, Rebecca Minkoff, Jaye Hersh and Andrea Nelson are giving and getting this year.

 

We often wonder what our favorite stylemakers, who just happen to be fashion and media mavens, want to give and get for the holidays. So, this year, we asked them. Find out what Nina Garcia, Atoosa Rubenstein, Ophira Edut, Rebecca Minkoff, Jaye Hersh and Andrea Nelson are giving and getting this year, and get insider tips for giving fabulous gifts, too.

STYLEMAKER: Nina Garcia

STYLE PROFILE: Elle Fashion Director, Project Runway judge, The Little Black Book of Style author

WHY WE LOVE HER: She tells it like it is and looks endlessly chic while doing so. What’s not to love?

What do you want for Christmas?
Peace of mind and spirit.

What are you giving for Christmas?
It depends on the person. When shopping for my girlfriends, I like to give gifts that I would want to receive for myself but never end up buying. Things like engraved stationery, silk pajama sets, evening clutches and Prada satin makeup bags, which come in a variety of colors and can also be worn as an evening clutch.

What’s the best gift you’ve ever received?
My son.

The best gift you’ve ever given?
The best gift I have ever given was to my husband. I took him to Formula One School , where he trained with professional NASCAR drivers for two days. He was so happy!

What can you not live without?
High Heels
Black Motorcycle Jacket
Moisturizer
Blackberry

STYLEMAKER: Atoosa Rubenstein

STYLE PROFILE: Former Editor-in-Chief of Seventeen magazine, founder and former EIC of CosmoGirl!; recently launched Fashionista, a new edition to her recently unveiled online web venture on YouTube called “Alpha Kitty.” Check them out here.

WHY WE LOVE HER: At age 26 she founded and served as the editor-in-chief of CosmoGIRL!, making her the youngest editor in Hearst Magazine’s 100-year history. She’s real, honest, optimistic and totally pro-girl, believing that you can be super smart and love fashion, too. Besides, who else would launch a video series called Alpha Kitty dishing on how she cured her skin problems by eating salmon?

What’s on your holiday wishlist?
Peace.

What’s the best gift you’ve ever received?
My cat, Thurston.

What’s the best gift you’ve ever given?
A Mercedes for my mom.

What gift are you excited to give this holiday season?
Various gifts from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. We are all so fortunate — I thought that we could all show our appreciation by giving each other gifts that are benefiting other people. For example, for one friend I made a donation that pays a teacher for three months and brings education to refugee children. To another, I made a donation that will buy an all-season tent to shelter a refugee family of five. I’m so lucky that my family was able to immigrate to the United States. We’ve been given the gifts of opportunity and now it’s our responsibility to give back. Most of my gifts this season will be in honor of that.

What makes a gift special to you?
When it seems like the person put thought into it and not just sent Manhattan Fruitier.

What five items can you not live without?
Well…not to be a loser, but the only things I really can’t live without are water and food! I don’t mean to be a stick in the mud, but it’s important that we remember that today because there are too many people who don’t have even that. But if you meant what are some of my beauty/style must-haves, here are my top five:

Neutrogena Deep Clean Cleanser
Diptique Candle in Black Baies
Estee Lauder Minute Blush
MAC Teddy Eyeliner
Loreal Voluminous Mascara

STYLEMAKER: Rebecca Minkoff

STYLE PROFILE: Designer of eponymous handbag line Rebecca Minkoff

WHY WE LOVE HER: She’s all about hip luxury and clever details, giving us the famous Morning After Bag, instead of just another logo-laden leather bag.

What’s on your holiday wishlist?
A new apartment with more closet space.

What’s the best gift you’ve ever received?
A David Yurman ring.

What’s the best gift you’ve ever given?
A guitar from 1950 for my BF that I got eight people to go in on without him knowing.

What gift are you excited to give this holiday season?
Music and bags, of course.

What makes a gift special to you?
When it is personalized.

What five items can you not live without?
A great handbag
A great clutch
A great heel
A great boot
A great dress

STYLEMAKER: Ophira Edut

STYLE PROFILE: One half of the AstroTwins, author of AstroStyle: Star-studded Advice for Love, Life & Looking Good, astrologer to the stars and founder of astrostyle.com

WHY WE LOVE HER: With over 15 years experience in astrology, publishing and life coaching, Ophira and her twin sister’s columns and predictions have appeared in such media as Brides.com, Teen People, Oxygen.com, Us Weekly, and AOL. The AstroTwins have read charts for celebs like Beyonce, Stevie Wonder and Sting. As the co-creators of AstroStyle, they help clients and readers “de-sign” amazing lives with their unique, applied method of astrology and life coaching. Hang out with them on Sirius Radio or at astrostyle.com.

< br />What’s on your holiday wishlist?
A handmade “l’il birds” ring and pendant from my friend’s jewelry line, Tsan Atelier. Something Parisian, pretty and vintage-inspired for my apartment. New sheets. Other than that, I’m all gifted out — I just got married in October, so I’m ready to give instead of receive!

What’s the best gift you’ve ever received?
My own astrology chart, from my college boyfriend back in 1992. It spawned my entire obsession with the stars.

What’s the best gift you’ve ever given?
A night of cheesy, prom-inspired fun. I surprised a friend by picking him up in a Corvette limousine, riding over the Brooklyn Bridge to a concert, then taking him out for a ridiculously indulgent dinner. Man, I miss that dot-com paycheck.

What gift are you excited to give this holiday season?
Custom astrology charts from my shop at Astrostyle.com. They’re bound with high-end letterpress covers, and they’ll give my friends great insights about their lives and next moves. It’s definitely a gift that keeps on giving — I still flip through mine 15 years later. I’m also selling thongs with zodiac signs on them, so I’ll give those to my racier Gemini and Aries friends.

What makes a gift special to you?
When it creates a feeling of connection or intimacy between me and the person who gave it. I love when a gift reminds me of the giver — when a person shares one of her passions, or something s/he loves, like music.

What five items can you not live without?
Besides family and pets…
Sunlight
Sexy, funky shirts that don’t squeeze my Sagittarius love handles
Vegan cake (I’m not vegan, but the stuff is good!)
Specialty shops of any kind
Delphi, the Palm astrology software that lets me cast charts on my Treo

From your unique astro-expert point-of-view, what’s your best gift-giving tip? Do different signs prefer different gifts?

I think when you truly give something you love, it’s hard for the receiver not to love it, too. That said, every sign DEFINITELY has different tastes in gifts. Learn about their sign and personality, and take the time to find something suited for them. That extra effort leaves a lasting mark.

Check out AstroStyle’s gift guide here!

Photo by Tracy Toler, Maia Studio

STYLEMAKER: Jaye Hersh

STYLE PROFILE: Founder of one of Hollywood’s hottest boutiques, Intuition and shopintuition.com. Celebrity clients from Lindsay Lohan to Jessica Simpson know that before a trend hits the street, you can find it first at Intuition. Regularly featured as the “Celebrity Shopper” on numerous television shows including Entertainment Tonight, Extra, Good Day Live and the Style Channel.

WHY WE LOVE HER: Seemingly all of young Hollywood shop at Intuition, yet Jaye Hersh remains down to earth and is giving back as well (see her market bags). We also love that Jaye founded Intuition in 1999 as a way to pay for tuition for her two children.

What’s on your holiday wishlist?
To get all my gifts delivered on time. By the time I am done shopping and wrapping gifts for all my Hollywood A-listers, all I want is to make sure everyone is happy and healthy.

What’s the best gift you’ve ever received?
A keepsake, a family heirloom
A vintage Chanel bag
A donation to my favorite charity

What’s the best gift you’ve ever given?
The most memorable: blankets for relocated Katrina victims.
The most decadent: a limited edition LV bag for my sister.

What gift are you excited to give this holiday season?
Gifts that give back or make a difference like my Market Bags that help benefit the IRC and help educated children in underprivileged countries.
The Envirosax bags that are perfect to keep in your purse and use for grocery shopping instead of plastic bags.
Birthday Bar necklaces.

What makes a gift special to you?
A personalized gift.
A collectable item.
A limited-edition anything.

What five items can you not live without?
Minnie Rose tissue cashmere long sweater/duster( I wrap myself in it on airplanes)
My iT perfume
Charmeuse pillow case (protects your hair and helps you wake up wrinkle-free)
Wendy Nichol pyramid studs
Claus Porto soaps

As a stylemaker, what’s your best gift-giving tip?
I always try and recommend something that the recipients would not buy for themselves — something that shows some thought was taken. A book on shoes for a shoe fanatic, a start of an enamel bracelet collection.

What gifts are most popular with celebrities this year at Intuition?
Cashmere Slippers
Kenneth Jay Lane animal cuffs
Jules Smith Kiss Me Necklace
Love Quotes scarves
Botkier Sasha duffle bag

Aside from the fabulous shopintuition.com, do you have any other favorite online shops for finding great gifts?
I love qvc.com — they have the best gadgets and beauty kits.
Greensender.com — really cool eco-friendly gifts.

Photo by Jay Goldman

STYLEMAKER: Andrea Nelson

STYLE PROFILE: New York-based illustrator, designer and artist of andrea
nelsonstudio.com,
whose work has been featured in a diverse range of projects from distinctive corporate identity systems to book covers and theater posters. Andrea also works in precious metals, studying jewelry making and enameling.

WHY WE LOVE HER: She prettified kellygolightly with her signature highly texturized and saturated graphic designs and illustrations (she works in a range of mediums including cut paper, clay, acrylic and photography, ultimately combining these elements in digital collage) and she’s poised to make huge waves in the design industry with her unique style.

What’s on your holiday wishlist?
One pair of perfectly sleek knee-high black boots (no extra details!) with a kitten heel. Oh, and they have to fit exactly right through the calf. Why can’t I find them? In all Manhattan!!!???

What’s the best gift you’ve ever received?
My engagement ring. Unbeknownst to me, he picked it out completely by himself and totally surprised me.

What’s the best gift you’ve ever given?
Photo albums and collages I’ve made for loved ones and family. Kate’s Paperie in New York City or Paper Source in San Francisco are two of my fave places to find materials to work with.

What gift are you excited to give this holiday season?
Until Santa arrives that’s top secret!

What makes a gift special to you?
I most love gifts that involve activities. For our anniversary this year, my fiance had us get all dressed up and then surprised me with tickets to the opera. It made for a truly memorable way to mark the occasion!

What five items can you not live without?
My beloved Wacom tablet
At least one beautiful hardbound sketchbook (did I mention Kate’s?)
My dog-eared copy of The Grammar of Ornament
Terax Crema conditioner
Prescriptives Custom Blend Foundation (after years of searching for just the right match I finally surrendered to the lovely ladies at the Bloomingdales counter and I couldn’t be happier!)

As a graphic designer and illustrator, where presentation and first impressions are everything, do you have any gift-wrapping tips or special gift-giving tips you can share?
For wrapping, learn some basic origami techniques! It has made a HUGE impression on anyone I’ve ever wrapped something for. I also keep a few designated drawers in my studio to stash potential gift-wrapping materials so I always have things on hand to work with. I keep a range of colored and metallic tissue papers as well as various ribbons, small trinkets, pretty stamps and inks, and a selection of cards.

What’s your favorite hostess gift to give and to receive?
Wine. Drinkable now and not something I have to put away but something everyone can taste then and there. I’m old school. I love to bring Champagne (or sparkling wine). Also you can never go wrong with chocolates (hint: MarieBelle in Soho has a fantastic selection, as beautiful as they are delicious).

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