Make it easy on yourself
Old women I know are saying that they rather approve of global warming if it means all this lovely warm weather. I say it’s a jolly nuisance for those of us trying to get into the Christmas spirit. How can one think about buying knitwear when there are still wasps around (I saw one on the tennis court last week)? The answer is to shop online — there are no seasons to worry about in cyberspace. I recommend the following outlets for original Christmas gifts — all have excellent websites.
For quirky but good quality clothing, Old Town manufactures jackets, shirts and trousers to order (not to measure) using only British tweeds, linens and cottons. Fifty garments are made per week at their workshop in Holt, Norfolk, but you can match a style with a fabric on the website. The look is postwar labourer meets Laura Ashley, but for men and women: ‘We move forward by looking out of the rear window to see where we’ve been,’ they say.
Socks needn’t be a boring present if given in volume — it is a little-known luxury to be able to throw away a year’s worth of odd socks and start afresh. Visit Wood’s of Shropshire for choice, or Robert Old for luxury. Underwear is even more exciting, and for women can be individually tailored by Rigby & Peller. The family firm of corsetières now offers ready-to-wear ranges, but it’s the bespoke lingerie service that has earned them a royal warrant since 1960, enabling them to boast having had both the Queen and Queen Mother in their cups. For nightwear, visit Pink Camellia, a small firm offering luxurious yet reasonably priced garments from various designers; if overwhelmed by choice, cashmere hot-water bottle covers are clearly a no-brainer.
Leather goods from Pickett make practical yet attractive presents, and with such an extensive range on offer — from gloves and photo frames to jewellery boxes and backgammon sets — their website can make a good one-stop shop. If time is short, limiting yourself to one or two sites reduces the pressure. Retrouvius could be one, a London firm selling a fascinating and constantly changing stock of vintage household items, ‘determined by the serendipity of salvage (what buildings are being demolished)’. They have taken the brilliant step of putting their entire stock online, so you can browse through rooms of lamps, clocks, mirrors, chairs, columns and mouldings. The gift of time sadly can’t be added to your basket, but a watch from Rapport of London could make a good substitute. They have been making ‘horological products for the connoisseur’ since 1898, which as well as watches and clocks includes magnificent cases and boxes for at home and for travelling.
But the safest present will always be a book, especially if attractively bound. Persephone is a small shop in Bloomsbury that reprints forgotten classics by 20th-century writers, including novels, short stories, diaries and cookery books. With so many interesting titles, choosing one can be a problem, so it’s fortunate they have displayed all the beautiful cover designs online. If only at Christmas, choosing a book by its cover is allowed.
Matthew Bell
www.old-town.co.uk www.rigbyandpeller.com www.rapport-london.com www.retrouvius.com www.woodsofshropshire.co.uk www.old.co.uk www.pinkcamellia.com www.pickett.co.uk www.persephonebooks.co.uk
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