Gift It: Totes.

I don't often consider the usefulness of totes. I was inclined to think they were the hipster's territory, but I can no longer ignore their mass appeal. A good tote can serve as your primary bag (fits books, magazines, and notebooks perfectly), or can be folded up into your regular bag to keep on hand for grocery shopping or stuff collecting (I don't know...whatever). That's handy, no? Especially if you live in New York and you decide to go grocery shopping after you've already gone clothes shopping and there are so many things to carry that you wish you had another cotton/canvas bag with a cute print on it. Totes totally solve that. Also, they are ch-ch-cheap. Most are $15 or so, or you can stalk your favorite haunts and see if they ever give out a lil satchel with their logo on it, which has happened to me more than once. If you'd rather purchase than stalk, here are some bags from online boutique Little Paper Planes or your consideration:

Robots, spatulas, bikes, antler girls? There's something here for everyone! Click any of the images for more information.

Gift It: Wow! Bam! Makeup!

Every girl is a superhero. Every superhero needs a little gloss. This DC Comics makeup pouchFred Flare says Happy Wow! Bam! Pow! Holidays like no cosmetics bag I've ever seen. That means you should grab one for your favorite supergirls and yourself. Seriously.

It's like pop Lichtenstein for your lipstick, isn't it?

Gift It: Buttons.

Buttons make everything better. Pinning something great to a great thing can only make the great thing great squared, right? Basic intermediate math laws don't lie. I have a couple of cute buttons that I make good use of. I pin them to my coats or I hook them onto a necklace, or I bobbypin them into my hair and I swear they always make things better. Therefore, I think they are the ideal gift to give; it's as if you are giving better to someone. Plus, besides for being useful as all heck they are not permanent. Sick of a buton? Just open the latch and set it free from your garment. A great place to find buttons is Etsy. There they are made by crafty mofos who love to make things and deserve to make a living as well. One of my favorite button makers? Caitlin Kuhwald. She's a talented illustrator who makes her big, beautiful works into bitesize buttons for you to not eat. Don't eat them...wear them.

The Queen big, The Queen lil.



Various creatures, cute as buttons.

Ira Glass big size, Ira Glass bitesize. You know you have someone in your life who lurves Ira.

Individual buttons will run you $1.50, pairs will cost you $3.00, and variety packs will be $5.00. Perfect stocking stuffers, right? While you are perusing the buttons from Ms. Kuhwald, please check out her amazing illustrations and paintings. She's good. Real good. Here, I'll show you some:

So talented. You can purchase prints of her work for about $30 each. Check out her full shop here.

Gift It: Photo Booth.

My magnet board, showcasing some of my photo booth strips. I love them.

So, I'm a little obsessed with photo booths. I think they are 90% of the reason I ever go anywhere near the Jersey Shore, because they are there waiting for me and my friends on the boardwalk. I'm such a fan of piling into a tiny booth and the ensuing shock and awe scramble of the flash bulb, and then the pregnant pause of waiting for them to appear in the side tray. I even love the grabby-hands, giggle-filled passing of the strip after they come out. Photos from the booth are usually records of pure joy, fun, love, and faces you shouldn't make in polite society. It's all too good. If you also have a photo booth fan in your family or group of friends, I have the perfect (inexpensive!) gift for them:

It's a book entitled...wait for it...Photobooth by Babbette Hines (Princeton Architectural Press for $19.95.), and it's a visual collection of the most wonderful booth snaps from now and then. The book includes over 700 photos from the last 75 years and gives you just a few points of history about the booth. I'll summarize: It was invented by a Siberian immigrant named Anotol Josepho in 1925 as a way for people to take quick, anonymous photos. The booths boomed in America and Europe due largely to family and loved ones exchanging instant photos with soldiers stationed abroad during World War II. Now they are more of a Brooklyn bar novelty but, recently I've been to a few weddings where they are the new purveyor of takeaway memories. Whatever happens with booths in the future, this book really let's you see the magic of their past. Here are some of the book's best shots as seen on Google Books Preview:

As historical records of dress, photo booth pictures are the pre-streetstyle blog, aren't they? It's random shots of people just the way they were, wearing things just the way they wore them. Or, showing off their uniforms and their Sunday best. I'm certain any photography or fashion aficionado would love this book, but if you think the mini-tome won't be enough to satisfy your favorite photo booth fan, you can always get them one of their own:

Seriously, click the pic for a link. It'll only cost you around $8,000. No biggie...

PS: 'Tis the season where Cheap Thrill posts turn into Gift It posts to help you with your Holiday shopping. Got any tips for great gifts under $20? Hit me up!

Gift It: Kiss Me. Now.

A friend's red pout caught my eye last night. She confirmed that a swipe of red lipstick and a simple coat of mascara are all of the things a makeup look should be: fun, glam, flattering, and gorgeous. She said her red was a shade that works on her and all of her friends, regardless of their coloring. A red for all? I like it.

Her scarlet weapon is Nars Lipstick in Manhunt and at $24 it is slightly over the Gift It limit, but you'll get that $4 back in smooch karma when Manhunt does its job and the kisses start coming. Get yourself some by clicking the image above.

Gift It: Pic in a Box.

Pinhole cameras are magical. They are so lo-fi that little kids routinely make them out of oatmeal canisters in third grade, yet they can take incredible photos worthy of gallery space. The basic idea behind them is simple. You prick a hole in a light-tight structure that has some film inside. Then you place the structure in a light-filled space and expose it to something you want a lasting image of. Then you safely wind up your film in a dark closet and drop it in a developer's box. In short order you go and pick up your pics and marvel at your product.

Now you could just make one out of an old Quaker Oats container, but there are actually some super-cool pinhole camera templates available on the Corbis website.

The downloadable templates get adhered to an opened, flattened cereal box and then cut and folded and reassembled according to the directions. I'm not saying this will be easy, but provided you have an empty cereal box and some film laying around, it has the potential to be free. Also, how friggin' cool do those look? If you get through the directions, I'm sure the right friend, family member, or even stranger would be superbly impressed and grateful. Plus, they could possibly create images like the ones below which were made using these pinhole cameras and come courtesy of the Corbis site:

You'll notice that the pinhole pics have quirks and fuzziness and odd coloring, but that is the biggest part of their charm. Just be sure to acquaint your gifted ones with the finished pinhole products so that they don't have unrealistic expectations. Happy snapping.

Gift It: Button Up!

Mark Pawson makes buttons, or badges as the kids say in London. I'm a big fan of badges. They are a transitory accessory that can be used to perk up your more permanent fashion statements, like your winter coat, your nicer leather bag, or your boots. Can you stick a pin through it? Then you can badge it. Pawson makes makes his buttons out of many things: old price tags, photos of homes, airmail envelopes.

My favorite group of buttons is a series that Pawson made out of his own favorite shirts. When his Westwood and Paul Smiths were worn too thin, he made mini-badges out of the fabrics and packaged them in sets of four. Pawson tells his shoppers the shirt stories on his site. Order a batch of badges and then click below to read their life story.

If you don't mind a pin prick in your items, you can stick it to your wardrobe as much as you want with Pawson's clever little badges. Scoop them up for friends and family or yourself. They are coming from London so a package will run you about $8.

Pawson makes all kinds of art. Earlier this year he showed a sampling at the kooky cool Tatty Devine store. I quite enjoyed this virtual float through the store's preview of Mark's work.

Cliches abound (art gallery babies, asymmetrical hair cuts, handlebar mustaches) but it looks like fun.

All images from Pawson's web page.

Gift It: Look, You're On The TV!

My straight-from-the-heart (not the pocketbook) gift giving strategy this year is to frame photos for my nearest and dearest. It's cheap to print digital snaps, and frames are always fun.

This $18 TV frame I just found on UrbanOutfitters.com has the added benefit of making your family and friends feel famous. Print out a picture of your choosing and place it in the frame, and you'll be putting them on the small screen in a big way. Just make sure they look good for their telly debut. No one likes a bad picture of themselves. Oh, and don't frame self portraits. That's just tacky. Unless you paid someone to make you look super-sexy (yet tasteful) for your long term other half. Then it's hot.

Click the photos for ordering information. Images are from UrbanOutfitters.com.

Gift It: This Is So Money!

This cheeky mannequin-wig-head decorated item is the Broadway Wallet from db clay. I saw it just yesterday at a swanky shop in NYC and drooled over it, but had to leave it where I found it when I saw the $64 price tag. Lo and behold, a simple search for other sellers and possibly a sweeter deal turned up a local Craigslist ad for a guy in Union City, New Jersey selling one for $20 or two for $30. Apparently he just doesn't like the design. His questionable taste qualifies this former splurge as a total Cheap Thrill/Gift It. Scoop it up fast before I beat you to it!