How Plum Sykes Gifts (original) (raw)

“Don’t try to be original. Be classic. Give people things that are tried and tested.”

Photo-Illustration: Photo-Illustration: The Strategist

We asked 20 notable people about their gifting philosophies, gifting nightmares, the best gifts under $25, and much more. We’ll be publishing each of their questionnaires now through December 23 in this new series, “How I Gift.” Today, fashion journalist and writer Plum Sykes on bath oil, crocheted tea cozies, and the power of perishable gifts.

What is your gift-giving philosophy?

Don’t try to be original. Be classic. Give people things that are tried and tested. I know what I think is good, and I’ve given it to enough people who can have anything they want and they still go absolutely nuts for it. That’s one of my tests as well: What can you give a really rich person that they’ll still be excited to receive?

I say, if in any doubt at all, give perishably: a wheel of Stilton, a bottle of Ruinart (the best blanc de blancs out there, in my view), or, if you are really struggling, stick with that old faithful, the Diptyque Figuier candle. No one ever threw one of those away. In the ’90s, you could only get Diptyque in Paris. So we would go for the shows, we would make a pilgrimage to the shop in the Marais, which felt like the middle of nowhere at that time. But it was a real treat to get one of these candles. Their scents are very natural and pure.

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You have to give the same present to everyone for the rest of your life. What is it?

Olverum bath oil. It smells like the Austrian pine forests. When I first smelt it, I couldn’t believe it. It was given to me by some friends, who had been given it by a friend. I then give it to my friends. It’s become a bit of a cult. It’s always a hit, always.

It originally arrived in the U.K. when Mrs. Edward VII was spending all this time in France, where she learned about it, and, actually, the royal family still buys it from Fortnum & Mason. The company was bought from either the German or the Swiss, whoever it was, in the ’40s or ’50s by a British company. Every ingredient is still natural. You put one drop of this in your bath and the whole room smells like you’re in the alpine forest. It was the après-ski bath oil for the super jet set in the ’60s, ’70s, and onwards. You’ve got to order this for your wife; she’s going to feel so posh.

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What was the most heartfelt, smart, so-you present you’ve ever received? Tell us the story.

My daughter Tess has gone mad for crocheting; it’s a big thing at her school, crocheting. They’re all crocheting all the time. And I said, “Oh, can you crochet me a tea cozy?” Because she was making all these useless items like ladybirds and weird hats and things like that. And I was like, “I want a tea hat.” So, she crocheted a little brown tea cosy for my tea pot. I drink tea every day, and I hate when it goes a bit cold in the pot. The tea cosy was tailored to fit the little pot exactly, and I could not believe my daughter could design and execute this three-dimensional object herself. She is clearly the next JW Anderson.

Is a gift card ever a good gift? Discuss.

No, because they are a lot of hassle to execute and just sit on the mantelpiece all year.

Advent calendars: great or dumb? Defend your position.

GREAT. They put you in the Christmassy mood every day for a month. I love the ones that look like a beautiful skating scene from Victorian times or anything very evocative of a traditional Christmas. Actually, quite a lot of those scenes are American scenes because you guys do that really well.

Would you ever just give cash? When? How much?

Yes, to all teen nephews and nieces — between £10 to £100 depending on age.

What’s the best gift under $25?

A bar of beautiful “oud” soap from Buly Paris. Chris Black gave me a bar, and I’ve never recovered from the excitement of getting it. It smells so incredible. You open the top of the box and it’s all kind of embossed and beautiful and literally the smell that comes out of it. It’s such a good recipe that it scents the whole room. We’re just talking about opening the box. So for the first few months that I had this bar of soap, I just kept it in my office and every day I went and just opened the top. Then finally, I thought, I’ll actually use it. And it scents your whole body with oud. It actually works.

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Who is the best gift giver you’ve ever encountered — and why?

My friend Jemma Mornington always gives me things I’ve never seen or heard of before that at first seem really odd, but I then rebuy them forever. Like, she gave me a bag of Celtic Sea Salt a year ago, and I never use anything else now. It’s unrefined salt from the beaches of Normandy, and it has not been dyed white so it’s a slightly gray color. You open it and you’re like, Oh, it looks a bit odd. But it’s because it’s natural. The grains are really big, and all different sizes, so when you sprinkle it on your food and bite into it, you really taste that zing of salt.

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What was your absolute worst gifting experience (giving or getting)?

It was awful when my parents got me a bicycle for Christmas when I wanted a frilly, chintzy dressing table. I did like having a bicycle, but I remember, as a child, mostly being a bit disappointed by the presents from my parents. That sounds terrible. I had one godmother who lived in London, and she would always send me the trendiest presents that I’d ever seen. I loved them. It would always be something like a pair of glittery fingerless gloves. I didn’t have access to that kind of thing in the countryside. So it seemed the most glamorous, the most exciting. It’s hard to buy for teenagers, and it’s quite nice to be on the receiving end of someone who has made an effort to think about a teenager and what they might want.

What is your dream gift? Is there any chance you actually get it?

A really good baguette diamond necklace where the baguettes go all the way round to the back of the neck. ZERO chance, literally. I saw someone wearing one at a party, I’m not going to say who, but I was like, Oh my God, that’s so chic. It was like the kind of thing you’d imagine someone like Nan Kempner would have put over a black polo neck. Most people might have a few baguettes across the front, but to have it all the way around to the back. I mean, absolutely stunning. Quite a ’60s look, actually.

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Is it ever okay to regift?

Yes, but not if your name is all over the regift. My darling sister Lucy Sykes often regifts to me. So I have presents from her like a coffee-table book about Ralph Lauren and in the front it says, “Dear Lucy, all my love, Ralph.” I’ve come to expect it of her, as have all my siblings, and we love our Lucy regifts because they are actually really nice things.

What’s the best gift wrap?

I veer more towards something that’s understated but festive. Chocolate-brown tartan paper with red satin ribbon tied in a generous bow with long ends. I like tartan because it is quite Christmasy without having “Merry Christmas” or holly berries printed all over it, which is so tacky. Tartan reminds you of Balmoral and Scotland and all that kind of stuff.

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