Holiday gift wrap-up: what do the friends and lovers on your list really want this year? The advocate knows. Here’s a rundown of goodies to help you get you shopping done before you hit the mall
Good scents
With this festive fragrances in the air, can almost smell the holidays coming
YSL M7
The first men’s scent from Tom Ford, its agarwood Base is bold and dark, the Perfect complement to his elegantly hedonistic YSL menswear line. Not for the faint. $54
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Crave from Calvin Klein and Truth Calvin Klein Men
Two new Calvin Klein fragrances will help wean your favorite man off this CK1 dependency. Crave is young, clean, and active, while Truth is less techno and more earthly, mingling basil, cardamon, white patchouli, and red cedar. Crave, $30. Truth, $35.
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Armani Mania
A spicy blend of citrus, cedar, and musk. It’s unobtrusive and sleek for men who want to put away the Old Spice, put on dark Italian clothes, and make a more subtle impression. $42.
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Kenneth Cole New York Women and New York Men
Kenneth Cole’s New York line of fragrances smells nothing like New York, but the packaging is coolly industrial, all wire mesh and round like a street hole cover. Inside the bottle is a different story. The women’s scent is a warm and seductive blend of mandarin, currant, cinnamon, jasmine, and rose petals. The men’s is sharp and clean, incorporating sea mist, lemon, pepper, and the tiniest touch of patchouli. Women, $38. Men, $40.
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Ten by Intense
Start with a clean masculine scent. Add pheromones, the chemical messengers that transmit your desire and turn him on in return. What do you get? An irresistible fragrance especially for gay men–and all the dates you can handle. From 10% Productions. $38.50.–Dave White
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Sound check
Music is the heart of holiday cheer. This year you can give historic collections and new selections
[A] Heart & Soul Dusty Springfield
A wealth of rare material from the soulful Brit’s vaults. This gift will mean even more to gay and lesbian fans now that we know the truth about Springfield’s sexual identity. (Varese Sarabande)
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[B] What a Wonderful World Tony Bennett and k.d lang
The kindred icons finally assemble a joint album of standards. This is musicianship at its finest, perfect for new friends and auld acquaintances. (Columbia)
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[C] Live: The Loom’s Desire Laura Nyro
Bisexual herself, the vastly gifted singer-songwriter boasts a lesbian cult following, but her music’s for everybody with a heart. This set distills Nyro’s three-decade songwriting career to two intimate concerts. (Rounder)
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The Velvet Underground and Nico deluxe edition The Velvet Underground
Bring back the days of Andy Warhol with this deluxe reissue of the Factory’s house band, featuring stereo and mono mixes–and a peel-off Warhol banana decal. Yes, we all remember Warhol’s prediction about fame. But the Velvet Underground has held our attention for a lot more than 15 minutes. (Polydor/Universal)
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[D] Live@Roxy Peter Rauhofer
Would your honey rather dance around the Christmas tree than sit still and open presents? Give him this double-CD taste of the openly gay star producer’s DJ’ing gigs. (Star 69)
() Sigur Ros
Anybody with an imagination will enjoy chapter 3 in the gay-fronted quartet’s ether-rock saga. (MCA)
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Being Out Rocks
Various artists
For a gift that perfectly combines great music with a higher consciousness, try Human Rights Campaign’s benefit compilation, which showcases 21 queer favorites and hetero allies. (Centaur)–Rob Chin
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Tomorrow land
The future is now with this groovy gadgets, perfect for Communicating, locating, cleaning, and sculpting
You can’t get any more couture than this year’s [A] Motorola, darling, the V70 ($550). It features a rotating–not flip–cover that will wow your friends. And in this case, size doesn’t matter–this petite number has room enough for 1,000 numbers, Internet access, and 32 custom ring tones.
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Bring your man to full phone functionality with this totally colorful, absolutely essential [B] Sony Ericsson T681 ($600). It’s compatible with the Global System for Mobile Communications (you know, that cool European phone system that’s finally getting to the U.S.) for those ready to try out the newest in phone service options, and it’s got calendars, messaging, games, and even little phone-sized wallpaper backgrounds to spice up your cellular lifestyle.
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Even keys need personal attention nowadays. That’s why Sharper Image came up with the aptly named [D] Now You Can Find It ($50), a beeper for personal effects. Attach a key chain to losable objects like house keys and remote controls, and you’ll both be back to watching Gilmore Girls in no time.
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No matter how tech-savvy your love muffin is, you don’t have to put up with his filthy floors. Why do your own vacuuming when you can have the Roomba Floor Vacuum ($200) do it? Robots may take over the world in a few hundred years, but for right now they’re perfect for picking up cat hair.
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Are you in love with a frustrated artist? She’d love to get her hands on [C] Pocket Sculptures ($95) by out L.A. artist Andre Miripolsky. These playful statuettes of brushed stainless steel come precut and prepackaged. Let your honey pop the pieces out and put ’em together herself. At seven to nine inches tall, these gadgets d’art are just right for a desk or tabletop.–Vincent Lopez
Face time
Like sands through the hourglass-what better time to give the gift of promptness?
Nothing says “I love you” and “I’m tired of you always showing up late for our dates” like a nice watch. Let’s start with the Excursion Black Dial ($135) from Swiss Army Watches. The synthetic strap says relax, but the clean black face says the lucky recipient is a grown-up now.
If he or she is ready for something a little burlier, then you can’t go wrong with [B] Swiss Amy’s Officer Blue Dial ($295) in stainless steel. There are even military time displays to make your loved one feel like an officer.
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For something a little more gadgety, there’s always the perennial favorite: the [A] Baby-G ($79-$120). This fat, bubbly watch series has become the timepiece of choice for running, biking, rock climbing, or just pretending to do all of the above at the gym.
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The techno-geek in your life is sure to adore Casio’s Color Wrist Camera Watch ($330): It’s a handy wristwatch that just happens to take digital photos, with storage room for 100 pictures.
Those ready to go interstellar can step up to the high-priced, oh-so-sexy world of [C] Tag Heuer. The current star is the Alter Ego for women, in a range of colors and prices, depending on how diamondy you want to go.
And for a gift all but guaranteed to get you some action away from the mistletoe, there’s the men’s and women’s Elliptica series from Movado ($900-$1,200). These watches are sleek, shiny, and stylish enough to garner oohs and aahs all year long.–V.L.
Screen gems
Let your lover know you want to snuggle up on the sofa with the gift of great new DVDs
Who knew a hot video gift item would be old TV shows? Collections with a queer spin include The Simpsons: The Complete Second Season (Harvey Fierstein made a historic 1991 appearance), Malcolm in the Middle: Season One (featuring the work of out Emmy-winning director Todd Holland), and The Mary Tyler Moore Show: Season One (most Gen X gay boys wanted to grow up to be Rhoda), all from Fox.
Talk about donning your gay apparel–Elton John: Live in Barcelona (Rhino) features a two-hour concert with staging and costumes designed by Gianni Versace. Sir Elton also pops up on one of two Best of the Muppet Show DVDs (Columbia TriStar), along with Gene Kelly and others.
And speaking of Gene Kelly–while the great hoofer’s praises are sung by director Baz Luhrmann on the new Singin’ in the Rain DVD (Warner [see page 57]), Luhrmann’s films Moulin Rouge, Romeo + Juliet, and Strictly Ballroom are packaged together (with extras) as the Red Curtain Trilogy (Fox).
What could set your toes a-tappin’ more than Paramount’s new DVD Dance Pack? This boxed set features the long-awaited DVD debuts of Grease, Saturday Night Fever, Flashdance, Footloose, and Urban Cowboy.
Looking to give the gay festival laves you missed? There are queer DVDs covering everything from sexually confused New York women (Kissing Jessica Stein, Fox) to triumphant gay and trans-gendered Thai volleyballers (The Iron Ladies, Strand).
Thrill a pal who likes to kick it old-school with DVDs of such classic queer titles as The Children’s Hour, Paul Verhoeven’s Spatters, and Pier Paolo Pasolinis The Decameron (all MGM).
For a few laughs, give out Margaret Cho’s Notorious C.H.O. (Wellspring) or a new boxed set of hilarious Mystery Science Theater 3000 episodes (Rhino), featuring such venerable gay actors as Tommy Kirk (Catalina Caper) and Robert Reed (Bloodlust!).–Alonso Duralde
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Hot Stuff
Whether it’s romance or animal attraction, these gifts put the sizzle in the season
Love, be it high-minded or hot, is everybody’s favorite holiday theme. These gifts let you tell your honey exactly what’s on your mind.
It’s always prom night when you’re wearing a corsage. [A] Lauren Scherr’s customized silk flowers (similar to the one worn by Sarah Jessica Parker on Sex and the City) can be pinned anywhere, alone or in a faux bouquet. $65, exclusively at Jennifer Kaufman, Los Angeles.
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Show your true love how much you care and fight breast cancer with Kate Spade’s Ford Scarf. The ’60s-inspired print is Hitchcock all the way, and all proceeds go to breast cancer charities. $25, exclusively at Bloomingdale’s.
She is Le Tigre woman, hear her roar. J.D. Samson, one third of rule-breaking indie rock band Le Tigre, and photographer Cass Bird present [B] J.D.’s Lesbian Calendar, a 12-month guide to questioning gender conformity. It’s 365 dyke-filled days of rejecting notions of male and female as J.D. assumes a variety of dude-centric roles, turning each of them on their heads. Give the gift of subversive androgyny. $15
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Fun and games, anyone? Give your lover the Hot & Bothered game, a pleasingly risque twist on Spin the Bottle. Spin the wheel, place a dot on your preferred body part, and use your imagination. $20. Traditional English Christmas crackers get a naughty update with the Love Cracker, but don’t open this at the family dinner unless your family doesn’t mind watching a blindfold, feather tickler, and other assorted intimate gifts pop out. Set of two, $18. Both games are available from RedEnvelope.com.
You’re never alone in the shower when you’ve got [C] Bathgraphix. It’s a high-resolution waterproof image that can be applied to a shower stall. Makes getting clean almost as much fun as getting dirty. $50.
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The cast of Queer as Folk is coming to your house on gift bags, sexy pull-apart magnets featuring scenes from the show as well as Queer-centric vocabulary like “gurl,” and martini glasses for turning Showtime’s series into a drinking game.–D. W.
Photo synthesis
Putting a photograph in a frame is so 20th century-turn your snaps into delightfully personalized presents
You’ve probably never given anything quite like the [A] Love Story Pillow ($40) from PhotoAccents.com. Just send them a photo of your loved one, your pet, or even yourself, and they’ll reproduce it on a big soft silk pillow. It’s perfect if you’re dating a diplomat posted abroad who’s a little out of reach for those midnight snuggles. Or select a picture of Christina Ricci, and your giftee can reenact your favorite parts of Sleepy Hollow.
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Another way to dress up the standard portrait is the Four Panel Pop (starting at $222) from the online company PhotoWow.com, which can turn any photo into a multicolored extravaganza. Hey, if Andy Warhol could take images and turn them into art, why not steal his pop-art style and use your own glamour shots?
If the future of photos is digital, then the future of photo printing is online. Two Web-based photo services are ready to take on your 400 cat photos or your beach party shots for a reasonable price and even turn them into great gifts. Depending on the resolution of your camera, Shutterfly can make everything from standard prints to cards to oversized blowups. Kodak has even jumped into the online game with [B] oFoto. Both sites can also help you customize your photos into memo pages, calendars, and special cards. This year’s personalized holiday greetings no longer have to involve paste or glitter or macaroni art.–V.L.
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COPYRIGHT 2002 Liberation Publications, Inc.
COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale Group
