The Lyst Intelligent Gift Guide: For Her

From Mary Poppins-core to Just the Essentials Socialite, bag lovers exist on a spectrum. Contrary to popular belief, one size does not fit all. When looking to buy for a bag lover in your life, considering this within your gifting methodology should be step number one. Observe their habits, needs and style in order to inform your choice and you’ll guarantee smiles (and more importantly frequent use of said bag) for many outings to come. Beyond day to day behaviour, we can look to shopping behaviour to point us in the right gift direction. In the Mary Poppins corner, demand for totes bags is up by 31%, whereas in the Just the Essentials, clutch styles are leading the way, with demand up by 52% year on year.

We all have this person in our life: impossibly chic, always on trend, seemingly abundant in beautiful things – they already have everything, or so it seems. When shopping around for this person, the methodology is simple: gift them something they’re likely to want to own multiples of. This way, your gift becomes part of a rotation rather than rendering its predecessor (or itself) obsolete. Think sunglasses, think leather belts, think wallets. Our data shows that this category is this year’s-go to for gifts, with purchase intent up 35% for belts and wallets, with sunglasses up 34%.

It’s likely that within your gifting rotation, you have a shoe fanatic. Part Carrie Bradshaw, part Rebecca Bloomwood, the shoe fanatic values an unboxing above anything else. From heel hoarders to slingback sensationalists, ballerina babes and those who prefer to be booted all the way up. The intelligent gifting methodology for the shoe fanatic is simple: do not give them anything that doesn’t go on a foot. But beyond knowing their shoe size or what height heel they favour, we can turn to trends to pique some inspiration. Flats are having their moment: with demand for ballerinas up by 36%, and loafers up as much as 27%. If your giftee is more of an all out kind, don’t fear: demand for knee boots are up 23%.

If visions of a specific person come to mind when you hear Lady Gaga’s iconic spiel: “Every night, no sleep, bus, club, another club, another club, plane, next place, no sleep”, then you have a party princess on your hands. This kind are true spotlight seekers, unafraid to go bolder to the bash. Which really is fabulous news for them considering there are a fair amount of bashes lined up this gifting season.

Apart from the obvious (a truly showstopping party dress), party accessories are the way forward according to our data, with demand for mules and kitten heels up 58%, and interestingly enough a 37% demand increase in feathers – making it truly the texture of the season.

Just because something is practical, doesn’t mean it can’t be fun. This is the motto of the winter pragmatist, and therefore our guiding gift methodology. Staying warm is both essential and stylish, because let’s face it, to be seen shivering outside the soiree is a little sad. Give the winter pragmatist a reason to be seen smug and layered up in their new and fun cold-weather accessories, which - surprise, surprise - are up 16% in purchase demand. Outerwear, sweaters and cardigans round out the cosiest edit of the bunch, and like we said, just because it’s practical doesn’t mean it can’t be fun – opt for bold prints, or indulge them in designer for extra pragmatic pizzaz.