Practical Gifts to Step Up Her Style

Last gift guide of the season!  For the last few weeks I was calling this a “Practical Guide for the Stylish Gal,” but I realized it’s maybe more for someone who’s the opposite of stylish, haha!  I don’t know about you, but women in my family tend to be very utilitarian.  Also, style and aesthetics are not really a priority for them, though they might want to step up their style if they didn’t have to think about it or put effort into it.

For example, a couple of years ago my sister-in-law owned one bag, period.  It was not only quite ugly, it was also beaten up.  Yet she continued to use it basically because she didn’t care that it was beaten up or ugly, and “it still worked.”  She just never thought about it.  Her then-fiance, however, felt otherwise.  That Christmas, we gifted her a more sophisticated looking tote from Target–nothing fancy, but a huge step up.  It was un-fancy enough for her to still like it while at the same time caused her now-husband a sigh of relief that she would carry a bag that looked SO much better.  She still uses it to this day, and he still talks about how grateful he is to us for the gift!

I had my sister-in-law in mind when creating this list.  She wouldn’t go out and buy these things on her own, but I know she’d love the functionality of them.  And her stuff would look nicer!  That said, The items here that I don’t already own are on MY wishlist too!  Really, all of them!

Whether you’ve got women in your life who are just like my sister-in-law, or women who ARE style-minded and just like practical items, here are some ideas.

Many of them are from Amazon and can arrive before Christmas.  Some of them, like the style courses, are online-only and available immediately.  Others are available in store.  

Links to Shop:
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1.  Travel Jewelry Organizer – I love how much organization there is in this one, with places to store rings, earrings, a couple zippered pouches, and necklace/bracelet slots.  It also folds up into a very sleek-looking clutch.  This is on my own wishlist, and I could also see my sister-in-law putting it to good use.

2.  Purse Hanger – I own this in silver and carry it everywhere.  Sometimes I don’t want to put my bag on really dirty looking floors in cafes or restaurants, and I’m relieved knowing I have this purse hook.  I’ve tried other purse hooks, but this is the strongest and most stable one.  I just saw on its product site that you can use it in your car, hooking it to the headrest connectors and hanging your purse.

3.  Sweater Shaver – After I talked in a recent blog post about one of my sweaters pilling, one of you reminded me about sweater shavers.  This is on my list, and my SIL would totally use this to make her shabby sweaters look nicer–if she knew it existed!  (In comes the gift!)  This one is really cheap and has a lot of reviews.

4.  Eyeshadow Palette – I mentioned this in My Favorites Gift Guide (HERE)  I use it daily and believe it would be a good gift for someone like my SIL.  Neither of my SILs wear makeup regularly, but they need to for special occasions.  This is a great quality, versatile palette to gift someone–especially if they don’t know much about makeup.

5.  Clothing Steamer – I’m kind of addicted to steaming clothes now!  I don’t own this one because I own a travel steamer, but this one has better reviews.  My other SIL (not the one in the bag story above) is more style-minded, but she’s minimalist and also super duper utilitarian.  She has this on her wishlist!  The bag-SIL could use this because she’s also not into ironing, but this would help make her outfits a little sharper and more polished.

6.  Makeup Brush Kit – This is SUCH a good price for what you get and how many reviews it has.  I don’t need more makeup brushes, but if I did, I’d be all over this.  Especially because of the travel case!  Similarly to what I said in #4 about the eyeshadow, this is good especially for those who don’t love makeup because they probably don’t have great makeup brushes.  A starter kit like this would be perfect for them for the occasions on which they need to wear makeup.

7.  Shoe Insoles – I think this has become one of my default gifts to throw in with something else.  I love them SO much, and I don’t know a single person who wouldn’t want their shoes to be more comfortable.  Read my review about them HERE.

8.  Tote – I carry this everywhere with me, and had I had this bag during the time my SIL needed a new bag I would have gifted this one to her instead because it’s awesome.  I’ve seen SO many women with this or a similar version, and I think the minimal design is widely received.  Would be great for almost any gal!

9.  PMT Style Challenge – Shameless plug for this fun challenge that’s about to happen!  The challenge helps you build a small capsule wardrobe and provides you with 45 outfits from that capsule.  For 30 days an email will be sent with one outfit to wear so you or your friend can look great everyday without having to think much about it each day!  Read about it HERE and HERE.

10.  Sunglasses + Jewelry Organizer – This is also on my list because I need a place to store this stuff!  My watches and sunglasses are just sitting on top of a shelf, but it’d be great to have a tray for them.  Most organizers are ONLY for sunglasses or ONLY for watches, but I love that this one is a combo because I just have a few of each accessory.

11.  Greater Than Rubies Style Courses (and 40% off code PUTTINGMETOGETHER) – My dear friend Caitlin from Greater Than Rubies has just launched 3 new style courses.  Whereas the PMT Style Challenge tells you specifically what to buy to create a capsule wardrobe and exactly what to wear for 45 outfits, these courses teach you how to do it on your own.  Caitlin walks you through tips for developing your own style and provides broader principles to learn to put together outfits yourself.  These courses are tailored for 3 specific groups: new moms (or any moms really), working women, and women ages 40 and over.  I get a lot of questions to write more specifically on dressing for each of these groups, and these courses could answer many of those questions.  You can get 40% off any of these courses through January with code PUTTINGMETOGETHER!


12.  Watch – I really, really, really love my Daniel Wellington watches (HERE), but this one is a very good alternative and is half the price!  The design is timeless and would work for nearly any woman, whether super stylish or not!

If you’re looking for more gifts, my other holiday gift guides include:

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