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| Garnet-jeweled bark necklace, $16,200, at Mish New York. |
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| Cashmere scarf and gloves ($350) or a cabled cashmere sweater at Jay Kos. |
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| Thomas Keller's Bouchon ($50) at Lenox Hill Bookstore. |
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| Vanity trays ($200- $500) at Hadley Antiques. |
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| Classic costumes for kids, like this cowboy ($78.50), are at San Francisco Clothing. |
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| Hardbound address books and photo albums ($65 and $105) at Il Papiro. |
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| A fruit print ($250) at Marckle Myers. |
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| Brass antiques such as 1870 English vases ($490 a pair), and an 1860s scale ($825), at Burke's Antiques. |
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| Printed change purses ($40) at CK Bradley. |
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| Matched mother-baby pajama sets by BedHead ($108 and $80) at Bonne Nuit. |
| Photographs by Davies and Starr |
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(1.) Mish New York
131 E. 70th St.
The neighborhood’s main destination
for loud and proud jewelry, with price
tags to match (right, garnet-jeweled bark necklace, $16,200).
(2.) Jay Kos
986 Lexington Ave.
When you need the classic man gift-especially if said man reads Forbes-come
here for a cashmere
scarf and gloves (right, $350) or a cabled
cashmere sweater.
(3.) Mary Arnold Toys
1010 Lexington Ave.
This well-stocked
toy store has everything from rereleased Cabbage Patch Dolls to Wild Planet’s gadgets
for aspiring spykids.
(4.) Lenox Hill Bookstore
1018 Lexington Ave.
A small, independent, neighborhood bookshop in Manhattan? It’s
true! The great cookbook selection includes Thomas Keller’s Bouchon ($50, right).
(5.) Hadley Antiques
1026 Lexington Ave.
Among the English antiques here, vanity trays ($200-
$500, right) and
barware wrap
up particularly well.
(6.) L’Avenue des Rêves
1028 Lexington Ave.
Splurge on nineteenth-century-style society portraits by Paul Helleu ($5,500-$10,000),
or go personal
with a doggy portrait
on a needlepoint pillow ($45-$149), which
takes just two days
to complete.
(7.) Marckle Myers
1030 Lexington Ave.
You’ll find antique engravings from
the sixteenth to nineteenth centuries here, with a special emphasis on the natural world. Prints of bugs
and assorted other critters are much
more elegant than they sound, and who wouldn’t want a fruit print
(right, $250) for the kitchen?
(8.) Burke’s Antiques
1030 Lexington Ave.
Come for china, silver, glass, and brass (right, right, 1870 English vases, $490 a pair,
and an 1860s scale, $825). The owner
loves to gift-wrap.
(9.) Stubbs & Wootton
1034 Lexington Ave.
Embroidered velvet slippers for . . . a certain type of guy. The type
of guy who goes from lunch at the club
to a charity event, and calls his wife “little lady." Also, the pope wears them. How about
a monogrammed pair with gold or silver Þligree ($550)?
(10.) Cantaloup
1036 Lexington Ave.
Teenage-girl heaven, with a dozen denim lines, and more
soft, bright T-shirts than anywhere else north
of 61st. Star gift: thermal sets (long sleeves
and camisoles,
$69 each) by Twig.
(11.) Sylvia Pines Uniquities
1102 Lexington Ave.
Antique jewelry, costume and real- particularly special
is the collection of beaded evening bags, mainly from the twenties. Prices start
at $150 and go
up to $950.
(12.) Cardeology
1200 Lexington Ave.
Where to go to wrap
it all. Comprehensive selection of paper, ribbons, and cards as well as beauty products by the Thymes for last-minute gifts.
(13.) San Francisco Clothing
975 Lexington Ave.
There are great preppy basics (North Face jackets, marinieres, demure strands
of costume pearls) for
all ages here, but particularly fantastic are classic costumes
for kids: cowboys (right, $78.50), ballerinas, firemen. There’s also
a basic selection
of old-fashioned toys that would look right
at home under a Christmas tree circa 1955. Try the stuffed bears ($28.50)
and dolls.
(14.) French Sole NY
985 Lexington Ave.
Sometimes it’s best
to specialize: French Sole has the best ballet flats in the city,
and that’s pretty much
it. The tiny space is Þlled, floor to ceiling, with variations in every possible color, fabric, and finish-from gold lamé to red velvet, demure damask to zebra stripes ($145-$225). Since these are flats, not slippers, they’re also good for wearing around the house.
(15.) Il Papiro
1021 Lexington Ave.
This tiny storefront
is packed with a selection of stationery exclusively from Florence. Hardbound address books and photo albums (below, $65 and
$105) make excellent last-minute gifts.
(16.) CK Bradley
146 E. 74th St.
For those who find Lily Pulitzer not quite preppy enough: grosgrain
D-ring belts adorned with pinks and greens, frogs and whales
(sassier versions have martini glasses, BITCHES and HOES). Printed change purses (right, $40), pretty updates on L.L. Bean totes, and bright cardigans all work, too, particularly if you’re celebrating in Westport.
(17.) Tiny Doll House
1179 Lexington Ave.
Good old-fashioned dollhouses—colonials, Victorians, even brownstones for city kids—and the wee furniture to fill them with. Basically, if you
or your dollhouse-obsessed daughter knows that it exists in real life (a Noguchi coffee table! a pointy pair of high-heeled shoes!), Tiny Dollhouse
has it, or can find it,
in miniature ($295–$8,000).
(18.) Bonne Nuit
1193 Lexington Ave.
Come here for lingerie and pajamas by great European brands
like Joelle and Papo d’Anjo, as well as baby clothes. Matched mother-baby pajama sets by BedHead (right, $108 and $80) in silly prints make a good gift, but if you’re out to indulge Mom, and Mom alone, there are lush cashmere robes by L’Mage ($390). Also: old-fashioned smocked holiday dresses for little girls, complete with hand-stitched hems and petticoats, and embroidered crib-size quilts by Judi Boisson.
(19.) Feller’s Judaica and Gift Gallery
1205 Lexington Ave.
One-stop shopping
for all Judaica needs: unusual menorahs (the pewter Love Menorah has a bride and groom holding each other, $80) and artistic dreidels, sure, but also a full library of interesting books, candy, and jewelry. The pottery—fruit bowls, mugs—is well worth
a look, too. More offbeat items include a doll that talks in Hebrew
($38) and The Rabbi Says—a plush toy with a
card for writing messages ($11.95).
is packed with a selection of stationery exclusively from Florence. Hardbound address books and photo albums (below, $65 and
$105) make excellent last-minute gifts.