I am traveling, so there is no Loose Threads today.
Back Row’s most popular column is “Retail Confessions,” in which luxury retail salespeople talk about selling the most expensive fashion to the world’s wealthiest people. We’ve heard from a former Loro Piana sales associate whose clients flew only by private jet; a former employee of a Neiman Marcus flagship where a customer spent seven figures on holiday gifts one season; and a former Hermès employee, who recalled, “You think, Who the F is going to spend $25,000 on a pair of gloves? And it’s the person spending $60,000 on a crocodile handbag who wants the gloves to match.”
I normally paywall these columns, but today’s peek into that world is available to read for all subscribers thanks to the generosity of Back Row sponsor Sake ONO, which makes a great and luxurious holiday gift. Launched in April 2024, Sake ONO’s inaugural offering is a Junmai Daiginjo with notes of honeydew, lemon peel, white floral, and green apple with umami undertones. Sake ONO sent me a bottle to try and it is lovely — I’ve been enjoying sipping it while I make dinner on the weekends. It’s a fun way to mix up an evening bevvie, whether a neat pour in a wine glass or mixed in a martini as a lower ABV nightcap. Grab it for the VIPs in your life this holiday season.
After writing so many of those columns over the past few years, I realized I wanted to hear from the VICs themselves about their fashion purchases. What do they love, and why do they buy it? I previously spoke with VICs (Very Important Clients, the 2 percent of luxury fashion shoppers who account for 40 percent of sales) about the spring 2026 collections. Ahead, we hear from VICs about what they like to gift for the holidays — and what they want themselves.
This Thursday, paid subscribers will get another installment of what VICs think about the spring 2026 shows. Sign up now and don’t miss it.
The Expat Living in Dubai
Most of the gifts from my husband are watches, because I’m crazy about watches. I will get a watch from Patek Philippe with diamonds. There was a waitlist and everything, but for Christmas it has arrived.
My husband is also very into watches, so he’s getting a Rolex. I also like David Yurman jewelry for men.
My friend will celebrate her 40th birthday soon. I will go to St. Laurent. I feel like it’s still a good balance between price and luxury. I would get her a bag because I like her, but I’m not spending $5,000. At St. Laurent, you can find one for $2,000-plus, and it still feels very [luxurious]. I also go to St. Laurent for the envelope pouches, which are like $500. It makes a big impact — it seems like you spent a lot but it’s still an OK price. I don’t really buy luxury gifts unless it’s very, very close friends.
I like also to gift Cartier pens. People love it. And now you can engrave it. I have a friend who became a teacher, she changed careers, so that was one of her gifts. My husband, he’s signing all his contracts with this pen. So pens are one of my go-tos.
I like the very nice books from Assouline. Depending on the friend and what she likes, I might get the big Cartier book. They’re quite expensive actually. Then it’s perfumes, very niche perfumes, mostly for friends or my sisters. Once, I got my sister Louis Vuitton boots.
From other people, my friends know that I love Hermès. So I get a lot of small things from Hermès, like the scarves. I got high heels from them — the new design called the Judy. Last year I got a Chanel mini bag. I got Diptyque candles and incense — the giant ones are very nice, actually, in the house.
And then my sisters, they usually buy me jewelry, not from brands, but artisans.
The Personal Shopper for Upper East Siders
I have a few clients who go crazy over the holidays. I get a lot of cardholder requests, earmuff requests, hats and scarves. Those are the top four sellers during the holiday season. Chanel is always number one for the beanies and the scarves and the cardholders and the earmuffs. Honestly, it’s Chanel. I sell tons of Chanel. And sunglasses.
The Expat Living in Hong Kong
Hermès playing cards are my go-to. It’s two decks together, called a bridge set. They’re unexpected. When I started buying them, I believe they were 100 euros. Now I think they’re somewhere in the 160 to 190 range.
I like to find quirky little homewares, just anything with a sense of humor. Hermès has these key chains — it’s two togo leather keys, but they look like old fashioned keys. And I think, Oh, that’s cute. For a key ring, Mulberry makes these leather animals, like puffer fish. Fendi and Vuitton make really fun bag charms. Vuitton does a crab. I got that for my husband as an inside joke. And then if a friend loves owls, that’s a real easy way to give someone something that they’re going to value and cherish, but also speaks to their personality. Even though bag charms are largely dumb, I think It’s a great way to be like, I put thought into this!
Labubus are a great child’s birthday gift, because they go fucking crazy for them. They’re like $30 here.
Louis Vuitton made sunglasses called millionaires that Pharrell has discontinued. So there’s 1.1s, now they’re doing 1.0. They used to be very square. My husband collects them. He has every pair. I buy them now on Stockx and the RealReal.
The Loewe soap that smells like pot is a good gift — the liquid soap in a really hard, thick glass. It feels substantial. The Dior soap comes in a plastic bottle, so it doesn’t feel as luxurious. The Loewe tomato soap is very good for the kitchen.
One year, my husband bought me Louis Vuitton ski boots. I think less than 100 of them were made. They’re actually really comfortable and they’re heated — you plug them in, and then they warm your feet. He spent maybe $3,000 or $4,000.
I’m a big Diptyque client. Sometimes it’s just hard not to give somebody a candle.
Any sort of Rizzoli or Assouline or Taschen book that is really specific is a good gift. Anything that I can find that evokes a memory for someone in a big-ass coffee table book — I’m definitely going to get that.
My sales associate at Dior asked me if I wanted an advent calendar this year. I think she was just going to give it to me. I said no, thank you.
The New Yorker Who’s Feeling Uninspired
I usually ask for a bag or a piece of jewelry. This year, it’s all the same at luxury brands. So I don’t want another Chanel bag just in a different color. I really am struggling. My husband asked me, “What are you going to want?” I’m like, “Maybe I’ll make myself a piece of jewelry because there’s nothing calling my name.”
What am I going to gift? That’s super hard, too. My husband just wants Ralph Lauren. He’s like, “I need some cashmere cable-knit sweaters, I need blazers.” Because they never go out of style. And jeans, because they fit really well. So I think all the men are going to get Ralph Lauren.
Prada used to give amazing gifts to clients. I’ve gotten domino sets, a chopstick set. Dior has given me blankets. Celine has given us leather goods. Prada too. Prada is usually really good. Every year they give a giant box of chocolates and panettone from Marchesi in Milan.
My sister will be like, “Give me something I’ll wear all the time.” So maybe a Celine belt, Hermès cashmere scarves, or leather stuff from Prada. Things that are classics that she’ll always have, and she loves them. She wears them and then she waits until the next Christmas for an another one. The beanies and scarves from Chanel or Celine are good. They’re still expensive. The Hermès ones just went up. Celine kept them affordable.
The Personal Stylist to Upper East Side Billionaires and Centi-millionaires
I have running lists of birthday and holiday gifts for wives. Husbands pick and choose from that. So I’ll have stuff that the wife will give me at different price points, and then the husband picks and chooses from those items. The wife kind of knows it’s happening, but she’s surprised when she gets it.
With some clients, the husband-to-be comes to me to help them with wedding stuff, specifically jewelry that they won’t want the wife to see. “Will this go with the dress? Do you like this?” I am like, “Yes, no.”
Across the board, they want the gifts to be jewelry. So I work a lot with Bvlgari, Cartier. I like the Van Cleef & Arpels fine jewelry. I don’t like their commercial pieces, even though the client does, and I try not to push those. The stuff I like, you would never know it’s Van Cleef. But Bvlgari does the best quality at the best price for what they’re making.
At the low end, they spend $25,000 to $40,000 on a very simple gift. On special occasion jewelry, $150,000 to $1 million-plus. A low-end piece might be a simple matching bracelet, necklace, and earring. And then it just depends on the type of diamond that we put in.
The VIC Who Might Not Want Anything
My family thinks I’m sick. I literally want nothing — and I’ve never ever said that. They’re like, “Are you ill?”
With Chanel, am I supposed to buy resort now? Is that Virginie Viard aesthetic going to look old, or is it going to flip the resale market? There’s nothing that I’m like, Oh my God. It’s like, we don’t need more designer keychains. I want quality products. I don’t need more bags — unless it’s a cargo Birkin. That’s probably the only bag I want. I just think it’s cool and wearable. But I’m not like, Oh, I need a Margaux by The Row.
Even the Goop gift guide this year also just felt so uninspiring. There was nothing on there that I didn’t know about. Everyone’s saying now it’s about experiences. Maybe it’s less about product and more about travel.
I would love to gift people the gift of health. Is it a microbiome test?
I’m spending more money on longevity and health, aesthetic treatments. Maybe because the girl who does have everything — the jacket, the pants — wants a face. She’s sick of looking tired.
Can I give people keychains, Dolce & Gabbana slippers? I don’t know. Do people want Gucci? In the past I’ve given Gucci homeware — teacups and sets. But now I think it’s like, how can we give people the gift of health and the gift of play? The world does not need another Barbara Strum advent calendar.
I’m going to have no friends by the time I’m done. Can you imagine? People are going to be like, I thought you were going to finish the Gucci tea set off for me, and I’m giving them a health kit. I think that’s a fantastic gift because it’s not something people want to buy themselves. But still, it’s like, “Hope you don’t die, happy holidays.”
