A Guide to the Best of Southern California : BROWSING : Present Perfect
You’ve made your list, you’ve checked it twice and you still don’t have a clue to what gifts are cool? Forget Melrose and the malls. Discover the hip strips in your own back yard. We did. Here are a few suggestions that should tantalize and mesmerize almost anyone on your list.
* Balancing Boy Toy. Carved of wood and hand-painted in bright blue, purple and orange, this little guy twirls and whirls and totters and topples atop a matching pedestal while maintaining perfect balance. Imported from Mexico, he goes for $34 at Uncle Jer’s, a clothing, jewelry and funky decor shop at 4447 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles; (213) 662-6710. Also, iron candlesticks from India adorned with animals--monkeys, pigs, rabbits, camels and horses--range in price from $16 to $36.
* Flower Power. A he or a she can strike poses in a two-piece get-up by Los Angeles designer Anna Lindstrom from Half Off Clothing, a favorite haunt of trendoids at 1806 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles; (213) 665-1526. Her long-sleeved, all-cotton white shirt ($29.99) and matching boxer shorts ($9.99) are emblazoned with monster sunflowers in a bright yellow-red-orange combination. The shirt’s backside also features a huge, slightly off-center sunflower. Other sets feature humongous butterflies and eagles.
* Dino-mite. Pretend you’re a dinosaur with a three-dimensional mask from “Dinosaur Faces” ($14.95) at Happily Ever After, a children’s bookstore at 2640 Griffith Park Blvd., Los Angeles; (213) 668-1996. The book includes the make-believe heads of five prehistoric behemoths: triceratops, corythosaurus, euoplocephalus, pteranodon and tyrannosaurus. A description is included on the back of each. It took us just five minutes to put together the tyrannosaurus, using tape, fasteners and string.
* Chair Flair. You’ll feel like Cupid when sitting on this “Ultimate Wing Chair” ($295) from Villa America, a home-furnishings and antique boutique at 1958 Hillhurst Ave., Los Angeles; (213) 953-1920. The wooden chair, which comes in gold, silver or bronze, is decorated with hand-carved wings, a hand-carved rose and a black velvet cushion. The store also carries one-of-a-kind upholstered furniture and figurines.
* Jewelry for a Good Cause. You can make a fashion statement and do some good with Cause Tags by Miltek. The silver-plated tags--three in a series--carry a message: Stop AIDS, Human Rights or National Wildlife Federation. A portion of the proceeds from each sale goes to the organization or cause on the tag. Each costs $20 at Adventure Bound, a travel and apparel store at 132 W. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena; (818) 449-3890.
* What’s in a Name? Just ask the folks at the Scottish Heritage Shop, 419 Shoreline Village Drive, Long Beach; (310) 590-9092. They have the family histories of more than 500,000 surnames on record, ready to sign and seal--per the Historical Research Center’s verification of authenticity--and deliver to anyone anywhere. An unframed certificate decorated with the family’s blazon is $14.95; with a frame, it’s $29.95. The shop accepts credit-card orders over the phone.
* Boogie Wonderland. No Yuletide gift suggestion list would be complete without musical overtures. Here’s ours: 40 thump-a-thump disco hits on two compact discs ($24.99) or cassettes ($19.99). Aptly titled “Disco Fever,” the collection includes 20 No. 1 songs--”The Hustle,” “YMCA,” “I Will Survive,” and “Ring My Bell,” to name a few. Place your order with the ‘70s Preservation Society: (800) 666-1972.
* Custom Cologne. Bring in a photo of a loved one and answer a few questions about his or her career, moods, favorite colors, foods and approach to life. And-- voila!-- Andrew Rakos and Dolores Vinci, former Max Factor executives, will custom-blend a fragrance using their oils at Who Makes Sense?, 8363 W. 3rd St., Los Angeles; (213) 651-0311. Their fragrance bar also includes soaps, candles, bath oils--anything “that stimulates and awakens the senses,” Rakos says. Prices range from $19.50 for a 2.5-ounce bottle of eau de Cologne to $35 for half an ounce of perfume.