The gift she’ll keep

Finding a personalised gift for her is something of a high-wire act: one must guess her colour, her size, her fabric, and accept that she very probably already holds firm views on the matter. Here, then, are a few pointers, to be taken with all the seriousness they deserve.

Minuit au Soleil evening bag in Aube pink satin, embroidered and personalised for Valentine’s Day

A one-of-a-kind piece, thought out for her

What touches us in a personalised gift is not only the object: it is the time someone took over it. Choosing the model, hesitating between two shades of thread, searching for just the right word to have embroidered: each of these choices tells the woman who receives it that someone was thinking of her, and of no one else. Far from the gift everyone gives, the piece becomes unique, and so does the emotion it carries.

The embroidered gift that never finds its way back to the returns desk

We all know the moment when a present leaves its wrapping paper only to resurface, a few days later, on a customer-service counter. With a gift embroidered with her initials or a word chosen for her, that scenario simply does not exist: a personalised creation can be neither returned nor exchanged, and that is just as it should be. Let us simply say that it is wise to aim true. The lines that follow are here for precisely that, and the embroidery does the rest; we share its secrets in our story on embroidered initials.

A luxury gift for her, to each her own

Turquoise terry Balagan embroidered “West Indies, This must be the place”, resting on the sand

For the woman who lives with her toes in the sand

She has already set her sights on the next island, and her beach bag has seen one summer too many. The terry Balagan will follow her from towel to lunch table, the name of her favourite beach embroidered across it; and should she like a little movement, the fringed Balagan II will dance with every step she takes.

Midnight-blue satin evening bag embroidered “Midnight in Mykonos” in gold thread, against a sunset

For the woman who never misses an evening out

She knows every address worth knowing and never arrives early. A satin evening bag, lifted by a word in gold thread, or a fringed Knot Bag that closes with a single knot, will complete the silhouette; she will see to the rest.

Balagan II Psea-K Sequin Island in a blue psychedelic print, resting by a swimming pool

For the woman who loves a print that gets noticed

She wears pattern the way others wear black. A Balagan II Psea-K Sequin Island, with its graphic, seventies-inspired waves, or the bandana bag, its message embroidered around the rosette, were made for her.

White Balagan embroidered “Monte-Carlo”, dressed with bag charms

A gift for the woman who has everything

There is always one. For her, our bag charms clip onto any bag she already adores and instantly lend it an unexpected touch: proof that one can still surprise the woman who has everything.

Whether it is meant for a close friend, a sister or a mother, a Christmas gift for her or a birthday gift for her need not be spectacular to feel like a luxury: it only has to have been chosen for her alone. That leaves the question of timing. As every bag is embroidered to order in our Paris atelier, it is wise to plan ahead for a gift made to measure.

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