Fashion

This Site Could Help You Find the Perfect Gift

by Candace Bryan

With the holiday season upon us (ugh, yes, you read that right), and Hanukkah less than a month away (yes, double right), it's time to start shopping. Some people are natural givers, always coming up with the perfect gift and making everyone else feel like a schmuck. Others of us need some help. If you fall into the latter category, Heirlume.co might be your new favorite site.

Heirlumé has an interesting concept. You answer a few questions about the person for whom you're shopping: their age, their relation to you, which celebrity's style they most resemble, what kind of book you'd most likely find on their coffee table. Then, based on your answers, Heirlumé suggests jewelry options that it believes will fit the taste of the giftee in question and you can buy them directly off the site.

They say:

Heirlumé uses a technology-backed gifting engine to generate unique jewelry recommendations based on lifestyle preferences. The result is a curated collection of fine jewelry tailored to match the woman you are shopping for.

I tried using the site and have to say, the jewelry suggestions are spot-on. Their style experts have done a nice job curating the collections. The pieces are beautiful and high-end, and there's a huge range of styles for gifting.

However, there are a few things that make shopping from Herilumé prohibitive.

  • The jewelry sold is expensive. Most of the pieces range from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars. If you're working with a smaller budget than that, you're out of luck. A friend of mine pointed out, though, that you can use it to see what type of jewelry someone might like, and then search for a more affordable version elsewhere.
  • Another problem is the questions themselves. One asks "Which celebrity style does she relate to the most?" The options are Kate Moss, Jennifer Aniston, Blake Lively, Kate Bosworth, Cameron Diaz, and Kate Middleton all thin, white young blondes and a token brunette. That's a pretty narrow margin of styles and ages that might not fit the diversity reflected among your friends and family.

Yet, the idea behind the site is great: I know a clueless boyfriend or two who would certainly use it to find an acceptable gift for the ladies in their lives. It's just too bad it's not more inclusive.

Heirlume

Images: ouh_desire/Fotolia; Heirlume