NEW YORK (AP) — The look of Nancy Meyers' movies. Inside Ina Garten's kitchen. Oversize cable knit sweaters. A quality, timeless trench. All things pumpkin spice.
These are some of Lex Nicoleta's favorite things.
The California TikToker who coined the term "coastal grandmother" in a video that has racked up thousands of views since March helped set the summer's mood for long beach walks, laid-back interiors and that farmer's market way of life.
"And no," Nicoleta insists on camera, "you don't have to be a grandmother to be a coastal grandmother. It's for anyone and everyone."
Now that her coastal grandma-heavy feed has moved into cold-weather vibes, Nicoleta has given us lots of holiday gifting possibilities. Some ideas:
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This Sept. 29, 2022 photo shows a blue and gold ceramic egg tray from the Etsy seller Claylicious. Collectibles of all kinds make great holiday gifts. (Photo by Andy Kropa/Invision/AP).
Coastal grandmother has everything to do with pumpkin spice and comfort cooking. Share your grandmother's treasured soups and stews, wrap up a piece of Le Creuset cookware, find a collection of soup crocks, a fancy wine decanter or a nice wine bottle stopper. Even a great bottle of wine or olive oil would do.
So would a nice hot dish, a standout pie dish, some biscotti or fancy tea, a set of tea towels. You can't go wrong there in capturing the mood. Etsy seller Claylicious sells a blue and gold ceramic egg tray for $87 offering just the ride touch. Another Etsy seller, ZLATNA porcelain, has a ceramic milk carton with a cork stopper in a white-and-black polka dot design for $109.
This Sept. 29, 2022 photo shows a ceramic milk carton in a polka dot design from the Etsy shop ZLATNA. Collectibles of all kinds make great holiday gifts. (Photo by Andy Kropa/Invision/AP).
The ambiance isn't restricted to "coastal." Gift a wicker picnic basket, some beautiful dried flowers in a vase, a candle with outdoor or baking scents, a charcuterie board, a high-end set of soaps. How about a trip to Napa Valley? Nicoleta suggests Yountville in particular. Lex has spoken.
If Nicoleta is the Pied Piper of all things coastal grandmother, Meyers the filmmaker is her muse — and Diane Keaton her patron saint. Wrap up a copy of Meyers' "The Holiday," "Something's Gotta Give" or "It's Complicated." They're full of coastal grandma energy. Lex likes the Garten kitchen vibe, too. Garten creates her simple, sophisticated magic in a converted barn on her property in East Hampton, New York.
This photo shows the Pumpkin Cocotte from Le Creuset in persimmon. The homey “coastal grandmother” aesthetic makes for a range of holiday gift options. (Le Creuset via AP)
Looking for a cute, no-cost gesture? Put together a worthy playlist, or just share the one Nicoleta dropped on Spotify. It's a doozy, featuring Natalie Cole's "This Will Be (An Everlasting Love)," "Sunrise" by Norah Jones and "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" by Queen. There's James Taylor, Coralie Clement, Fine Young Cannibals, Michael Buble, Jason Mraz and more.
Coastal grandmother can be pricey, roomy cashmere turtlenecks, or something cheaper but equally as cozy from H&M. It can be a classic coat, a set of loafers or ballet flats, a nice warm scarf. Anything timeless — not trendy. A nice pair of over-the-knee boots would work. So would the perfect white T-shirt or a slouchy bag. Any classic worn effortlessly and with style reaches the coastal grandma bar. Try one of these finds in coats and jackets from Refinery29.com.
This combination of photos shows a ribbed cashmere crewneck sweater, left, a cashmere wrap, center, and ribbed cashmere V-neck sweater from J.Crew. (J.Crew via AP)
"Think everything in neutral tones," said Etsy trend expert Dana Isom Johnson.
For the home, try a warm throw, an accent pillow or a tabletop fire pit. Indoor-outdoor living is the name of the coastal grandma game. Think what one would do on a wraparound porch. Read, for instance. Pick up a Kindle. Backyards are also big in the coastal grandma universe. A comfy lounge chair set, perhaps?
Coastal grandmother, Johnson said, is "all about comfort and making sure that things are feeling Zen and quiet and comfortable in the home."
This photo shows the Pier Stripe Indoor/Outdoor Pillow from Tumbleweed & Dandelion. The casual “coastal grandmother” aesthetic makes for a range of holiday gift options. (Tumbleweed & Dandelion via AP)
Some other sellers on Etsy, a global online marketplace, have also captured the mood.
The Etsy store Sea and Stable has turned oyster shells into blue decoupage chinoiserie jewelry holders and trinket bowls. Another, Jess by Jess Designs, sells colorful floral wreaths sealed to prolong all the hydrangea, peony and rose goodness.
An extension of coastal grandmother, Johnson said, is a top trend for the holidays on Etsy: crustaceancore. White pearls have been around for centuries but interest is high, she said. There has been a 44% increase in searches for pearls on shoes on Etsy, and the same for pearl bags or purses. The interest stretches to festive decor and all things crustacean, Johnson said.
Etsy seller Melissa Ceramics hand makes porcelain ceramic bowls finished in a pearly glaze on the inside. A set of three sells for $47.42. Another seller, Shop Noir Doux, sells a small vintage-style pearl shoulder bag for $105. Seller Lings Pearls Studio offers a handmade freshwater pearl hair pin for $12.28.
"Everyone," Johnson said, is looking "to find inspiration from the sea."
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From Shaun Tan to Emily in Paris, here are 13 books that make worthy holiday gifts
“Creature,” by Shaun Tan
It's as if, Tan writes, “I need to throw the artistic pebble far across a pond of weirdness in order to see some meaning in the ripples ...” Those words in the introduction of his new book speak volumes. The artist, writer and filmmaker from Perth, Australia, has collected his dreamy, sometimes eerie paintings and drawings. Tan reflects at length on his childhood in thoughtful text.
“Ugly-Cute,” by Jennifer McCartney
Is there beauty in just about anything? McCartney thinks so. She has put together a small-in-stature, full-color look at “cuglies”: oft-underappreciated species both well known and obscure. Gaze upon the male star-nosed mole and its 22 pink, fleshy appendages in place of a face. McCartney filled her little book with bite-size facts and fun quizzes.
“Africa in Fashion,” by Ken Kweku Nimo
The Ghanaian researcher and designer explores the complex role the continent plays in the global fashion worlds past and present. He spotlights a new wave of African talent while looking back on vast textile, craft and embellishment traditions that are hundreds of years old. Nimo also delves into the potential of Africa as a luxury hub.
$40. Laurence King Publishing.
Also consider “Africa Fashion,” which accompanies an exhibition of the same name at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
“Regeneration: Black Cinema, 1898–1971,” edited by Doris Berger and Rhea L. Combs
This companion to an exhibition of the same name at the Academy Museum in Los Angeles focuses on independent film. Interviews with Charles Burnett, Julie Dash, Ava DuVernay and more. Essays, glamour portraits and a chronology by year included. The goal: To provide a more expansive view of how American cinema has been shaped by African American creative expression.
“The Crown in Vogue,” by Robin Muir and Josephine Ross
Published for the late queen’s Platinum Jubilee, the two take readers through more than 200 images from British Vogue of the British royal family, starting in the early 20th century. At some point, every last one of the top royals graced the magazine’s pages, starting with the queen mother on through to Prince Harry and Meghan. With a range of commentary, from Evelyn Waugh to Zadie Smith.
“Emily in Paris: The Official Cookbook," by Kim Laidlaw
Filled with 75 recipes inspired by the Netflix series. Lots of food porn here, along with photos of ex-pat Emily (Lily Collins) as fans await Season 3. Remember Gabriel's omelette? It's in there. How about that moment Emily was struggling to pronounce un pain au chocolate? The tasty croissant is included, too.
“The Pigeon Will Ride the Roller Coaster,” by Mo Willems
The determined blue pigeon with seven playful books on his resume is back with a not-so-topsy-turvy lesson in managing expectations. This time around, he's set on riding a roller coaster as he plots out the process: buying a ticket, waiting in line, the possibility of the bad-tummy dizzies. What he gets instead might surprise you. Great for kids 3 to 5.
“From Gay to Z,” by Justin Elizabeth Sayre
Sayre is not a historian. Instead, they (their chosen pronoun) is a playwright and performer who turned their five-part stage show “GAyBC's” into a compendium of gay culture. Acknowledging they couldn't cram the entirety of queer culture into one book, they do a pretty good job in quick bites on everything from the AIDS activist group ACT UP to Franco Zeffirelli, the Italian film and opera director known for romantic and lavish productions.
“Women Holding Things,” by Maira Kalman
The artist, designer and bestselling author has expanded a booklet of the same name that raised money to combat hunger. True to its title, Kalman's paintings and ruminations feature women who often do the job of holding things together. A woman holds a baby. A woman holds court. Kalman includes a painting of Virginia Woolf, who's “barely holding it together.” She writes of the book's last image, a girl with pink balloons: “Hold on.”
“It Starts With Us,” by Colleen Hoover
She has millions of fans on TikTok and elsewhere who eagerly awaited this sequel to her bestselling “It Ends With Us.” Her latest story of a dramatic love triangle and a woman's struggle against domestic abuse helped cement her status on TikTok and made her the country's most popular fiction writer.
“Adrift: America in 100 Charts,” by Scott Galloway
How did the country land here? The professor of marketing at New York University explores that and other key questions starting in 1945 and landing in the present. Brief text accompanies his simple charts on a range of subjects, from the perception vs. reality of the country's crime rate to the earning potential of prospective male partners. The book isn't for high-thinking statisticians but it's full of conversation starters for the rest of us.
“Neverwhere,” by Neil Gaiman with illustrations by Chris Malbon
This dark urban fantasy from 1996 focuses on the dispossessed as the reader is taken into London Below, a secret world that exists in parallel with the London we know. Gaiman wrote the novel after the BBC made it into a TV series. He wrote in 2005 that the story's goal was to move adults as he was so moved by “Alice in Wonderland,” the Narnia books and “The Wizard of Oz” as a kid. A special edition in a slipcase with a new introduction by Susanna Clarke.
$140. The Folio Society. Available exclusively at Foliosociety.com
“Ice Cold. A Hip Hop Jewelry History,” by Vikki Tobak
A photographic review of how hip hop helped redefine luxury with its over-the-top culture of bling. At the beginning, there was Run-DMC’s gold Adidas pendants and Eric B. & Rakim’s dookie rope chains and Mercedes medallions. They were followed by the likes of Pharrell Williams, Jay-Z, Gucci Mane and Cardi B. There's a foreword by Slick Rick and essays by A$AP Ferg, LL Cool J, Kevin “Coach K’ Lee and Pierre “P” Thomas of Quality Control Music.
