Sarah Murray, editor-in-chief
I’d always wanted a girl. There’s something about dressing them up in all the frills and flounce that appeals to me. As an editor of a fashion magazine, I adore clothing and styling outfits, so one of the greatest joys for me in having my daughter Sloane was being able to dress her up. When she was a baby I put her in dusky-pink woollen bonnets despite the fact she would wriggle and writhe out of them. Once her hair was long enough, I’d find the most ornate bows that would last all but three minutes before she’d tear them out. As any parent can attest, as she has aged, dressing her how I want has become less and less likely. She wants to choose her own outfits, wants to wear stripes with checks, pink unicorn socks with sandals, and sometimes even dresses with pants underneath. She wants a Bluey T-shirt over a beautiful smoked pink floral Ralph Lauren dress that was to be worn strictly for special occasions. But I’ve learnt to pick my battles, to try and accept she’s her own person finding her own style. So I bite my tongue and let her. As her fifth birthday loomed, I wanted to give her something that she’d have forever – and clothing didn’t cut it. Turning five is a milestone. Somehow she’s morphed from this tiny baby into a kid. And you’re left wondering how you both graduated so quickly from the haze of multiple feeds in the night and sweaty daytime naps to, well, school drop-offs. Despite her questionable taste (which I would class as experimental!) she very much gravitates towards beautiful things. Pandora has the uncanny ability to cater to all ages, so when I was looking for a gift there was no shortage of inspiration to draw from. I wanted to give her something that reminded me of the age she is now, and that she will wear when she’s older. I decided a charm that could be added to a bracelet or a necklace would work best. I was immediately drawn to the rocking horse charm – it appealed to me because it had a child- like quality while still looking timeless. I also loved the two-tone moon with a key dangle charm. Eventually though, I found the teddy bear. Made in silver, it is encrusted with blue and pink jewels. When I showed her she squealed and told me she loved it. “The teddy has blue eyes like me,” she said. I carefully explained to her that I’ll put it away until she is much, much older. I hope one day she’ll look back and remember she got it the year she turned five.
Louise Dunn, digital editor
There have been many moving parts to the past 12 months: I’ve changed cities, settled into a new role and entered my thirties. As I glance down the page of my diary, where I’ve scribed significant moments from the past five years, there’s a noticeable shift around the time of the pandemic where I began to live more intuitively and less concerned with accolades, benchmarks and achievements. Milestones were being substituted for moments and goals were eclipsed by progress. But few achievements have come close to the privilege of becoming a godmother. The desire to have children has always been secondary to my professional ambitions, but when my closest friends named me as the godmother of their daughter, I was overwhelmed. It was an honour that hadn’t even entered my mind, it wasn’t something I was actively working towards, there was no vision board, and yet it is without a doubt the very thing I am most proud of. She is a laugh-and-a-half and an absolute reflection of her joyful parents (my best friends) and this bond has given me more purpose than I could ever articulate. On my 30th birthday, my goddaughter sat in my lap as I opened a gift from my friend group. It was a white jewellery box with custom-made earrings pressed into the suede cushion. My goddaughter beamed as she ran her tiny index finger over them. The card may have had my name on it, but I knew in that instant that these were already hers, I would simply be borrowing them for a few years until she is old enough to wear them herself. I’ve never been good at receiving gifts despite my love of gifting. Whether it’s intended to spark joy, celebrate a moment or offer some degree of usefulness, it’s a gift by design. This holiday season, I have pondered on a few elegant pieces for the mother of my goddaughter, who has made her way through the changes and challenges of this past year so graciously. I don’t need an excuse to celebrate her or our friendship, I’m motivated by the idea of a “just because” present; a token she can wear to remind her that I’m only a short flight away. She’s not big on earrings, so I’ve opted for something more poetic, a fine gold tennis bracelet lined with cubic zirconia from Pandora that she can layer with her current bangles. Its form is gentle, sparkling and inherently eternal – a reminder that she is so loved. That’s something I love about gifting jewellery, it can say so much in such a subtle way.
