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"  San Franciscan Tatiana Sorokko can remember the experience like it was yesterday. &amp;quot;Years ago, my husband, Serge, and I were walking along Madison Avenue when we saw a spectacular antique garnet-and-diamond bracelet and earrings at Edith Weber, but the price was quite steep,&amp;quot; she recalls. On her next visit, Sorokko was told the jewels had been sold and were now on display next to an 1856 Ingres portrait of Madame Moitessier (who was wearing the exact pieces) at New York&amp;#039;s Metropolitan Museum of Art. &amp;quot;Naturally, I assumed the Met had purchased them, so you can imagine my astonishment when, at Christmas, I opened a beautifully wrapped box to find Madame Moitessier&amp;#039;s gems!&amp;quot; she says. As it turned out, it was Serge who had bought the set and agreed to loan it to the exhibition. This may be the stuff that dreams are made of, but isn&amp;#039;t that just what everyone is looking for in a gift? This holiday season, stylish women weigh in on some of their most memorable presents -- both given and received. While one-of-a-kind jewels hold a place in every girl&amp;#039;s heart, the adage &amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s the thought that counts&amp;quot; can carry equal weight. &amp;quot;The best gift I have ever received was for my wedding,&amp;quot; explains Marchesa designer Georgina Chapman of her marriage to Harvey Weinstein. &amp;quot;I asked all of the guests for donations to build a home for girls in India. Watching the project come to fruition due to my friends&amp;#039; generosity is the most gratifying feeling in the world.&amp;quot; In a similar vein, Fabiola Beracasa likes to rely on old-fashioned goodwill. &amp;quot;I send people gift certificates from justgive.org; they can then choose from among 1.5 million charities to give the money to.&amp;quot; If custom is what you are after, presents made at home can offer the ultimate personal touch. Helen Schifter is known for her needlepoint. &amp;quot;I have made personalized belts, pillows, and slippers. I like to pick a symbol that&amp;#039;s meaningful to the person as a design,&amp;quot; she explains. Likewise, Julie Macklowe&amp;#039;s arts-and-crafts creations are novel. &amp;quot;I like to give gifts that require thought and effort. I love taking my husband on trips and creating photo collages to commemorate our time together,&amp;quot; she says.  Similarly, books are always a smart solution. For an entertaining story, try writer Julie Powell&amp;#039;s (of Julie &amp;amp;amp; Julia glory) Cleaving, about meat and marriage. Distinguished author Gore Vidal has released his illustrated memoir, Snapshots in History&amp;#039;s Glare, and famed White House reporter Helen Thomas and Craig Crawford offer a witty read in Listen Up, Mr. President. Coffee-table tomes like Kelly Wearstler&amp;#039;s glam interior-design book Hue or 15X15, a limited-edition book featuring fun portraits by makeup artist Fran\u00E7ois Nars (witness Marc Jacobs in full makeup) also score big points. But if it&amp;#039;s a bit of bling you covet, Rory Tahari has an idea: &amp;quot;Why not give a &amp;#039;just because I love you&amp;#039; necklace?&amp;quot; For more modern must-haves, Lanvin&amp;#039;s Alber Elbaz&amp;#039;s showstopping pieces, an architectural Herv\u00E9 van der Straeten necklace, or Givenchy&amp;#039;s cross brooch will do the trick. While luxury will always have a place in the world of presents, a little sentiment goes quite a long way. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.harpersbazaar.com/fashion/trends/a449/best-gifts-1209/>