Hommage is a men’s-only skincare line that’s already in the celeb-frequented spas and hotels of the world. The brand just introduced its emollient Relieve, a water-resistant, melt-proof, lightly scented (amber, sandalwood and tobacco flower) oil-gel for the time-challenged man who needs a spa quality shave ($40). If you want to impress a dude, nab the travel shave kit for $100 or pony up for the manly $400 Chicago shave set at Barney’s or the Trump Spa here in Chicago.

Bottle service may have gone out of style in 2009, but there’s nothing to prevent you from bringing a flashy bottle home. Belvedere introduced its new line of Polish vodka this year, Belvedere Silver, which comes in a ridiculously handsome silver bottle. This is the kind of Warholian decadence you want to prop up the pop art portion of your art book shelf.

True decadence is enjoyed on the side of a snow-covered mountain. Burton’s high-tech gear, in particular, will keep the techy and snowboarding obsessed awake at night.

The Method ($1499.95) is like the concept car of the Burton showboard line, with a half-dozen new technologies applied to make it an unbelievably light, slick, fast and strong board. You’d look silly riding this rocket without a proper Burton jacket— the military-inspired 2L Gore-Tex Maestro Jacket ($749.95) is built to last more than a season or two. It has a friggin’ lifetime warranty.

There’s nothing quite as indulgent as luxury travel—and Abercrombie & Kent can design an itinerary that’ll give your special someone something to talk about at cocktail parties for the rest of their life and then some. A&K put together a wine lover’s Signature South Africa trip that ranges from Cape Town to the Cap Winelands and includes four nights on safari—twelve days in all for $5850. If that sounds too mellow, they’re doing an Extreme Adventure trip in South Africa and Botswana that includes racecar track driving, jet fighter piloting, shark cage diving and live game viewing for $11,950 for twelve days. That’s extreme decadence right there.

I dig giving gifts from Oxfam America Unwrapped to friends or family, for several reasons. One, they’re a pretty great conversation starter—as in, “Guess what? I got Grandma a goat for Christmas.” And for folks who have everything, or don’t have much and don’t want more, giving something from Unwrapped helps us thoughtfully acknowledge how much we mean to each other without a trip to the mall for a return or an awkward what-happened-to-that-sweater moment. What’s the deal? Basically, you’re making a targeted donation in the loved one’s name to one of Oxfam’s programs around the globe addressing poverty, hunger and social injustice. Your friend gets a card—someone else gets something he or she needs. You can choose from more than 60 gifts: Donate $30 toward a vegetable garden, $30 for miracle trees, $12 for manure (throw in a gift of soap for $12) or $1,500 toward rebuilding a primary school. Oxfam has an unparalleled reputation for getting money to the right places. The New York Times Bucks Blog has more charitable giving ideas. If you’ve given from Unwrapped before, you’ll be pleased to find that there are more gift options this year.

Nau is so green it hurts. The company is 100% sustainable, uses the labor watchdog group Verité to monitor all of its overseas factories, purchases carbon offsets for shipping actions, and every single item it produces is fully recyclable. Two percent of each Nau purchase is donated to a charity of the consumer’s choice. This season, it came out with Nau bags for commuters, like this one, 100% sustainable and available for $225 at Connect and Uncle Dan’s stores in Chicago. Perfect for your yuppie cousin in Frisco.

The cell-phone charger your brother left hooked up is stealing electricity and doing nothing with it. Get him the JuiceBar Multi-Device Pocket Solar Charger, $40.21 through cableorganizer.com, which is basically a battery that you can charge with the sun or from your computer’s USB. It taps into a clean energy source—as in, the sun—but it takes about 12 hours to fully charge that way. It comes with 12 of the most commonly used adapters for cell phones, iPods, MP3 players and gaming systems. There are some cheaper solar-charging batteries out there—dig around online.

If you want to help loved ones slay the power vampires around their computer or home entertainment center, help them hook up to an intuitive surge protector (it cuts off the juice to idle current-sucking electronics when they are not in use) like Bits Limited’s Smart Strip, $28.59 at cableorganizer.com. It could save you more than 260 watts per hour.

Some of the organic bars I’ve bought lately tasted like five dollars worth of dirt (Newman’s Own Dark, wha’happen?). But Green & Black’s Organic Chocolate just released a peanut flavor that satisfies my habit with its caramelized Valencia peanuts and hint of sea salt. Consider it a little reward for you just being you. $3.95 at Whole Foods and Kramer’s.

Developed in Brazil by Espirito Brasilis, an ecologically and socially conscious organization that supports independent Brazilian artists, designer Carla Tennebaum’s compressed recycled paper “puff” can be used as a stool or table—or simply to make your guests feel like inadequate, uncouth consumers. $185 at MCA.

Our need for Agent Provocateur underthings is year-round, but this event, featuring a live model in the window, lasts just one day. FYI: If you like what you see in Lady Gaga’s new Bad Romance video, you’ll definitely dig the classic piece the model is sporting. Feed your frisky desires and enjoy the sweets and bubbly from 2-6pm tomorrow.

You can’t have a party without guests. For the entire month, Claudia Kleiner’s Malabar celebrates its third birthday by offering a 10% discount on everything (including sweaters, scarves, cocktail dresses and more).

“I want my clothes to be your friends,” Diane von Furstenburg told a couple hundred guests at Neiman Marcus last night after models donning looks from her winter and resort collections had finished struts down the catwalk. “I want you to reach into your closet for my clothes when you want to feel good.”  In a charming thank-you-for-coming wrap-up, the woman who made wrap dresses an eternal gotta-have-one item explained that nothing makes her happier than hearing a woman say she was wearing a DVF piece during an important event that marked a new beginning in hlife—like a marriage proposal, or a successful job interview. “And no matter how old or young you are, there are always new beginnings,” she added. The crowd-pleasing collection had a characteristically happy DVF vibe: jumpers, dresses, tunics, pin-up style bathing suits and cardigans came in ethnic prints, polka dots, bright-hued sequins, flowy chiffon and hot pink. And just about every look—minus the giant, over-the-top bow turbans—looked as wearable as DVF’s ubiquitous wrap dress.

In addition to the discounts available now through closing day, the major consolation is that while Holleb is shuttering the doors of her West Loop location, she’s still planning to stick around in other brick-and mortar-boutiques by hosting a self-described “shop-in-shop.” For her first stop, she’s bringing her bags to former neighbor, Lincoln Park newbie Erin Gallagher’s eponymous store (Erin Gallagher, 2034 N Halsted St). Keep an eye on Holleb’s website (where she’ll continue adding new merch) to find out more about these upcoming shops in a shop.

Yes, these seem like typical mall fare, so what’s more exciting about the list is the addition of a few local shops in the mix. Local designer Michelle Tan is opening a second outpost of her namesake boutique in the mall’s second level. Other local-owned businesses slated for Block 37 include Bleeding Heart Bakery, Comic Vault, Alternatives Shoes and a second location of Claudia Kleiner Malabar Collection.

Of course, with a foreclosure lawsuit filed against its developer, the mall’s opening (currently scheduled for later this month) could get pushed back. Kleiner seems optimistic, though, and tells us she’s hoping to be open by December 1. “I love the development [of the mall],” Kleiner told me in an e-mail. “It looks fantastic and is going to be a totally different mall than what Chicagoans are used to, this will be the first to showcase ‘hometown talent’ designers stores, so it won’t be only big national retailers, and we are so proud to be part of that.”

Brooks Brothers does Mad Men

While everyone is out rushing to get their last-minute Halloween costumes, you fellas can invest in an item that has a lot more longevity than that Michael Jackson get-up that’s costing you a small fortune. I just put in a call to the local Brooks Brothers to find out how many of the $1,000 Mad Men edition Brooks Brothers suits they have left in stock. The answer: one! But don’t fret just yet. You can try to place an order online (sizes 36 and 39 are still available) if another guy beats you to the punch tonight.

It was a night full of surprises at this year’s Fresh Faces fashion show presented by Gen Art. The event, which showcases Up-and-coming Chicago designers, served as the grand finale for the city’s Fashion Week. There were glorious highs and a few lows that made for an interesting affair.

Starting off the show was C/FAN, a pop-inspired brand led by Christina Fan (who’s also modeled for TOC). Her collection featured a lively play with silk ensembles varying in skirts, dresses, blouses and vests. Her aesthetic was impressive, considering the difficulty in manipulating this particular fabric, and the cuts and shapes of the garments were unusual. Mostly monochromatic melodies, they possessed a flowy-yet-fitted quality that represents stylish leisure.

Kristin Hassan brightened things up with a delicious spectacle of shimmering fun. Cupcakes, candy, and confection took the shape of dresses and girly shorts with trimmed tops, reminiscent of frosting, and accenting hats that added a little more spice to the party. Kristen Hassan proved itself to be a label that represents sweet flirtation and audacious spunk.

The fashion show did hit a speed bump midway when the stylings of DORSIA took over the runway. The menswear line got off to an awkward start when an over-confident model took a considerable amount of time to pose for the cameras, strut for the audience, and look for his reflection in the universe. He received some snickering but the circus continued as another model charged forward to the end of the runway and seductively threw a Polaroid photo into the audience. I guess he thought that was… cool?

As for the actual clothing, it’s nothing new. Any attempt at innovation was masked by ego which was disheartening—considering the low number of Chicago’s menswear designers.

Saving the evening was JLee Silver who completely changed the room’s atmosphere. The Silver models had incredible swagger to match the alluring pieces they were wearing. The fresh collection used a beach-inspired color theme that literally had members in the audience gasping at its beauty. Garments included beautifully draped summer gowns, tribal printed skirts, and bitchin’ accessories that added luxury and a new level of sophistication. JLee Silver may be a new line but it demonstrates years of skill, knowledge, and more importantly, imagination to pull off a sexy introduction to the brand.

Imaginary People presented beautifully crafted wear that requires a confident woman to pull it off. Some of its notable pieces included a series of high-waisted opaque leggings with wild black and white print and a gorgeous short black skirt that seemed to glide angelically as it cleverly concealed the model’s rear. Uniquely, Imaginary People took risks in pairing items for the show. Various prints and colors kept the audience on its toes and at the conclusion of their presentation, two models walking side by side in butterfly halter dresses merited applause and cheers.

Concluding the show was Red Doll by Tatyana. The dresses were elegant and had a playful quality that was both youthful and mature. They told the story of a Romantic child-like fantasy that morphs into the tale of a diva’s reality. A jaw-dropping moment came when a bright red gown appeared on the stage. The long dress, which had two big red flowers on the shoulders and a black satin belt, was only to be outdone by the show’s finale which was an equally long black dress with cutouts on each side to expose the back and abdomen. The two dresses were epic and perhaps the most enlightening of the night.