Yeni Mao, Siamese Bird Vase (2007) (artwareeditions.com $250) DITC belts (ditc.net, $65 each) Bois and girls: Keep your pants up, already! The designer lezzies of Dykes in the City have added these handsome leather belts to their apparel lineup, with the company logo either welded (right) or hand-carved onto the silver buckle.
Murray Hill tote bag (mrmurrayhill.com, $15) That’s right, kids: now the most ubiquitous face in downtown showbiz can be yours. Works equally well as a gym bag, work tote or purse.
The Portable Queer (Alyson Books, $12.95 each) No self-respecting queer should be cruising holiday parties without a noggin full o’ factoids to toss around. Luckily, New Yorker Erin McHugh has packed plenty into her CD-size book trio—
A Gay in the Life (people),
Homo History (events) and
Out of the Mouths of Queers (quotes), compact enough to carry along.
December Diamonds merman ornaments (Oscar Wilde Bookshop, 15 Christopher St, 212-255-8097; $18.95–$21.95 each) Do your Christmas tree a favor and replace its tired angels with a posse of fish-tailed fellas. The different styles—doctor, party boy, surfer, leather queen, pirate and barkeep—are just like the boys at your favorite nightspot, but cuter.
Hillary Nutcracker (Oscar Wilde Bookshop, $19.95) The First Lady ain’t no lady. And the possible future President is looking butcher than ever in this campy incarnation—the kitchen utensil no nut-serving holiday host can do without.
Gift donations (nclrights.org, $40 and up; nctequality.org, memberships $20–$35; stonewallfoundation.org, $50 and up)
Does someone on your list have it all? Then give to those who don’t, in his or her name. The National Center for Lesbian Rights, National Center for Transgender Equality and local Stonewall Community Foundation are all worthy causes.
Maine Bear pottery (thecompletebear.com, $18–$100) Has someone been eating your porridge, furry friend? Next time, make sure you serve it in a handmade salt-glaze bowl that bears the unmistakable ursine marker. Mugs, plates, creamers, platters and canisters let hirsute hunks mark all the grub they’ve hunted and gathered.
