you know, because there are so many single men reading my blog. but just in case you have a male friend or little brother in potential peril over this very dilemma, i thought i’d offer some aid.  for that girl you’ve gone out with a few times, and are agonizing over whether you should even get her a gift, let alone what the gift should be, the answer is, first, yes – always get a gift.  err on the side of generosity.  it will come back to you, trust me.

as to what the gift should be, i’m going with costume jewelry.  something inexpensive and a little less lovey-dovey than, say, a heart-shaped pendant encrusted with CZ gems.  you want to go relatively classic – after all, you probably don’t know her style that well yet – but not boring.  tricky business, i know.  and so, may i suggest this scaled cuff bracelet:

i can’t think of many women i know that wouldn’t happily add this to their jewelry collection. it’s classic and tailored enough for the office, but also a great way to dress up a date dress (most men i know aren’t a fan of the huge jewelry trend as a rule).  banana republic does costume jewelry extremely well, and this is a piece she’ll wear for many, many dates to come.  and if the dates (and the girl) fade away, well, you only spent $36.

the tweens, teens and pre-teens, they’re a tricky bunch to gift.  especially this year: unless it’s vampire-related, reminiscent of a fashion item you definitely remember sporting in sixth grade, or at least vaguely illegal, they’re just not interested.  but something tells me they’d be very, very interested in these sweet little treesje cosmetic bags ($98):

ruffles for the sweethearts, and studs for the, um, edgier girls – you just can’t go wrong.  they can throw these into their backpack (girls still carry those, right?), and hopefully feel a bit more gossip girl than twilight when they pull this stunner out to adjust their lipsmackers.  and really, more gossip girl and less twilight? that’s all i’m asking this holiday season. (ahem…well, it’s not all i’m asking…but it’s definitely on the list.)