A good present is one that gets used. Not admired once and put in a drawer, but carried every day, worn every week, reached for without thinking. That is the brief we design to in Brussels, and it is the only test we applied to this list.

Everything here is leather or fine wool. The leather is vegetable-tanned in Tuscany and made into wallets by hand in Portugal, with painted edges and a gift box. The cashmere is a fine cashmere and virgin wool blend, knitted in a family-run Portuguese factory, and our beanies are pure Italian merino. Three budgets, a few pieces in each, and the pairings we would put together ourselves. We update this guide every November, so the prices and colours below are this season's.

Gifts under €50

The hardest budget to get right, and the one where most gifts end up feeling like an afterthought. Cashmere solves it. Very few things at this price are genuinely luxurious; a pair of cashmere socks is one of them.

Cashmere crew socks, €35

Our most given gift, by some distance. The blend is 10% cashmere and 38% virgin wool, with recycled polyamide at the heel and toe so the pair lasts the winter and the one after. It is knitted fine, so it fits inside a loafer or a trainer as easily as a cotton sock, and it is warm without any bulk. The blend is Global Recycled Standard certified.

Choosing the colour is the easy part. Navy, khaki and black for someone who dresses quietly; red, orange or bold blue for someone who likes to be noticed at the ankle. One size for women and one for men, by design, so there is no size to guess. The men's covers EU 41 to 45, a little narrower than our cotton socks because cashmere stretches less.

Cashmere striped socks, €35

The same blend and the same crew length, with a broad two-colour stripe. A striped pair feels a little more like a present than a plain one: it is the sock people rarely buy for themselves. Ecru and black is the classic. Grey and red, or navy and strong blue, are easy with any winter wardrobe. Golf green and lime is for someone with a sense of humour about their feet.

Cashmere lurex socks, €35

New this season, and the pair we expect to see under a lot of trees. Our women's cashmere crew in beige, with a fine silver thread knitted through it. The shimmer is subtle, closer to frost than to glitter, and it lifts a black loafer or a plain boot for the party season without looking like a costume. Same cashmere and wool blend, same one size, EU 36 to 41.

Leather keychain, €25

The smallest thing we make, and possibly the most used: a tab of the same Italian vegetable-tanned leather as our wallets, on a gold ring, with our name stamped in gold. It darkens and softens with every set of keys it carries. A good gift on its own for someone who has just moved house or bought a car, and the easiest way to add a little leather to a pair of socks.

Gifts under €100

This is where leather comes in, along with the one piece of knitwear on this list that is not a sock. The two wallets below are small, slim and made to be carried daily, and both arrive in a presentation box, ready to give.

The Card Sleeve, €55

Our newest wallet and the most minimal one we make. A single sleeve of full-grain Italian leather, thin enough to forget in a front pocket, that holds bank cards, business cards and a folded note. For anyone who has moved to paying by phone and still wants something beautiful for the few cards they carry. It is also the leather gift with the lowest risk: no one already owns too many of them.

Nine solid colours, from black and cognac to clorofilla, a bright yellow-green, plus four camouflages dyed by hand. A range that wide is unusual in vegetable-tanned leather, which takes colour slowly; it is one of the things we are proudest of.

The Cardholder, €75 to €85

If the Card Sleeve is the modern answer, the Cardholder is the classic one. Small and slim at 100 by 70 mm, with two slots on the front, one on the back and a centre section for folded notes: up to six cards in all. It is the one piece in our range that is truly unisex, which makes it our first suggestion when you are buying for a woman, for a couple, or for someone whose taste you are not quite sure of.

€75 in a solid colour or a two-tone combination; there are ten solids, including an iridescent silver, and four bicolours. €85 for hand-dyed camouflage or embossed croc.

Merino wool beanies, €75

A beanie is worn every cold day from November to March, which makes it one of the most used presents anyone can open. Ours are knitted in Portugal from 100% Italian merino: soft against the forehead with none of the itch of ordinary wool, warm without bulk, and breathable enough for a heated train after a cold platform. Unisex and one size, so there is nothing to guess.

Two styles. The ribbed beanie, with a folded cuff, comes in seventeen colours, from navy, black and tobacco to bright yellow, bold orange and vert de gris; it is the classic, and the easiest to give. The checkered beanie sets two colours against each other in a graphic, slightly retro check, red with pink, orange with ecru, green with cream: the one for someone who already owns a plain hat.

Gifts under €150

The proper wallet. These are the pieces that get carried for ten years, and vegetable-tanned leather is the reason: it darkens, softens and takes on the shape of a pocket, so a wallet given this Christmas looks better in five years than it does on the day.

The Slim Wallet, €110 to €125

Probably our best-selling leather piece, and the one we would choose for someone ready to give up a bulky billfold. It is designed for the front pocket: six card slots and a full compartment for notes, without the thickness. €110 in eleven solid colours, €125 in two-tone or hand-dyed camouflage. The red and pink above is the one that makes people ask where it came from.

The Zip Wallet, €110 to €125

For anyone who still pays for coffee with coins. A zip runs around three sides of a small, flat square of leather, 12.5 by 9 cm, and opens onto an open compartment for coins and notes with a card slot inside. Very minimal, very practical, and a good choice for someone who travels. €110 in solid colours; €125 in two-tone, hand-dyed camouflage, embossed croc or our iridescent metallic silver.

The Billfold Wallet, €140

The most traditional wallet in our range, and still slim. Room for six cards, two pockets for receipts and full-length notes that never need folding, in a compact 105 by 88 mm. What makes it a present is the inside: each Billfold pairs two contrasting leathers, so the colour you only see when it opens is the one that gets remembered. Light brown with an orange lining, green with cognac, black with blue. Six combinations, €140, for the person who likes to do things properly.

Why the colour is the gift

Most vegetable-tanned leather comes in brown, black and perhaps one green. Vegetable tanning is slow and the hide takes colour less predictably than chrome-tanned leather, so most makers keep the palette short. Our Tuscan tannery goes further, which is why we can offer the same wallet in cognac, clorofilla, violet and pink, and our camouflage is dyed by hand on a different leather. The edges are then painted by hand in our Portuguese atelier, as in the photograph above.

For a present, this matters more than it seems. A black wallet is a sensible gift. A wallet in the recipient's colour is a thoughtful one. If you want to know how that leather will age, our guide to vegetable-tanned leather and patina explains it.

Quick picks

For	Under €50	Under €100	Under €150
Someone who is always cold	Cashmere crew	Merino beanie	Beanie and cashmere socks
A minimalist	Leather keychain	Card Sleeve	Slim Wallet
Her, or a couple	Cashmere lurex	Cardholder	Zip Wallet
A traditionalist	Cashmere striped, ecru and black	Cardholder, cognac	Billfold Wallet
Someone hard to buy for	Cashmere crew, navy	Card Sleeve and cashmere	Slim Wallet and cashmere

Leather, cashmere and merino, in use

See all leather  ·  See all cashmere  ·  See all beanies

Still deciding?

An Escuyer gift voucher lets them choose the colour themselves. It is the right answer more often than people think, particularly for leather, where the colour is so personal.

Questions we are asked

Do Escuyer wallets come gift boxed?
Yes. Every Escuyer wallet, from the €55 Card Sleeve to the €140 Billfold, arrives in a presentation box with the Escuyer name in gold, so it is ready to give without any extra wrapping.

What size cashmere socks should I buy as a gift?
You only need to know who they are for. Escuyer cashmere socks come in one women's size, EU 36 to 41 (UK 3.5 to 7.5), and one men's size, EU 41 to 45 (UK 7 to 10.5), a narrower range on purpose because cashmere stretches less.

Are cashmere socks a good gift for someone who has everything?
They are one of the best. Few people buy cashmere socks for themselves, everyone wears socks, and a fine cashmere and wool blend is noticeably warmer and softer than the cotton pairs most people own, without adding bulk in a shoe.

What is a good leather wallet gift for a woman?
A small cardholder is the safest choice: slim, truly unisex and easy to carry in a coat pocket or a small bag. A zip wallet suits someone who still uses coins, and a card sleeve in a bright colour suits someone who carries very little.

Is a merino wool beanie itchy?
Not if the merino is fine. Merino fibres are much finer than ordinary wool, so a good merino beanie feels soft against the forehead, stays warm without bulk and breathes well enough to wear from a cold platform onto a heated train.

Escuyer. Considered design, made to last.