Rachel Zoe tries her hand at gift wrap

[November 17, 2012]  NEW YORK (AP) -- A pretty package can make up for a so-so gift, says stylist-designer Rachel Zoe.

Don't underestimate the power of stylish wrapping paper, a beautiful bow and a thoughtful card, says Zoe, who has crafted her own paper designs for an online home-goods marketplace.

She is among the tastemakers who have partnered with the website for the One Kings Lane Holiday Charity Series. Other participants include Rachel Roy, Stacey Bendet of Alice & Olivia, Lela Rose and Katie Lee.

Zoe's products will benefit Save the Children. Orphan Aid Africa, The Bone Marrow Foundation and The Edible Schoolyard Project, among others, are also represented charities.

"The same rules apply to gift-giving and gift-wrapping as they do to getting dressed, serving food: Presentation is everything!" she says.

Zoe's One Kings Lane wrapping goods, with animal prints and metallic colors, inspired by her fall and resort fashion collections, will complement the other things she likes to use to trim special packages, including pages from glossy magazines and the fashion illustrations that still appear in some newspaper ads.

She's been known to unwrap gifts while keeping perfectly folded lines and undoing bows to keep them pristine so she can use them again.

"Recycle! Recycle!" she says.

The one wrapped gift she can spot from a mile away is something from Hermes. "I love to see that orange box. Anything in that orange box is fine -- it doesn't matter what it is," Zoe says. "It could just be an empty box and I'll feel like I got my gift."

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Online:

http://www.rachelzoe.com/

http://www.onekingslane.com/

[Associated Press; By SAMANTHA CRITCHELL]

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