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Christmas is a little different when you’re a member of the Kardashian family. Kitschy Christmas sweaters are replaced with Schiaparelli Couture breastplates, and gift-giving is a touch more… extravagant than it is for the rest of us mere mortals. Case in point? Kim Kardashian’s notably bougie gift to younger sister Khloe. On Instagram Stories this morning, Khloe revealed Kim had gifted her a crystal-embellished purse in the shape of a basketball—a little further digging proved that the gift was both sentimental, and a slice of fashion history.
Kim’s gift was likely a nod to Khloe’s on-again off-again partner, the NBA player Tristan Thompson, who recently signed with the Boston Celtics after more than a decade with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Kardashian gave birth to her first child with Thompson, daughter True, in April 2018, but the couple split soon after, when it was revealed that Thompson had repeatedly cheated on Kardashian throughout her pregnancy.
Two years on, and reports continue to surface that the pair have rekindled their romance. Khloe spent the week before Christmas celebrating the holiday season with Tristan and True in Boston. “Tristan is so happy to have Khloe and True with him in Boston while he gets settled,” a source told Hollywood Life. “He’s so excited to start this new chapter and get on the court with the Celtics. But having Khloe by his side while he adjusts to the next several months means even more.”
Sentimental value aside, eagle-eyed fashion fans will recognize the basketball-shaped purse as one of the quintessentially kitsch designs created by the New York label Judith Leiber. The brands’ namesake, the Hungarian-American designer Judith Leiber, died in 2018, but her crystal-embellished martini glass-, french fry-, and tiger-shaped clutches continue to have cult appeal. All this despite their eye-watering pricetag—Kim’s gift for Khloe cost a cool $4,000.
Lieber’s purses grew in popularity through the ’80s and ’90s, and were immortalised in an episode of Sex and the City in which Mr. Big infamously gave Carrie a Judith Leiber purse in the shape of a duck. In the 2008 movie spin-off Sex and the City, the designer cropped up again with Charlotte’s daughter Lily toting a $4,000 pavé-encrusted cupcake bag to Carrie’s wedding.
All of which is to say, Kim’s present to Khloe was a win on two fronts. Sentimental personal meaning? Check. A piece of fashion history that she’ll keep forever? Check again.
