Planners For the New Year

The written word has all but lost the scratching sound of pencil hitting paper — replaced by the tap of fingers against keyboards and dialpads. But for every BlackBerry purchased and note scribbled on a virtual “Stickies” application, there are consumers shunning the electronic overhaul in favor of simple paper-and-pen notetaking. Lucky for those traditionalists, there are plenty of beautifully bound 2008 date books and diaries on the market.While the vice president of a handcrafted leather goods company, Lederer de Paris, Robert Blau, estimated that 95% of his clientele has electronic organizers, he said many of them still “like to have a jotter with them.” At its New York store, Lederer sells a well-edited selection of leather and calfskin planners — in a range of pocket and purse sizes. Just recently, the luxury leather goods purveyor Smythson added two new colors — lilac and clementine — to the dozens of candy-color and jewel-tone diaries and planners at its West 57th Street location. For the international traveler, the “cosmic travel diary” comes complete with maps, and the “fashion diary” boasts shopping information for the style capitals of New York, Paris, Milan, and London, as well as a conversion chart of worldwide clothing sizes.A manager at Smythson, Jacky Adams, attributes the popularity of traditional planners to a matter of dependability. Many customers “don’t exactly trust their BlackBerrys,” she said. (The store, however, does offer an array of covers for electronic organizers.) “There are a lot of people who have had our diaries for 30 or 40 years and they keep them lined up — and they can go back and retrace their days,” Ms. Adams said.A 23-year-old assistant working in the jewelry industry, Caroline Stetson, said that while she is part of a computer-savvy generation, she prefers her pen-and-pencil routine — and her Louis Vuitton agenda. “I think it’s a throwback to this sort of old-school glamour where you had all this paraphernalia like cigarette cases and lighters, ” she said.WHERE TO FIND• Coach, 35 E. 85th St. at Madison Avenue, 212-879-9391, among eight other Coach stores in Manhattan, or at coach.com.• Giorgio Fedon 1919, 30 Rockefeller Plaza at 49th Street, 212-582-3232.• Hermès, at 691 Madison Ave. at 62nd Street, 212-751-3181; 15 Broad St., between Wall Street and Exchange Place, 212-785-3030.• Lederer de Paris, 457 Madison Ave. at 51st Street, 212-355-5515.• Louis Vuitton, 1 E. 57th St. at Fifth Avenue, 212-758-8877; 116 Greene St., between Prince and Spring streets, 212-274-9090.• Smythson of Bond Street, 4 W. 57h at Fifth Avenue, 212-265-4573.

Planners For the New Year

Planners For the New Year

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