I’m a dad now, which means I have a vested interest in good quality Father’s Day gifts. So I thought it would be a good idea to put together a short guide. If you’re looking for gift ideas for a man who’s absolutely killing it as a father, and who’s into menswear and its attendant accessories, read on to learn how to take your gift ideas from yawnz to jawnz.
Here’s the deal
Every guy is different! That makes it hard to make a list of great gifts that are a blanket endorsement. So, I’m going to offer two sound gift-giving principles to go by, plus a few gift ideas if the dad in your life is into classic menswear like me (i.e. tailored suits and jackets, fine leather shoes, that sort of thing).
First, my overarching gift-giving principle, which I am going to call The Rule of Giving Gifts: Give something that the recipient loves and wants, but wouldn’t buy for themselves. This is my universal gift-giving principles because we all have stuff we want and buy for ourselves—and then there are the small luxuries; the things we would totally buy if money were no object, and opportunity cost wasn’t a thing. Receiving one of those things is always the best.
Some specific menswear gift ideas
Before I get to the other general principle, let me list a few killer ideas my friend Zach P. gave me for cool gifts for a dad:
- Any accessory from Drake’s.—This is an excellent suggestion and any man can appreciate something from the London-based menswear shop. If the man has a Continental style, get him a scarf to layer when the temperatures drop; if he likes looking put together, one of their ties is absolutely recommended.
- Sunglasses from Allyn Scura
- A wallet from Chester Mox. Extra jawnz points if it’s one made to be worn in the breast pocket of a tailored jacket.
- A rugby polo from Magill LA
- Birdwell Beach Britches swim trunks
- Some house moccasins, such as from L.L. Bean or Minnetonka
- Gift card to No Man Walks Alone for $100-200
The second guiding principle
That last suggestion from Zach leads perfectly into my second general guiding principle: if the guy has really specific taste that you feel makes it impossible to shop for him, don’t be afraid to get him a gift card to his favorite store with a suggestion for a product you had in mind. This is exactly how I am, and my wife says it makes shopping for me fraught. Thankfully in her case, my brother and I are both on similar wavelengths, so she’s able to talk to him for gift ideas when she buys me stuff, otherwise she’d have no idea! It’d be like me trying to buy her something for our home decor, like a rug or throw—I think I could choose something good, but the risk is high I’d screw it up.
This in turn leads to my brother Zack’s suggestion, which he gave me when I asked for his Father’s Day gift ideas: get something you know the father in question loves, but make it one step up in quality. It’s said that all you need to really enjoy a bottle of wine is to buy something in the next price tier above what you normally drink (so get a $20 bottle if you normally buy $10 bottles). In the same vein, if you know he gets a lot of enjoyment out of a fine dress shirt, get him a shirt that’s a step up in quality, make and fabric. Coming from Banana Republic, that might be upgrading him to a Hugo Boss shirt; coming from Brooks Brothers, that might be gifting him a Drake’s shirt; if he has trouble finding shirts that fit him well, that might be a custom shirt from Proper Cloth or Ratio. Or perhaps he loves pocket squares and ties; coming from The Tie Bar, that might mean upgrading him to a Brooks Brothers square and tie; coming from Brooks Brothers, it might mean upgrading to Polo Ralph Lauren; or if he loves Polo, upgrade him to Drake’s.
Or maybe he loves awesome leather shoes. Maybe he’s been buying Aldo, so you upgrade him to a pair from Beckett Simonon; or perhaps if he wears Johnston & Murphy, and you can upgrade him to Allen Edmonds; or from Allen Edmonds to Alden, Brooks Brothers’ Peal & Co., or a sleek European maker like Crockett & Jones.
Combining this advice with the principle that it’s okay to say “Here, I got you a $150 gift card to Drake’s so you can buy a sweet tie” means that you can put great thought into your purchase, even if he’s got very specific taste.
My own scattered recommendations and a few recommended shops
If you like the advice I have here, but aren’t sure what shops to even shop at, take a look at my Recommended Shops page. These are where I am shopping most of the time, and fully endorse the products they sell.
Here are a few random suggestions of my own
8. T-25, Transform:20, Insanity or any of Shaun T’s other programs. — Big dork announcement: I do silly exercise moves that a ripped, shirtless dude on my phone tells me to do in our spare room in order to stave off Dadbod for 25 minutes a day. But, you know what? It’s a one-time expense, no gym fees, no commute to the gym, and I save tons of time.
9. A leather weekend bag from Gustin. I was given one as a gift recently, and it’s a superb bag, and an excellent gift.
11. Anglo-Italian polo shirt (inspired by a classic polo worn by mid-century style icon Gianni Agnelli)
12. White jeans from Sid Mashburn
13. A custom shirt from Ratio clothing (use code MM20 for 20% off, now until June 21)
14. A bracelet from Kiel James Patrick
15. A pair of suede chukka boots from Meermin
16. Non-dad-jean light wash jeans from Anglo-Italian, Levi’s, or Drake’s.
Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there, and I hope this guide is helpful for those looking to get the fathers in their own lives something that communicates how special he is to them!
(Help support this site by buying stuff through my links; your clicks and purchases earn me a commission from many of the retailers I feature, and it helps me sustain this site—as well as my menswear habit! Thanks!)
