Growing up in an upper middle class home, I remember one of my biggest childhood concerns was buying my dad gifts whenever Christmas 
or his birthday rolled around. It was tougher than I’d expected, and even now my opinion on that hasn’t changed.
It isn’t that he didn’t appreciate the ties and shirts he kept getting from me (bought with his money and my mom’s help), but it felt a little routine at some point. (Although my mom was a really great shopper who got the most distinctive and gorgeous silk ties, as well as apparel from the hottest menswear brands around.) My dad—love him so much—appreciated anything we gave him, and was always amiable about receiving gifts (until we got more expensive items and he started realizing how much his gifts were costing him).
Now shopping for men is back to being a concern because of B. Well, not so much a concern as a consideration, since B. is really easy about gift-giving, and I can usually get him sports books. Thing is, with B. being more exploratory now, delving into a new books, music, movies, television shows, fashion, gadgets, and whatever else he wants to explore, naturally, gifts follow suit. Men of his age (which is generation smack between my dad and my friends) need to 
be careful about being trendy but not trying hard to be young. There is a natural fit and balance that they have, which is more conducive to picking certain kinds of gifts than others.
When B. and I went over some gift sites and trend sites for men, I got a much better feel of what works for the urban male. Our men’s issue of the i section is most often right on the mark when it comes to items of interest to men of all ages—except in clothing, which tend 
to be targeted to younger and more fashionably adventurous males (well, we are the youth section of the paper). Basically, the average (and even slightly above average) man is still conservative but enjoys a certain amount of play, and usually less in their attire as their gadgets and “toys.” Men still enjoy classic, classy items (like leather products, writing instruments, and any kind of casual-sport item), but they’ll tend to be pleasantly surprised by a twist to classics.
Anyway, here’s a rundown of sites we discovered that are great for buying gifts or at least provide good references for styles and brands that work for men.
The description on the site reads: “Uncrate is a web magazine for guys who love stuff. Our team finds the best gadgets, clothes, cars and more so you can blow your rent money easier. Updated daily.” B. had a fun time going through this site, although half the stuff were way beyond my budget.
The site is divided into Gear (which includes portable media, gaming, TV and video, outdoor, sports, digital cameras and camcorders, and even musical instruments, among others), Cars (which covers pretty much all kinds of cool land transportation), Style (which includes apparel, accessories, bags, shoes, and watches, to name a few), Discs (meaning DVDs, CDs, video games, and, strangely enough, books) and Crib (which is home items).
It actually surprised me how enthusiastically B. went through the Crib section. Like the other sections, the items under Crib were functional yet entertaining. There was an interesting (and hilarious) item called the Villain Chair, an oversized chair which goes for $6,800, that we totally loved. It really looks the part, and it seems fairly comfortable (well, for that price, it should be).
B. also took a liking to the Confederate B91 Wraith Motorcycle, which incorporates a handcrafted quality, exotic, retro looks with modern technology and materials, and comes at a hefty price tag of $55,000. It’s a 410-pound bike with a 100-cubic-inch V-twin engine that has over 120 hp.
The other vehicle B. fancied was the Bugatti Veyron. But, as Uncrate puts it, “if you ever see us driving a Bugatti Veyron ($1.2 million) we either stole it or just won the lottery.” The car really packs a wallop at 1001 horsepower, and goes from 0 to 60 mph in less than three seconds, and has a crazy top speed of 253 mph.
On a more practical level, B. found he liked the more rugged Guess Brushed Buffalo Cuff Watch and, of course, the first season DVD set of My Name is Earl.
AskMen.Com is a general men’s lifestyle magazine, but manages to be concise and straightforward—it understands that men have less patience for surfing and navigating, and navigates and answers questions directly the way men would find convenient. It also manages to be in a language that men can understand and appreciate—which goes a long way in selling newer, trendier ideas.
It doesn’t dwell too much on fashion in its Fashion and Lifestyle section, but it offers trend advice that is practical and acceptable to the general male population—meaning, it isn’t a shock to their system. Case in point, their highlights in the current Men.Style.Com Fashion and Lifestyle are: “How To: Become A Recording Artist,” “Things Guys Can’t Live Without,” “Travel: Tips To Get Through Security,” “L.A. Style Blog: West Coast Shades,” and “FL: How To Find Good Help.”
I personally find myself stopping to check on the site more and more often (yes, even if I’m not a guy). Although I still skip over the sports section altogether.
Men.Style.Com, which has online versions of Details and GQ, is the counterpart of top fashion and trend site Style.Com, the online home of Vogue and W. Like any good men’s magazine, it does not just cover fashion but lifestyle—specifically gadgets, home entertainment and sporting goods.
This site has a huge database of catwalk looks, and a growing database of trends (obviously not as big as Style.Com, but pretty big anyway). Of course, catwalk style is not always the most palatable thing for men, but a lot of the highlighted looks on this site are fairly conservative ensembles with twists that men may be willing to try.
On of my favorite reads on this site is the Street Style section, which is written by none other than the Sartorialist, whose street style blog I have really enjoyed for some time. His street choices are usually smart looks which are very wearable for men—nothing too outrageous. While I personally like street styles off of Harajuku or Helsinki better, I know men (like B.) will appreciate the stylishness and elegance of the Sartorialist’s selections.
Of course, the original Sartorialist blog is an indispensable read. While it caters to both men’s and women’s fashion now, it started with mostly men’s street fashion and still hosts a healthy selection of men style on the street.
Unlike many blogs, photos on this blog are crisp, well-composed shots. Of late, the Sartorialist (probably because he now works full time for Men.Style.Com as well) bought his own Canon 5D with a 50mm/1.4 lens. According to a blog entry on the camera, it’s what he used in Europe for the men’s shows and what he used to rent for shooting GQ or other assignments.
Run by the same people who gave you Gawker and Idolator, Gizmodo is to men what Popgadget and Gadget Candy are to women, if only because 
a lot of the items as well as the “features” are more of male interest (at least as far as branding and marketing are concerned).
What I like about Gizmodo is apart from featuring new items, it gives you reviews and occasional links to articles and reviews on other online publications. The writing and humor is very masculine as well, and you get little interesting departures like this article on “How to Steal an Election with a Diebold Machine.”
Right now I’m eyeing the CEDIA 2006: Crosley Digital Jukebox. It’s an iTunes-integrated full-sized Digital Jukebox with a touchscreen, and is run on a Mac Mini. It goes for $5,000 and is out in a few months.
Luxury Sites: Luxist and Luxury Reviewer
These sites always feature the most expensive items, which are actually the toys that boys really like. But unless you’re Mark Cuban, it’s fair to say you won’t be purchasing anything on these sites anytime soon. (Mark Cuban actually holds a world record for biggest online purchase—a friggin’ jet!)
Still, these sites are fun to browse, and for the aspirational market (which is most of us), it’s eye candy we can at least afford to drool over. It’s fabulously mind-blowing to read about the world’s most expensive ice wine, or the huge new 213-ft yacht from Benetti, or the world’s most expensive homes.
September 26, 2006 at 1:00 am
Well if you can’t quite afford that yacht or 60,000 CND bottle of wine to buy for your dad but are still looking for an elegant, luxury gift that will really surprise him this year…check out the Black Tie music box from Reuge! That’s what I bought my dad last year and he loved it! I hope this will help give some of you an idea of what to get that “impossible person”!
http://www.reuge.com/index.php?option=com_oscommerce&osMod=advanced_search_result&keywords=black+tie&x=0&y=0&osCsid=76563fe87da110ad4328a51df64d58a
September 28, 2006 at 1:36 pm
The music box is gorgeous. Though I don’t know if it’s my dad’s thing. But he’ll smile at it anyways. Fathers do that.
November 8, 2006 at 9:57 pm
[...] Original post by morningcup and software by Elliott Back [...]
April 4, 2007 at 3:07 pm
When I had to buy my father a present I always asked my mother because I had no idea what he wanted.But sometimes some clothing or mens stuff can do good job.Every man needs something to wear when going outdoors because my fater always says he has nothing to wear for example.
May 6, 2008 at 7:04 pm
I’ll tell you what…something that always works for me is taking my father out to dinner. It’s not a $60,000 yacht but it’s the next best thing. keep it simple and personal.
Besides, my father doesn’t need a damn thing! HE’s got everything he wants so taking him out to dinner is a nice gift. People remember those things sometimes forever.
May 18, 2008 at 10:22 am
I detailed my Dad’s car for him. He loved it! Sometimes it’s the things you do instead of the things you buy that make the difference.
September 26, 2008 at 5:41 pm
Can i use your bugatti veyron picture for my web desgin class