She may be a bit more reliable, but your mum doesn’t let you mess around with air-rifles or stay up late and watch Predator. Nope, that’s dad stuff, so with Father’s Day this Sunday, you can finally say cheers for all the times he bought you pen knives and let you steer the car. But there’s not long to go, so you don’t end up doing a last minute trip to the service station to get him a bottle of whiskey, here’s the Oi Polloi Father’s Day Gift Guide. And if you happen to be a dad and are wanting to avoid the usual rubbish gifts you’re probably going to receive on Sunday, do yourself a favour, have a browse of this and then start dropping a few tactical hints.
A good wallet is a classic way to separate men from boys, so any self-respecting pop should have a half decent currency-carrier. For a super-smart, slicker-than-slick wallet, the Italians know what they’re doing, and both Calabrese and Il Bussetto make some absolute beauties perfect for paying bills, writing cheques and load of other dad things. And if your old man is a bit of a gadget-dad, then Il Bussetto also do a rather fetching iPhone cover that’ll be a bit more fitting than that one he got from the pound-store.
Calabrese / Nerano Wallet / Blue Leather
Il Bussetto / Press Stud Bi Fold Wallet / Brown
Il Bussetto / iPhone 4 Case / Light Brown
If your dad’s got a bit of a temper on him, then we’d probably advise against buying him a belt. But if he’s not an advocate of a bit of the ol’ corporal punishment, then a fine Argentinian leather belt from Estribos or a woven wonder fromAnderson’s would make a great gift. After all, who wants to see their own dad’s trousers fall down?
Estribos / Polo Belt / Ollie Azul
Anderson's / Woven Leather Belt / Dark Brown
We’re not really sure what dads carry in their bags. Tins of rice pudding? Lengths of string? Razzle? But whatever they carry around, dads need to keep their stuff dry just like anyone else, so these 100% waterproof dry-bags from
Watershed are just the ticket to cast out wet-possession woes.
Cast your mind back to your youth, endlessly waiting in the rain to be picked up by your dad. While it's too late to heal these wounds, the least you could do is give him a good watch so he won’t miss the snooker any-more. As far as time-telling goes, you can’t go wrong with a sleek Braun number or an industrial beauty from Uniform Wares.
Uniform Wares / 150 Series Wristwatch/ PVD Black
Everyone knows lads like footy. Well do you know who else likes football? Dads, that’s who. So treat him to a delightful bit of football-based reading matter such as Paszport!, the one-off football zine from the chaps behind Rig Out magazine, or for a bit of advanced commentary and the beautiful game, you can’t go wrong with The Green Soccer Journal.
The Green Soccer Journal / Issue 3
Socks have always been a mainstay of the gift-buying scene, and for good reason — everyone needs them, they fit right and they don’t cost the earth. As luck would have it, we happen to sell socks. So whether your dad wants stripes, patterns or even some straight-up psychedelic masterpieces, we should have something for him, in fact the only socks we don’t have in are the classic Homer Simpson socks, but don’t fret. You could always sew Homer J on the socks yourself later on to add a personal, hand-crafted, DIY flavour.
Scott Nichol / Rib Block Strip Sock / Green
And if you still don’t know what to get the miserable old git, then take the tough decision making process out of gift buying and just get him a gift voucher. On a side note, did you know that in Germany father’s day is known as Mannertag (as in men’s day) and is celebrated by pulling a wagon of beer up a mountain and then proceeding to drink the contents. So if you’re still not sure what to do, how about dragging a shopping trolley full of Carling to the highest peak in Heaton Park?