When doing Gift Guides, it always best to organize them by person or by purpose. But that’s not happening this year. Instead you are going to get a fried rice of gift guides – a little of this and a little of that throughout the week.
The other change this year is that the items are a bit more costly than usual. I’m starting to look more for investment pieces, rather than crap that lasts a year or two. We’ve got enough crap in our lives.
Alright, here are a few things that are for the dude of the house. I’m loving Thursday Boot Company boots; they are slightly edgy, but not too much. They look extremely solid.
Barbour coats are solid. And it helps that the guy from Outlander is one of the models.
You can’t go wrong with a Nike sweatshirt.
I just started Roddy Doyle’s Smile and can’t put it down. It’s a dude’s book.
Makers Mark baseball cap. Or better yet, a bottle.
Well, that was organized, wasn’t it? Alright, no more of that. 
Apt. 11d 
You know, I’ve been trying to think through the investment concept. I think I’m too fickle to invest in clothes. But, I’m coming around for shoes. I’m thinking about whether I should also add coats to the list.
And, my growing teen has convinced his dad to regularly buy him $100+ Nikes, on the grounds that he wears them all the time, even if he has to replace them frequently. I have a hard time getting my head around that, but I’ll let his dad take the responsibility. He’s angling for some Uggs now, after outgrowing the ones I used to wear, and I don’t know if I’m going to give into that one.
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Tell him he can either have $100 shoes and bottom-shelf bourbon or $50 shoes and Maker’s Mark.
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If it’s trendy (one season tops) or an infrequently worn item (hello fancy party heels that I rarely wear), I’ll go with something less expensive. But for things that I wear often (ankle boots, etc), I’ll spend for quality. For the latter, the cost per wear can end up being less than a cheaper item that is out of style quickly or too trendy.
I’ve also noticed that the bottom has dropped out of quality. T-shirts for example – it’s either billowing, unfitted, untailored t-shirts made from low quality fabrics or ridiculously expensive ones. That middle ground no longer seems to exist. We’ve been funneled to fast fashion/disposable clothes.
Finally, I find having a “uniform” makes it easier too. Smaller wardrobe of things that I love to wear.
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There’s a coat I recently retired that I wore 12+ winters. I could have worn it longer, I just didn’t want to.
So, yeah, I buy the idea of the coat as investment.
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