What to buy a cool-dude dad
Father’s Day present ideas when an All Blacks’ memoir won’t cut it.
It feels fitting on the day dedicated to dads to compile some men’s stuff that I truly adore. Much of this I’m wearing myself, the rest I’m coveting or enjoying seeing on my husband.
Matt Nash gets two inclusions as I’m smitten. A clever and creative designer, now he’s moved to Northland and has the space to captain several projects. There’s his eponymous menswear label, his bespoke uniform service (kitting out the service teams of imageconscious eateries) and he frequently collaborates on bags and accessories for other local designers.
I’m a long-term sock lover, always searching for a good pair and observing for business research, so it’s hard to impress me these days. But Pair of Thieves immediately caught my eye. I’ll admit I’ve only seen images – not socks in the flesh – but the pictures of their socks and undies have me very interested.
The “pair” are three LA-based friends: Cash Warren (Mr Jessica Alba), Alan Stuart, and David Ehrenberg are creating socks with fun patterns at the good price of $15. In New Zealand, they’re available exclusively at Farmers.
At first glance, these Dr Martens boots are a standard 8-up boot, but notice that the sole is slimmer. These are Dr Martens Lite, sleeker and lighter than the original, more like wearing a sneaker than a leather boot.
While this means they forfeit some of the “Grrrrr” of an original DM, it makes them ideal for people like me who want to look tough, but have soft, pampered feet and no time for the blisters involved in breaking them in.
Fresh ranges have recently dropped from two of my favourite eyewear purveyors. Specsavers’ latest collaboration is with WILL.I.AM, the hip-hop superstar and tech visionary. Kate Sylvester’s is a female-heavy eyewear range, given that’s her main market, but several styles are perfectly unisex. You can buy them at selected optometrists.