Men and Objects

Men pride themselves on being straightforward and uncomplicated. Its us women who obsess over the details, change our minds in a heartbeat and generally overcomplicate everything.

So, if its us women who are the complicated ones, why is it that men are so hard to buy gifts for? Should be pretty simple right? Wrong. Valentine's Day has been no exception and of course I found myself overcomplicating it all and spending much time pondering what might make the perfect gift for the man in my life.

Some Grenson brogues perhaps? Or Oliver People's glasses? How about a good old Acne cardigan?

One thing is for certain and that's that mankind doesn't want any more pants, socks or cufflinks. I admit I've been guilty of gifting the odd pair of Paul Smith stripy socks but I think Valentine's Day warrants something a little more special.

Try as I might I find it impossible to feign interest in electronic gadgets, machinery and handheld GPS devices. And yet, while my man isn't particularly thrilled about shiny gold trinkets he still bought me a set of Astley Clarke stacking rings that I'd been greedily giving the magpie eye. Come to think of it he is fantastic at gifting. Last Valentine's he sent me a huge bouquet of roses, a card and a box of gluten-free cupcakes...followed by a limo pick up...and a 4 course Valentine's Day dinner at Reflets par Pierre Gagnaire. This year he bought me business class tickets to Sri Lanka and we went dutch on staying at the luxurious Weligama Bay Resort. I'm quickly coming to the conclusion that I'm a pretty rubbish girlfriend in comparison.

In an tempt to appease my guilty, overcomplicating conscience (and please my man) I'm hoping a pair of some Orlebar Brown swimming trunks might do the trick. After all, men may be from Mars but they still want to look dashing with their shirts off.