Man Gifting

When it comes to the main man in your life, gifting can be the worst. You spend so much time with this person yet your stumped when that special day draws near, especially when you're on a budget. 

I was inspired to do some man-gift hunting when a coworker of mine wanted to deliver her boyf something to cheer him up at work after a bad day. Super thoughtful, only one problem.... What the heck do you get him??? Flowers? Too girly. Chocolates? Too love dovey. Gift card? Too boring and not thoughtful. Buy him lunch? You do that all the time. Now my girlfriend is stuck with an adorable idea and no way to get it out to her man.

Time to tap in to the male psyche... I have to confess I'm not great at this upon instinct. You have to consider both parties here: the woman and the man.

The Lady

The woman wants to her gift to be well-received (we women are always thinking about ourselves - selfish brats). We want to be sentimental, but not cheesy. We want our men to put the gift to good use, but don't want it to be so "every-day" that it doesn't seem special. We want it to be whimsical and cool so that they can show it off to their buddies, proudly. We want other women to say "Wow, GREAT IDEA. I'm going to do that for my man." Most importantly we want it trump the last perfectly, awesome gift we gave him.

We women, have ridiculous standards. Let's not forget this gift isn't for us, its for him.

The Man

He wants his gift to be something he actually wants. The man wants a treat, something out of the norm, yet something he's been eying for some time. Maybe he's dropped hints to his lady, or maybe he was sharing something he intended to buy but finances didn't allow for it. He wants to feel appreciated (who doesn't), but never lose the role of "the man in the relationship." He wants to gloat indirectly to his wingmen. In other words, he wants the gift to do the talking.

How to let the gift do the talking

 1. Do your research. Has he dropped hints while you both are out and about? Maybe he's missing a piece to something he already has.... a camera, sports equipment, a techy gadget. Is there something that needs to be replaced of his? A wallet, phone, iPod, shoes, watch...

2. Be practical. A lot of times we get carried away. This shouldn't be stressful, it should be fun.  Ask yourself, "Does he really want this?" or "Will he actually use this?" We are so close to this person sometimes that we forget the essence of who they are and what they enjoy.

3. Don't spend money, just to spend money.  In relationships, we often try to outdo ourselves and each other when it comes to gifts. Stay within your budget. Don't intimidate your partner with dollars; show them how much you care. That's the good stuff. My man is always telling me "Stop trying to be a hero," which totally pisses me off, but he's right. We aren't millionaires (yet) so why do we try to spend like one?

The gift

Here are some ideas that I would consider getting my man. Granted these won't work for everyone simply because you aren't us. However, I DO believe they'll get your juices flowing and help get you out of the man-gift rut!

Were I've gotten good, goods: coolmaterials.com, CXXVI.net, redenvelope.com, urbanoutfitters.com, obey.com.

WeWood Watches

Clarks Shoes

Grown Wooden Sunnies

Obey iPhone Cases

Redenvelope.com Personalized Bottle Opener

CXXVI

Roll Up Travel Charger from Restoration Hardware

Slouch Beanie from Urban Outfitters

Whoa Socks from Urban Outfitters

Image Snap Custom Ceramic Tiles - Instagram Prints

My Shopping Cart: Lulu's, Madewell, Steve Madden, and Urban Outfitters

Online shopping speaks to me...no driving, gas, parking validation, crowds and dressing rooms (I loathe dressing rooms). I'm constantly loading up my virtual shopping cart with "I wish I could afford this" items. Then empty it when I snap back to reality. My number one rule when shopping online is NEVER, EVER buy full price items (unless its already dirt cheap).

Here's the list of steals I got this week...
(P.S. I'm obsessed with Lulu's. I've never shopped this store before. I discovered a Lulu's piece on one my favorites bloggers A Beautiful Mess. Very trendy and very reasonable. CZECH it.)

LuLu's

Dinner For Two Coral Red Shift Dress $40. Can't wait to sport this at a wedding this weekend. I'm obsessed with long sleeve dresses.

Madewell

Vintage Rocker Cords. Originally $89.50, on sale for $19.99! I can't always afford Madewell so I almost shed a tear when they still had my size on this sale item. I've been dying for a pair of super-bellbottom cords. Can't wait til fall!

Steve Madden

Steven by Steve Madden Women's Stalker Slingback Pump. Originally $85 (I think), I got them for $39.97 on Amazon. I first laid eyes on these puppies in Nordstrom Rack a couple months ago for $70.They fit like a glove in store, but had some wear and tear on the heel so I decided to pass them up. I've been dreaming about them since and landed a hell of a deal. I guess patience really is a virtue.

 Urban Outfitters

Ecote Wood Peep-Toe Slingback Sandal. Originally $59, on sale for $24.99. Such a great summer sandal.  I love a heel I can wear to work and successfully climb stairs in.

Summer Solstice

June 20th, the summer solstice, is today and summer has officially arrived. While we always are blessed with good weather in LA I am happy to say good bye June gloom and hello to sauna heat, popsicles, vacations, tans, bikinis, aloe vera, sunnies, frisbee, boating, and margaritas. Here's a mix of my personal photos and web finds that have me stoked on summer.

Free People HQ

I had the HUGE honor of visiting URBN Inc. headquarters in Philadelphia last week to interview with the Free People brand. It was a quick 48 hour trip, jam packed with long flights, meet-n-greets, tours and interviews. I even had the pleasure of meeting the FP president, who was just so sweet and graceful. Everyone I talked to made me feel right at home, which eased my nerves.

I wish I had the chance to take pictures of the inside of the buildings, they were a dream - lush greenery, colorful decor (all hand made), cozy couches, vintage accents, hard wood floors and paneling, mood boards and of course tons and tons of gorgeous fabric and clothes.

URBN Inc. is an umbrella company, owning Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie, Free People, BHLDN and Terrain. HQ is located in the scenic old Naval Yard on Philly waters. There are huge lawns surrounding the URBN brick buildings where you'll find employees and their faithful pet companions. One of the buildings includes a full cafeteria (looked like awesome eats, had I not been too nervous to have breakfast), gym and day care center. The whole scene is almost like a university campus, but with older, more beautifully, well dressed people.

This is the out of the FP building... massive.

The view from on of the docks on the Naval Yard. These ships are unreal, now I know how Rose felt on Titanic. ;-)

FP didn't have a store in it's home town til about two months ago, which I thought was interesting. The number of FP retail stores has almost tripled in the past two years.

Walking the streets of Center City in Philly. I didn't land til late. This was taken around 11pm on a Wednesday night.

Another view from the docks of the Naval Yard.

This is a better look at the URBN "campus." All of the buildings in view are URBN owned.

A dinner recommendation from an FP recruiter - Amis. I ordered a big glass of wine and a spicy pasta. SO GOOD.

This was actual my favorite picture from the trip, which coincidentally had absolutely nothing to do with Free People. Oh well. I call it "The 'Phil'ly Harmonic" - a window display for what I'm guessing is a music studio.

All of the great retail brand shopping can be done on Walnut St. in Center City. My hotel was around the corner.

My interview feet.

Each building is labeled with these "shield" signs. The Free People building is 25, which is where the FP blog title came BLDG 25.