As I grow older and spend more seasons observing and commenting on the glittery world of fashion, I find I am less interested in fashion itself — fashion as changing trends, that is. My tastes are waxing nostalgic. I am craving quality and gravitas. (Except, of course, in the underwear department.) Here is a short list of the kinds of things that strike me as real luxury. Unless otherwise indicated, all gift pricing is in (sometimes adjusted) Canadian dollars; no pricing includes S&H fees.
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Terre d’Hermes
Here, from one of the most conservative perfumeries in the world, a truly unusual fragrance: It opens with a blast of grapefruit and settles into a cedar basenote base note. Around $170
Kent Badger Shaving Brush (pictured)
Yes, it’s real badger hair, and it’s manufactured by appointment to the Royal Family. Get the biggest one you can afford, for maximal lather. From around £50
Naked Microfibre Boxer Briefs
The great advantage of these Canadian-made briefs is not just that they are seamless but that they don’t have the giant wide logo-blaring of every other waistband brand. Around $30.
Walker Slater Gift Voucher
I would put to very good use a voucher for this ultraconservative British tailor (with shops in London and Edinburgh that I will visit if I am lucky enough to travel to such hallowed places again). My likely action: Put the voucher towards a heathery three-piece tweed suit. Such a moody mythologizing of Britishness is the photography on their website, it resembles a Merchant-Ivory film. Recommend £50
Lock Straw Boater Hat
Made by the most famous British hatter, this stiff, lacquered straw boater is strictly for summer — but that will be here soon enough. What the French call a canotier, it’s designed for regattas, Renoirish café-concerts and general estival elegance. £125
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Image courtesy of Dharion.
