Gift Guide: Ultimate Man Gifts
Still hunting for amazing, rarefied gifts for the men in your life? We're so with you. Which is why we talked Darren Gold — owner of whimsically curated mens' lifestyle boutique, Alpha — into giving us a few concerted suggestions.
Style Section L.A.: What's the most common mistake people make when buying gifts for men?
Darren Gold: Being safe. People are so often timid when it comes to buying gifts for men. They say, 'Oh, this is too much for him,' or 'I don’t know if he would do that color.' I've found the bigger bang a gift makes, the better a guy usually likes it. People forget that when buying a gift for a guy, you are getting him something he wouldn’t buy for himself. There are so many things guys are already afraid to buy for themselves, but if they receive it as a gift, it makes it okay. Obviously there are limits, if a guy would never wear a pink shirt ever, then you can't force it.
What's a great men's gift for the budget shopper?
The Sake Bomb ($50). It’s a Sake “carafe” and glasses set that looks like a land mine. It’s so cool, because you can just leave it out on your bar, or table and people will talk about it….and when you want to drink Sake, you're good to go!
The Sake Bomb
What's an item you would consider a no-fail gift — something that works for men young and old, thick and thin?
A magazine subscription. This might sound really weird in the age if iPads, Kindles, and Nooks, but people still love to get their “books” in the mail! I have a friend whom I gave a subscription to New York Magazine 10 years ago and I just keep renewing it every year. Easy, breezy! You can tailor it for any guy without even leaving your home.
Alpha owner Darren Gold
What are the most popular holiday gifts for men at Alpha?
The Enigma Collection Brain Teaser Puzzles in a wooden box. I have to admit, I didn’t realize this would be such a winner and we have already sold out once. It is kind of two gifts in one, because of the presentation. You can put it out and it becomes a conversation piece as well as an actual game.
There's also the Retro Handset by YUBZ…as in "Why You Busy." While there are lots of companies doing retro-vibed handsets for your cell phone, this one is the most authentically retro and very high quality. Just don’t use it as an excuse to get out of a driving while texting ticket.
And UrbanEars Headphones. They come in great fashion colors, and offer a great sound for a great price. There are lots of mixed reviews on some of the $300 celebrity-endorsed headphones, these are consistently well-reviewed.
UrbanEars Headphones.
Also Giclee record collections from Bughouse. These guys have put together old cassettes, records, and even 8-tracks and photographed and painted them over in actual size, so the canvas looks like you have a shelf of tapes on your wall. People are really into the 80’s Hip Hop version, but there are a bunch of good ones.
What are you favorite finds for men's gift-giving this year?
A Wooden Connect Four game that is so gorgeous, it looks just as good on your coffee table as it does while you're playing it. A certain high-profile stylist is in love with it.
Beatles Yellow Submarine Pinball Machine — because who doesn’t want their own mini pinball machine with all the bells and whistles?
The Limited Edition Star Wars Blue Prints Book. Anyone who is even a little bit of a Star Wars fan will appreciate this tomb that puts together all of the designs, plans, and blueprints for the entire Star Wars Universe. It’s kind of major!
Visit Alpha @ 8654 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles. 310-855-0775.