101 Gifts You Should Buy For Me This Holiday Season

I need a good balmaccan. It needs a belt, and it can’t fit slim at all—it needs to be full enough that, when I cinch the belt up tight, the belt does something, the fabric has to cinch up around it, you know? And obviously, it has to be past knee length, with a raglan sleeve, and a fabric that’s soft but heavy in just the right way.

This one is from Stoffa. I’d want a size 52.

I wanted this one before realizing that it was the one Carmy wore in season 3 of The Bear. Now that I know that, I’m less sure. But I’d be a medium.

No, a smooth leather flight jacket and a suede blouson are not the same thing, don’t be silly. I’m happy in a 50, but I’d probably get a better fit MTO.

I tried this vest on at Alfargo’s, and tried it on. I haven’t historically been a vest guy, but man, it was good. But I wasn’t willing to pay what it cost, which was… much less than $700. Maybe you’re more willing than I am. I’m a size 40.

Ventile is a fantastic fabric, I should really talk about it in a video at some point, but it’s especially cool in that it is breathable until you try getting it wet, at which point it becomes waterproof. That’s awesome. A ventile parka (not just a trench or mac, I need a hood for the rain, I really do) really feels like the perfect warm-weather rain jacket. I’m a medium in Sunspel’s outerwear.

Ugh, just look at that texture! Merino wool, thick, handknit, cozy as they come, good colors… I love ralph but come on, this is just something else. I’ll take a medium. This referral link should also give you $25 credit, which means you can buy it for me for under $400! What a deal!

I have one in ecru (pictured) and want more, mostly in white and espresso. These things are super luxurious, and feel more like light, short sleeve cotton sweaters, if that makes sense. The ribbing makes them just look really great.

I really like layering a crew neck over a good ocbd, but I’ve wanted to give v-necks another try lately. mainly from seeing Rubato’s. Rubato’s are good.

They’re on the thicker side, and have this unique checker texture. Unfortunately, they’re sold out right now in most sizes (I’d be good in a medium or a large), but they should be restocking in January. I’d happily accept a gift card now… and the bigger the better, I’m always going to want Scott’s clothes.

Unlike the knit tees above, this one is just a basic tee… except really, really nice. John keeps ranting and raving about how a tee shirt and jeans is the best fit a man can wear, and while I don’t agree… sometimes, that’s just what I’m in the mood for. I’m a medium.

I think a small is actually the right size for me. This is a vibe, short cut and all. I’d wear this in a lot of cool ways. I’d wear this with flares. Oh, boy, do I have a pair of flares coming…

This is something else. 12-ply cashmere. Good details. Thick. Soft. I’ll probably wear it every minute of every day for the rest of my life. I’ll have to resist the urge to move to Alaska. I’ll take a medium, in navy, or cocoa if it’s back in stock.

Original Equipment does fun washes and colors of Camber hoodies and sweatshirts. I like the black and mauve flooded hoodies. I’d probably be a medium, maybe a large.

Inis Meáin would normally be the place to go, but they don’t have exactly what I have in mind in stock. Their name refers to the Aran Isle on which they operate, and they inherit all that heritage, but their current selection just isn’t exactly what I want.

Chamula’s is the best I see in stock right now, except it’s not in stock in my size right now (a large). They do have their brown in stock in a large, which I would love, but I’d love the off-white more. Also, remember, these are hand-knit. That’s so cool.

Spier & Mackay has an Aran turtleneck in stock in a lot of sizes. Nothing wrong with it, pretty nice, just… not as good as Chamula’s. I guess I’ll link to Spier’s.

When I first started getting into clothes, I got a few linen button downs from Abercrombie. I loved them. Their linen quality is still really quite nice, but their collars are tinier than I like, with a less appealing roll.

These Maximilian Mogg button down collars are better. I’m sure the linen is better too. And I feel like I could dress these up, if I wanted to. I’m usually a 15.5-32 in dress shirts… but he has my measurements, so we might as well go bespoke.

I’ll take a size 40. I thrifted one of these secondhand in a different color, so I know I like them, but I don’t own a black shirt I like, and this would be a handy thing to experiment with.

I spoke to Ludwin at some point about developing a fuller cut with No Man Walks Alone and Sartoria Carrarra. If you pay for it, I will work tirelessly to develop that cut into the greatest MTM suit money can buy.

Or similar wearable robotic thingamajig. Please and thank you.

Fred cuts suits for The Crown. And Wonka. And Andor. And… Tetris? And for my buddy John. He is a talented and versatile tailor. I’d experiment here. Not sure exactly what I’d get, but it would be a lot of fun.

I need a good pair of dressy chinos. I only have one pair of chinos right now that can hold a crease, and they’re giant flares from Gucci. This pair from Casatlantic is very similar to the classic Ralph Lauren Andrew cut. The main annoyance is that I’ll need to iron them on occasion. But I’ll survive. I’ll take a 34/30.

I already have these in a good pink color, and I wear them often through the summer. They serve both the role of shorts and a bathing suit very well. I’d like another pair, in black.

This particular model is their workwear style in a dark wash denim. They use a twisted side seam to create a really unique silhouette. I’d be happy to try any style out, see how I can style it. I’m a size 50.

I’d really want to get these bespoke, talk Nina through exactly what I want out of my pair. RTW looks pretty mid in the rise and the legs are probably cut a little long for my body, so yeah, let’s go bespoke.

They’re fun. I’m probably a size 40, maybe 40.5. All of these colors are good, but they had a navy at some point, if you can find that…

Side-zip boots would be really easy to slip on and off, and just feel better than my current Chelsea boots, which I don’t love for several reasons. I would either want a super sleek pair with some extra heel like these from Husbands (45mm heel) (I’m a size 42, I’ve tried them on), or…

I mean, come on. Charvet. Shout out to Bari for reminding me I wanted these. I’ll take a medium in navy or brown, thank you.

These are not house slippers. Black velvet slippers in this style are actually one of the three types of shoes that are, strictly speaking, black tie appropriate, the others being patent leather pumps and patent leather oxfords.

Ugh, I think I’m a size 7, but I can go try them on again in store if you wanna double check.

Simple, casual socks that punch above their price point. I do need purple socks. These get even cheaper depending on how many you buy, and are among the cheapest options here.

In the same vein as Anonymous ISM, but more fair isle patterns.

I have one pair, and they’re really nice. Right now, I would be more interested in their long length, size 10.5. And I don’t have a pair of black silk socks, so if you want to support my dreams of an unimpeachable black tie outfit,

I bought one of these hats a long time ago and lost it. I felt very bad, partly because I never lose hats, and partly because it was a really good hat. Inis Meáin makes top quality knitwear, really some of the best in the world, and to have a hat that makes Loro Piana look like Shein for these prices is just exciting. And now I know what I’m missing, and it feels bad. I would like another please. thank you. (Referral code should still give you $25 off).

As I’ve said before, the best jewelry carries meaning. Something with a story behind it; a find, a gift, or even something custom made. I could tell you which piece to buy me, but that might ruin it. Buy me something that means something to you, or me, or us; even the act of giving can imbue meaning to an object.

This is tricky, it really has to be just right. Partly kitschy, partly accurate. like these from shirts2000, or these from Bailey Goldberg, or Old Jewish Men, pictured here. But don’t buy me another OJM hat, I guess, I have the one I want, don’t I? Maybe a crocheted bucket hat from some local crocheter… Fun fact, if you search eBay for men’s crocheted bucket hats, you’ll find that a lot of the hats have beer cans on them. Weird. I don’t need one of those. But you know, something fun.

I could use another giant tote, I shouldn’t really rock my sonic tote around everywhere. Kilim is cool. This one technically isn’t kilim, I think it’s based on a Persian rug, which is only cooler, because I’m Persian.

Patagonia makes these tencel boxers I think are really nice. I’m a medium. Boxer-briefs are common, but I definitely prefer boxers.

It’s cold. I could use a few more long-sleeved undershirts / base layers. That might include a thermal, or just heattech. The tricky thing is, the common crew neck only really works with a turtleneck, I’d rather have a lower-cut crew or a V-Neck… which Uniqlo used to sell, but then they stopped for some reason.

Have I mentioned that I’m Persian? I’ve flipped through this book at a library. It’s beautiful and has fun new versions of all my family’s classics, plus quite a few dishes I’ve never seen before. I’d love a copy.

I’m tired. I read all day. I spend time on screens all day. But I like literature. I want more of it. Classic literature, especially. Send me some audiobooks, especially in DRM-free formats (which are more of a gift than some credit to a proprietary Amazon service, although I wouldn’t mind those either).

I’m not trying to get too fancy with my editing, but when I try to speak in videos from a very moderate distance, my voice sounds terrible. The two-piece mic setup here (receiver + mic) would solve this problem; the 3-piece setup would additionally be useful for future interviews and junk.

My current standing desk setup is awkward without a wireless keyboard to type on. I’ll be able to write articles more comfortably with this keyboard, which I think is cool.

Some of the games on my wishlist are on sale; for others, you would be better off waiting for a sale; for others, full price makes sense. In any event, I will appreciate the game you buy me! Credit to this dude for the art.

I’m not going to provide a link to a plant, here, that’s silly. Go to our local farmer’s market, buy me a plant, and then bring it to me. It’s not that complicated.

I recently got some nice samples and a full-sized tester bottle of Layton from Parfums de Marly. I thought this might satisfy me, but… no, I think it’s only made me want more. Still, I don’t trust my taste in fragrances, and encourage you to pick something you think I’ll like. I generally like bourbon and vanilla and various peppercorns. But some of you will know what I want better than I do.

People do say good things about these Margiela Replica fragrances.

I like clothes. I really don’t know much about skincare. I know I have sensitive skin, and obviously I shave my head. If you can get me good skin stuff, like moisturizers or cleansers or aftershave balms or the stuff I don’t even know I want, that’s one less thing for me to think about, and also my skin will be better. So that would be a very nice gift.

A friend of mine recommended L’Occitane, so their skin stuff is the skin stuff I’m featuring here. Oh, also, do they have beard stuff? I could use a beard oil or whatever.

I’m Persian. My family plays a lot of backgammon. A lot of high-end menswear and menswear-adjacent brands make super fancy backgammon sets. You could buy me one of those. Those brands include J. Mueser; Brunello Cucinelli; Chopard; and L’Objet. The one above is J. Mueser; it has those fancy dice cup things and it… just feels good, you know?

A lot of the gifts here have been pretty expensive, so this one is for the cheapskates. All you have to do is dedicate yourself to me, for all eternity, support me with your entire being, and promise to yourself you will never doubt me. Totally free.

These things are super fun. And super expensive. And super fun.

This flask from Hender Scheme is cool. Now, I could just get cheap flasks from some science supply store or something, but the whole mesh on top is cool, Hender Scheme is cool.

where tf am I gonna keep all this shit you’re going to buy me?

I really want to control the media and the banks and stuff, but to start, I really need one of those Jewish Space Lasers I keep hearing about.

You remember that Hurricane, Helene? Well, it turns out, it was pretty bad. You should donate to the recovery, and then tell me you did it because of me, so I feel good about myself, even though I’m really not doing anything. A fancy NGO-type friend of mine assured me that this link was a good way to donate, but I’m sure Thomas Flight’s links are also perfectly good.