Dad Day Dilemmas? Simple Solutions.

The way I see it there are two kinds of dads in this world. Sure, within those two categories lie countless subcategories and divisions of dad differentiation, but essentially they fall into one of two categories.

Variety no. 1: The Traditional Dad; characterized by a need to grill, offer sage advice, smoke cigars, fish, golf, or boat. This dad may or may not be found in a den furnished with stuffed leather chairs, illustrations of boats and quails, a globe that opens to become a bar, and paperweights.

Variety no. 2: The Hip Artsy Dad; characterized by an interest in technology, design, and an ability to dress with a modern fashion sense without looking completely ridiculous. This variety of dad might be found at the Apple genius bar, sipping espresso from tiny cups, riding really fast bicycles, sporting wacky hair and glasses, or showing off his latest youtube discovery from his iPhone.

So, this begs the question: What kind of dad have you got and what are you going to get him for Father’s Day?

I, like a growing number of Americans, have a slightly different question to ask myself. What am I going to get my two dads for Father’s Day? My completely-opposite-in-every-way two dads? Dads are hard. Dads have everything they need and when it comes down to it I am much better at shopping for my hip graphic designer dad than I am for my traditional meat-and-potatoes dad. I don’t mean to pick favorites, but sometimes shopping can feel like a dad showdown.

In the blue corner at 4 feet 2 inches tall seated in his favorite Herman Miller chair, with a penchant for German design, a murse on his shoulder, and a PowerBook under the other, fresh from the autoban iiiiiiit’s Hip Designer Dad! And in the red corner, he’ll build you a deck and grill you a burger- just don’t ask him for a tofu dog, the NRA sport’n, truck-drive’n man with a plan, iiiiiiiit’s Traditional Dad!

I want to feel like I put equal effort into both gifts without putting too much effort into either. So, what’s a girl to do?

For some inspiration I’ve turned my sights to the oft overlooked Gents section at Bestow, where I am constantly stumbling upon the perfect gift for any of the men in my life. So, here’s what I’ve come up with for my dad dilemma.

The designing dad will appreciate anything beautiful, offbeat, simple yet thoughtful, and especially functional (functionality is appreciated by dads of all kinds).  Let’s see, clocks are certainly functional and this reissue of Angelo Mangiarotti’s classic 1956 maritime clock would certainly find a permanent place on his desk. If you’re hip dad digs sleek 60’s design and has a thing for 007 help him deck out his rumpus room with this gold finish clock, flashlight, or calculator from Theo Williams’ Lexon collection. For the drinking dad with a sense of whimsy I’m particularly fond of these moose and bull shot glasses and drinker or not any hip dad would love to sit down with Soul i-D, a visual anthology of ideas from some of today’s most creative minds. My hip dad was once a hippie dad and since he’s always been a lover not a fighter he never racked up many trophies, so maybe this year it’s time I changed that with this über cool glazed ceramic “hero” trophy vase from Kuhn Keramik.

For the classically dad dad it’s best to stick with classically functional manly objects. You can never go wrong with boyscout basics (with a  twist, of course) like this horn handled pocket knife or  brass compas with charmingly behind-the-times sundial feature. If your pop’s a puffer he’ll surely make use of these classically cool Sarome lighters (I can’t stop playing with the snazzy side flint wheel on the slimmer lighter), perhaps while flipping through the pages of Chapman’s Car Compendium. Please the master mixologist dad with this bartender tote and The Ultimate Bar Book. If he’s in desperate need of decking out his den there’s a great collection of hunt club themed decor on sale, classic globe paperweights, and leather boxes for tucking away coins, watches or TV remotes.