If you are buying a Christmas gift for a man and want the short answer first, here it is. Give something he will wear every week, in a size you cannot get wrong. From our own range, that means the Boot Socks, the Herringbone Scarf and the Ribbed Beanie. If you know his size and want the one gift we would give our own families, it is the Fair Isle Quarter-Zip at £35.95. What follows is the long answer: ten things from our range, each with the reason we would give it and the honest catch we would want told to us before we bought it; three things we would give that we do not sell; one thing we would not give at all; and the dates that get everything there in time.
How this list was chosen
Three rules governed every pick. First, we would give it ourselves — to a brother, a father, a friend whose taste we know and whose opinion we would have to hear afterwards. Second, the catch had to be small enough to print next to the price, in the open: where a cloth is polyester or acrylic, this guide says so in the same breath as the recommendation, exactly as the product page does. Third, nothing here is a paid placement, and most of what follows is ours — we sell it, and we say so. Prices were checked against the live store on 27 October 2026, and every price includes free tracked UK delivery. If a pick failed any of the three rules, it came off the list, however well it sells.
The dates, before the gifts
We are an online house, and we would rather state our timing plainly than dress it up. Orders are dispatched in 1–2 working days, with delivery 6–10 working days from order, tracked at every step. Order by Wednesday 9 December and even the slowest end of that window closes before Christmas Day. Leave it until Monday 14 December and you are relying on the typical end of the window, not the safe one. After that, give the gift card at the end of this list — it arrives by email the moment you buy it, and it has saved more Christmases than any courier.
A note on sizes, for the sized gifts
Three of the ten below are sized, and a gift is not the moment for guesswork. The reliable route is the label of a jumper he already wears well — most men are the same size across knitwear. Our product pages publish garment measurements for every size of the knits in this list, so a tape measure against that jumper settles the question properly. Where a product page advises sizing up for a relaxed fit, we say so there and repeat it here rather than smoothing it over. And if the size is still wrong in January, unworn pieces come back within 30 days of delivery — keep the packaging until he has tried it on.
The ten
1. The Fair Isle Quarter-Zip — £35.95
The house's signature knit, and the gift we would give first. It is 95% cotton with a Nordic jacquard chest band over a cable-knit body — a pattern with genuine history behind it, worn through British winters for a century, and cut so it reads as considered rather than seasonal. Five colourways, sizes S to XXL, and garment measurements published for every size.
The honest catch: a patterned knit is a taste call. If he wears only plain navy and grey, take the Charcoal colourway, or the Marl half-zip below. And check the measurement table before you choose — the sizes are garment measurements and the fit is regular.
2. The Shawl Collar Cardigan — £65.95
Our most generous gift: a soft cotton-blend knit with a rolled shawl collar and two patch pockets — the layer that makes a plain T-shirt look deliberate, and a coat unnecessary indoors. Black and Bottle Green are the standouts; Charcoal and Navy sit between them.
The honest catch: the front is open. There are no buttons, by design. If he likes to fasten a cardigan shut, this is not that cardigan, and no wrapping will change it.
3. The Marl Half-Zip — £47.95
A marl-textured knit with a stand collar and a warm lining — the jumper we reach for ourselves, in Light Grey, Charcoal and Petrol, sizes S to XL. It wears over a T-shirt or under a coat without arguing with either.
The honest catch: we do not publish a fibre breakdown for this knit, so we will not invent one here. If fibre content matters to him, the Fair Isle above lists its 95% cotton openly; choose that instead, with our blessing.
4. The Boot Socks, five pairs — £21.95
Thick wool-blend knit with a brushed inside and a ribbed cuff, made for boots and cold floors. Five pairs in one pack, in Mixed, Grey, Brown or Navy — a gift that gets used the same week it is opened. One size, UK 6–11, so there is no size to guess. Our socks buying guide compares all three of our packs honestly, per pair, if you want the detail.
The honest catch: one size means one size — outside UK 6–11, choose something else. And for hygiene, socks can only be returned still sealed in their packaging, so pick the colour with care.
5. The Thermal Socks, three pairs — £17.95
The stocking filler that actually gets worn. A thick rib knit in a wool, polyester and elastane blend — the synthetic share earns its place here, in hard wear and a cuff that keeps its shape. Charcoal, Grey, Navy, Brown or Heather Mix, one size UK 6–11.
The honest catch: they are not merino, and we will not call them that. If his drawer already holds fine merino, these are the workhorses that stand next to it, not a replacement for it.
6. The Herringbone Scarf — £9.95
A brushed herringbone scarf, 180 × 30cm with fringed ends, in three tonal greys that sit with any coat he owns and carry no logos. It is the finishing layer for a coat he already has — which is why it is so hard to give badly.
The honest catch: the cloth is polyester — a wool-look weave, not wool. We describe and price it as exactly what it is. It earns its place on drape, length and warmth for the money, not on a fibre it does not contain.
7. The Ribbed Beanie — £8.95
A short, cuffed, fisherman-style beanie in a soft rib knit, worn turned up or pulled down over the ears. One size with a stretch fit, in Black, Grey, Olive or Navy — the under-£30 gift that, in our experience, never comes back.
The honest catch: it is an acrylic knit. Warm, light and shape-holding — but acrylic. At £8.95 we think that is a fair exchange, and we would rather state it than dress it in softer words.
8. The Herringbone Flat Cap — £4.95
A classic flat cap with a short stitched-down peak, in Charcoal, Brown or Light Grey. The herringbone weave adds texture to plain coats and knitwear, and a cap is the one piece of winter dressing most men will not buy for themselves.
The honest catch: “tweed-look” is the precise description — a woven herringbone, not a named mill tweed. And it is one size: for a man with a notably large head, the beanie above is the safer hat.
9. The Fleece-Lined Gloves — £12.95
Smooth black gloves with a soft fleece lining and a press-stud strap at the wrist — the tailored finish to a winter coat, and the pair that live in its pockets from November to March. One size, black only.
The honest catch: they are faux leather, and the name says so before we can. If he would only ever wear real leather, buy him real leather, from somewhere that sells it. These are the warm, tidy, honestly priced alternative.
10. The Gift Card — £25 to £200
Delivered by email with its code the moment you buy it, spendable on anything in the store, across as many orders as the balance lasts. It is the right answer in two situations: when you do not know his size, and when December has run away from you. Both are respectable situations.
The honest catch: it arrives as an email, not a parcel — there is nothing to wrap. Forward it to him, or print it and slip it inside a card. We think the choice it gives him is worth more than the paper.
Three things we would give — that we do not sell
We sell clothing, and some of the best gifts for a man are not clothing. Pretending otherwise would make this a catalogue rather than a guide, so here are three we would give, named rather than linked. Buy them from the people who make them.
A bottle of English sparkling wine. A Sussex bottle — Nyetimber's Classic Cuvée is the one we would hand over — carries a Christmas table better than a second jumper, and its giver is remembered at the exact moment it is opened.
A clothbound hardback. The Penguin Clothbound Classics editions are objects as much as books, and a Dickens at Christmas feels exactly right. Any good bookshop stocks them; the choosing is half the gift.
A proper fragrance, chosen properly. A London perfumer — Floris, or Penhaligon's — will sell a discovery set first. Give the set, and let him choose the full bottle himself. We would not buy a full bottle blind, and we do not advise you to either.
And one thing we would not give
A coat, bought blind. However good the coat, a man's overcoat is the most considered thing in his wardrobe — length, shoulder, the way it sits over a jumper — and chosen without his measurements it is as likely to hang in the wardrobe as to be worn out of it. Give the gift card and the suggestion together, and let him choose the coat himself. It sounds less romantic. In our experience, it is the gift that actually gets worn.
The full range — the knitwear, the coats, the scarves and the under-£50 shelf — is gathered in one place: Gifts for Him. Order by Wednesday 9 December for Christmas. After that, you know where the gift card is.
— WARDLEY