I think everyone was happy to see the back of that kitsch madness when the 90s rolled in and the amidst the explosion of everything gastro we were allowed to flex our culinary muscles in the kitchen with a romantic home-cooked dinner for two featuring hand-reared, corn-fed something or other and the appropriate full-bodied red. Massages and pampering where the order of the day, trips to a plush spa, candles, your inner this, your outer that… you remember.

St. Valentine’s Day has now evolved to a place where, pretty much anything goes. The idea of what’s romantic, no longer has to involve candles or the colour pink. Thank god for that. Romance is simply about showing your special some one what they really mean to you, that you think about them, that you care for them, and what’s the best way to do that? That’s right, gifts they actually want.

It’s a universal axiom that men are quite easy to please, albeit one that comes with a caveat. Men are easy to please as long as they get something useful, if it’s not useful, it’s wasteful, and waste is the biggest turn off of all for men.

So here are a few things that are 100% certain to push his ‘useful’ buttons while ticking the elegant, unexpected, and luxury boxes at the same time.

A good bow-tie is something you always need, unfortunately the only time it ever enters your head is when you’re dressing for an evening out, your shirt is buttoned, your collars are up and you realise, you still got the same limited choice of bow-ties to choose from. Not this time though, because now you can choose between the classic silk affair or the flighty polka dot number that you got on Valentine’s Day. A polka dot tie and pocket square will lift any out fit with a new energy.

Belts are useful, they keep your trousers up. Crocodile skin belts are just awesome, they keep your trousers up AND they’re made form the skin of the baddest river-dwelling apex predator there is.

You can not fail with this. ‘Campioni’ the collection of young footballers shot by Domenico Dolce is the photographic bible of the cream of Serie A’s emerging talent, anything football-related is a winner in my book.

The DG7 men’s watch is the gift that keeps giving. It’s pure elegance and its timeless style is combined with top drawer Swiss technology. A self-winding mechanism means you’ll always be up to speed on time.

Dolce&Gabbana sunglasses are both useful and ultra cool, these understated versions are very manly, they’ll keep the sun out of your eyes, make you look slick and allow you to check out the talent unnoticed.

Nothing says ‘I love you’ like leather. Not in a ‘Fifty Shades’ way, in a gimme something made from the finest, softest leather and I’ll love you forever. Take your pick from a brief case, iPad cover, phone cover, a wash bag and two sizes of wallet.

For a gift that is as much for you as the man in your life ‘The One Gentleman’ perfume is one of those ‘everybody wins’ presents.

Written by: Hugo Mc Cafferty

Credits: Dolce&Gabbana