Best Accessories Gifts for Men

A very thin leather wallet with pull-tab card access and a slot for folded notes, made from environmentally certified leather.

The default answer, and it is the default for a boring reason: most men are carrying a wallet that is too thick and have not got round to fixing it. The Slim Sleeve is thin enough to live in a front pocket, which is the entire design brief, and it uses pull-tabs rather than card slots so the cards come out fast instead of being excavated. The leather is the kind that softens with use rather than cracking, and Bellroy backs it for three years, which means a seam failure becomes the maker's problem rather than an awkward conversation about the gift you gave. Two honest limits. It holds fewer cards than the bifold it replaces, so a man carrying a dozen loyalty cards will find it a downgrade rather than an upgrade. And there is no coin pocket at all, which matters more to some people than they expect.

The slimmest G-Shock, with an octagonal bezel and analog hands over a small digital display. Widely nicknamed the CasiOak.

The watch to buy when you want a watch to be an accessory rather than a project. The GA-2100 is the slimmest G-Shock, with an octagonal bezel and analog hands over a small digital window, and the practical consequence of that slimness is that it goes under a shirt cuff — something the traditional chunky G-Shock does not do. Underneath the styling it is still a G-Shock: shock resistant and rated to 200 meters, so it never needs taking off for a shower, a pool or a day of actual work. It also needs no explanation and no winding, which is what makes a gifted watch get worn. The honest problems: it became so popular after its 2019 launch that there is a real chance he already owns one, and the digital window is small and stays unlit until a button is pressed. If he already has one, the DW-5600E is the other end of the same idea.

Lightweight polarized sunglasses in a classic square frame, from a brand built around sport and driving eyewear.

The sunglasses pick when you are buying for a man whose face you cannot measure and whose glasses go missing. The Swank is a classic square frame — the safest shape to guess with, considerably safer than aviators — with genuinely polarized lenses rather than merely dark ones, which is the difference between cutting glare off a road or a lake and simply dimming it. They are very light, and grippy nose and temple pads keep them in place when he moves. Most useful of all for a gift: Tifosi sells an XL version, which almost no brand at this money does, so a wide face is actually catered for instead of being quietly ignored. The limits are real. The styling leans sporty, so they will not suit a tailored wardrobe, and the frames are plastic and feel light rather than expensive in the hand.

A stainless multi-tool with pliers, wire cutters, a locking knife blade, screwdrivers and a file, backed by Leatherman's 25-year warranty.

The pick for a man who already owns a toolbox and would rather have the tool in his pocket. The Rev is the sensible entry point to Leatherman: pliers, wire cutters, a locking knife blade, screwdrivers and a file, in stainless steel, backed by the company's 25-year warranty. That warranty is the actual reason to buy this rather than a supermarket multi-tool — it converts a cheap-feeling purchase into something he is still carrying in a decade, and it is the clearest signal of quality in the category. A locking blade is also meaningfully safer to use one-handed than a friction-fit one. Two things to know before you buy. It is heavy enough in a trouser pocket to be noticed, so it suits a belt sheath or a bag, and it cannot go in hand luggage, which rules it out as a gift handed over at an airport or mailed internationally without thought.

A tiny sealed brass pen that writes upside down, in the cold and in the wet, and fits in a coin pocket when closed.

The pick when you want something that feels considered and costs little. The Bullet is a sealed brass pen about the size of a lipstick when closed, and the pressurized cartridge means it writes upside down, in the cold and on damp paper — conditions that stop an ordinary ballpoint dead. For a man who writes on site, in a van, outdoors or in a notebook on his knee, that is a genuine functional advantage rather than a party trick. It is also solid metal, so it has the heft of an object rather than the feel of stationery, which is what makes it read as a present. The downsides are physical. It is short and thick, so it is uncomfortable for anything longer than a page, and the polished finishes show every fingerprint. The matte and black finishes avoid the second problem.

A compact leather card wallet with an RFID-blocking lining, in a wide range of colors.

The pick when the budget is small or the wallet is one gift among several. This is a compact leather card wallet with an RFID-blocking lining, sold in a wide range of colors, and it does the same core job as the Bellroy above for a fraction of the money: it gets the wallet out of the back pocket and into the front. If you are unsure whether he will take to a slim wallet at all, this is the right way to find out, because it costs little enough that a failed experiment is not a waste. Be honest with yourself about what it is, though. The leather is basic and will not survive a decade of daily use the way a Bellroy will, and it is tight when new — cards go in stiffly for the first week or two until it breaks in. Both are fair at the price.

A tiny single-AAA keychain flashlight, bright enough to be genuinely useful, with a twist-on tail.

The pick for the small slot in a bigger gift, and one of the few cheap objects on this site that reliably gets a reaction months later. The i3E is a tiny single-AAA keychain light with a twist-on tail, and the reason it works is not brightness but presence: it is small enough to stay on a keyring permanently, so it is in his hand when a car footwell, a fuse box or a dropped key actually needs lighting. It runs on a AAA battery available in any shop anywhere, which is a real advantage over a proprietary cell when it dies on a trip. It is also cheap enough to buy two and leave one in a glovebox. The compromises are exactly what you would expect at the size: it is not rechargeable, and it has one brightness level with no low mode for close work.

A cordless beard and body trimmer with a self-sharpening steel blade and a full set of guide combs, washable under a tap.

The pick when you want the gift used several times a week rather than carried. The Multigroom 7000 is a cordless trimmer with a self-sharpening steel blade and a full set of guide combs, and it covers beard, neck, nose and body with one device instead of three — which is the point, because the three separate gadgets it replaces are exactly the kind of thing a man owns one of and tolerates. The detail that decides whether a trimmer gets used or shelved is that it rinses clean under a tap; a trimmer you have to brush out with a tiny plastic brush gets abandoned. The cordless runtime is long enough to travel with. Honest downsides: there are a lot of attachments to find somewhere for, and it is not a substitute for a razor if he shaves fully clean, so do not buy it as one.

Cushioned socks with a reinforced heel and toe and a stay-up cuff, sold under a one-pair-donated model.

The pick when you know almost nothing about him, because socks are the one accessory with no sizing trap and no style risk. These are cushioned, with a reinforced heel and toe and a cuff that stays up, and they are one of the few socks that people notice and then buy again with their own money — which is the only review that matters. The one-pair-donated model also gives the gift something to say about itself, which is useful when the object is small. Two caveats worth stating plainly. They are expensive per pair, so a multipack is a real spend rather than a cheap fill-in. And socks are a supporting gift: excellent next to something else, thin as the only thing in the box unless you are buying for a man who has genuinely asked for them.

The original metal-framed aviator, available in several lens finishes including polarized and glass.

The pick when the gift needs to mark something and you want an accessory he would not buy himself. The Aviator Classic is the original metal-framed aviator and it has stayed in style for decades, which makes it a far lower-risk expensive gift than a fashionable frame would be. It is sold in several lens finishes including polarized and glass, and the glass options resist scratches better than plastic — worth the extra on a pair meant to last. It also comes in more than one size, so you can match a fit rather than hoping. The two risks are genuine and you should weigh them before spending this much. Aviators suit some face shapes far better than others, and on a round or very broad face they often do not work at all. And the thin metal arms bend if they are sat on, which happens to sunglasses in cars.