What do you get a man who already has everything?

The tailors on Savile Row are spectacularly busy at the moment. Not only are they creating bespoke items of clothing as the winter season sets in, but they are also adjusting suits, trousers and coats that no longer fit their customers. With the popularity of weight-loss drugs, such as Wegovy and Mounjaro, there is a swathe of long-time customers who have suddenly found themselves too thin for their beloved tailoring. Savile Row has even been nicknamed MounjaRow by those who have witnessed this flurry of delicate downsizing.

Of course, there is another reason for this hive of activity in the bespoke hubs of London: Christmas is coming. Men are notoriously difficult to buy presents for; they either have everything or claim they want for nothing, unfathomably reluctant to divulge what might be on their wishlists. This is why having something distinctive made as a gift is the preferred option for those in the know.

There’s little you can’t commission to be unique to you or your loved one. Lord Berners, the aesthete and composer who inspired the character of Lord Merlin in Nancy Mitford’s The Pursuit of Love, had a small travelling clavichord made especially to fit under the front seat of his Rolls-Royce in case the muse struck mid-journey. Sir Winston Churchill, meanwhile, invented the overalls-like siren suit, to aid speedy dressing during air raids, and had it made for him by Turnbull & Asser. Today, you can still turn to Hermès for a one-of-a-kind saddle, Purdey for a bespoke side-lock side-by-side and Gieves & Hawkes for medal mounting and Pooley swords.

However, there’s a whole host of sartorial surprises you can commission in the everyday department, beyond the traditional suit or shooting jacket. Moreover, if you opt for made-to-measure rather than bespoke — the latter makes something to your requirements from scratch; the former adjusts a design that already exists — the turnaround will be quicker.

You can turn to New & Lingwood for embellished silk or velvet dressing gowns, for example; to Huntsman for bespoke denim jeans (Katharine Hepburn had hers made there); specially tailored boxer shorts from Turnbull & Asser; Emma Willis for Swiss sea island cotton shirts; Anya Hindmarch for made-to-measure wallets and leather goods with personal embossed messages; Hancocks on St James’s Street for custom men’s jewellery (and Victoria Crosses, should you be awarded one); or you could visit Bamford London’s website and order one of George Bamford’s customised watches, allowing you to choose from a range of hands, bezels, dials and cases. You can even opt for a pair of one-off shoes or personalised spectacle frames.

Shoes are probably the safest bet for a bespoke present. Chances are, both you and the recipient are pretty sure of his size. You can pop in anywhere from George Cleverley (Churchill was a customer here as well) to Tricker’s or Crockett & Jones to choose something personal to be made. At the latter, the style chosen for each special order has to be approved in Northampton by the managing director to ensure leather and design are appropriate and practical. He will then personally oversee the entire process, which can take 10–12 weeks. Prices start from £840. The timeline means you may have just missed the boat (or brogue) for Christmas, but don’t worry: there’s always next year.

Sean Dixon, managing director and cofounder of Richard James, whose bespoke tailoring atelier is found at No 19, Clifford Street has catered to all tastes and requests in the 33 years since it first opened on Savile Row. Its tailors have created bespoke camouflage suits, denim jeans and leather jackets. If you want to order something from there, you can have custom-made sweaters chosen from 100 or so colours (six to eight weeks to order); the same with socks (which can also be monogrammed) and a smattering of one-off ties (minimum order of six).

If you want your other half to look more Bill Nighy than Bill Oddie, why not offer him some bespoke spectacle frames? You can choose them for him or purchase the experience for him to enjoy at leisure (the latter option is best if you’ve left your festive shopping a tad late; Specs in the city). Toby Bateman, CEO of menswear retailer Mr Porter, recently treated himself to a bespoke pair of glasses from Cutler and Gross after making an appointment at the company’s Knightsbridge store. ‘I was offered styles you can’t normally buy or ones from the archives that they no longer produce, in a choice of materials—anything from acetate to super-light buffalo horn,’ Toby says. ‘You can even choose between silver or gold hardware, as you may want it to match your watch.’ He also opted to have his name embossed on the inside of one of the temples.

Toby likes to think he resembles one of the spies in Matthew Vaughn’s Kingsman franchise. If you think this sounds outlandish, such attention to detail pales by comparison with the sartorial antics of the late Neil ‘Bunny’ Roger, a couturier and socialite, whose possessions were auctioned off by Sotheby’s a year after his death in 1997. Roger would have 15 bespoke suits made a year and four pairs of bespoke shoes or boots to go with each one. He favoured four-buttoned jackets with broad shoulders and narrow waists, together with trousers that would require three seams to get the required curve at the waist. His tailors, the now defunct Watson, Fargerstrom and Hughes, were remarkably skilled and patient. This frivolity did not stop him from being an effective soldier in the Second World War, however: he was spotted marching onto the beach during the Battle of Anzio, draped in a silk scarf and clutching a copy of Vogue, exclaiming: ‘Oh, the noise and the people!’ Be thankful you’re not buying for a man like Bunny.

If all this tailormade giving sounds too exhausting — being kind does rather take its toll, I’m afraid — and you’re thinking of opting instead for a book token, consider a more stylish, yet simple option on offer at Fortnum & Mason, where Roger was once employed. Here, you can commission a bespoke blend of tea and have the name of the person you’re giving it to added to the front of the tin. He’ll never know that at the last minute you gave up the ghost and got him some Smokey Earl Grey instead of a smoking jacket from Anderson & Sheppard. Tea, tailoring… he’s lucky to get anything at all.

This feature originally appeared in the November 5, 2025, issue of Country Life. Click here for more information on how to subscribe.