Extrapetite's 2010 Gift Guide...for Guys

This is a guest post written by Nick, boyfriend of PAG.
 
Hello again, readers of Extrapetite. If you've come across this post on your own, chances are you're not a guy. And if you are, might I suggest a more gender-appropriate website—ESPN, maybe? 

In the interest of helping you petite gals shop for the men in your lives (and in my own interest of dropping a few blatant hints) I've assembled this list of last-minute gifts that most dudes may appreciate. 

1. Socks and Underwear
An underrated gift. They're useful long-term, but they also provide short-term value by delaying laundry during a holiday season full of more important activities such as watching college football games and pretending to like egg nog.

With socks, go for anything but white because we have plenty of those. Try black or gray ankle socks, and if you live somewhere cold, something from Smartwool or the J.Crew camp socks. For underwear, anything brand name to spruce up our existing collection of threadbare Fruit of the Loom.

2. That Thing We Love But You Can't Stand

Maybe it's our high school backpack, a pair of old Vans, or an ill-fitting thrift store plaid shirt. Whatever it is, we should've tossed it long ago, but part of the reason we love it is because you hate it. Well, now's your chance to upgrade for us. As long as the new thing is equally functional, we'll probably be cool with it. A few good conversions:
 

Replace: Ski jacket with cinched waist, neon accents and 10 years of accumulated lift tickets
With: Wanaka Down Jacket by Patagonia

Replace: Cracked and peeling jersey of a player who’s been traded to another team
With: Vintage NFL t-shirt from Junk Food Clothing

Replace: Shirt that used to be my dad’s and smells like moth balls
With: Sunwashed flannel shirt from J.Crew (look for these on sale in-store)

 

3. Video Games
This gift comes with a caveat—you must let us actually PLAY the game, without reprimand, at least four days a week for the first month, and then twice a week every week thereafter. Also, keep in mind we have more video games than you know about, so do a little snooping to see what we’ve already got. NBA 2k11, Call of Duty: Black Ops and Red Dead Redemption are solid options available for both PS3 and XBOX 360, ranging in price from $40 to $60.

4. Craft Beer Sampler

Do you know a guy who loves beer? And I don't mean that like, "he really loves Bud Light." If he's ever spent over half an hour wandering the beer aisle just to pick a six-pack, he'll appreciate a nice sampling of craft brews. Follow this easy mix-and-match guide:

Match any of these brands:

Stone, Rogue, Sierra Nevada, Harpoon, Avery, Allagash, Anderson Valley, Brooklyn, Great Divide, Founders, Dogfish Head, Rogue, Victory, Troegs, Surly, AleSmith, Lagunitas...basically if you haven't heard of it, that's probably a good thing.

With any of these words:

India Pale Ale (IPA), Brown Ale, Ale, Porter, Stout, Belgian, Winter, Seasonal, Limited, Hops

5. Non-Douchey V-Neck T-Shirts

Until last year, I’d never worn a v-neck t-shirt for two reasons: 1) I don't have a waxed, tattooed chest that I want to show to the world; 2) I refuse to buy a plain t-shirt if it costs more than the $5-for-10 pack of Hanes. But last Christmas my mom got me these Premium Pima Cotton V-Necks from Banana Republic. At 3 for $44 (combine-able w/ sales and coupons), I'd never buy them for myself, but if I had more I'd wear them every day. They only dip a little more than a crew neck, and they’re fitted without being tight.

6. Handmade Gifts
These are wonderful and we will tell you how much we love them and how we will cherish them forever. What we won't tell you is that we'd love it even more if you knew how to hand-make an iPad. Which brings me to our last gift...

7. iPad
I don’t need or even really want an iPad. But let me put it this way, if I found one under the tree on Christmas morning, there would be no need for a gift receipt.

Guest Post: Plight of the Petite Blogger's Boyfriend

Happy Monday, readers! I didn't have anything prepared for today so I will share a guest post from someone who has been key to the success of my little blog. Hope you enjoy, and maybe some of your boyfriends/hubbies can relate!

Being “Boyfriend of PAG” comes with important duties -- tasks such as taking blog photos and knowing when to say, “that makes you look tall.” But the number one responsibility that accompanies dating a shopping-happy 5-foot-tall lady is, of course, taking her shopping.

I’ve written this post to give a male perspective on a few retail establishments, partially in hopes of providing some guidance, but mostly to let all the fashion blogger BFs out there know: you’re not alone, dude.

Click below to continue reading...

("Man Score" represents the maximum number of minutes a man can tolerate being inside each store. Having a smart phone is assumed. If not, divide scores by at least 2.)

Abercrombie & Fitch, Abercrombie (kids), Hollister, Gilly Hicks, et al

This family of stores is decent at first, but quickly becomes nauseating. Literally. I have on several occasions walked out of an A&F in desperate need of Tylenol and an airsickness bag. I would rather drink ten shots of SoCo Lime than spend an hour in one of these wood-shuttered, perfume-drenched, techno-pumping caves.

A few redeeming qualities: men's stuff without a moose on it is usually OK, adequately organized, relatively inexpensive, and really good looking employees (Hooray for discriminatory hiring practices!).

Man Score: 15 minutes

Recommended plan of action: Ear plugs, nose plugs -- any kind of plug would be helpful, really. Otherwise, hold your breath and try to get out before the 16-year-old behind the counter offers you a job.



Forever 21
The only store a guy hates more than a Forever 21 is a two-story Forever 21. Any purse-holding man who's been made into a temporary clothes rack while following a woman around in tight figure eight patterns knows what I'm talking about. I’ve been to flea markets better organized.

Some stores are starting to carry a men's brand, which seems like a lower quality H&M. I forget what they call it, and I don't really feel like looking it up because whatever it is doesn't change the fact that when people ask me "Where did you get that?" I would have to tell them, "Forever 21."

Man Score: 45 seconds

Recommended plan of action: Bad sushi, too much Indian food, ruptured knee ligaments, a severed limb -- if you have any of these cards to play, by all means play them now. Your second option is trying to embarrass your petite shopper as much as possible. Try on women’s hats and sunglasses or wander off into the lingerie section and start dispensing unsolicited underwear advice. Sure, you might have to leave the Forever 21 with mall security, but you’ll have left, right?


Theory outlet
Theory has a few things going for it. Firstly, it's small, well organized and not crowded. This prevents aimless wandering (see: Forever 21). The music doesn't suck (again, see: Forever 21, Abercrombie). Employees are friendly and know that a guy in the fitting room can help facilitate a purchase. Compare this to a store such as Forever 21, where fitting room attendants assume the only reason a man would need to be in there is for hanky panky or shoplifting.

Also, a nice touch is the men's magazines Theory keeps on the benches around the store. Usually Details or GQ. These are magazines some men would rather not admit to reading, so we take secret delight in situations like this where we are "forced" to read them. However, the magazine bonus is nullified if you make us come here twice in the same month.

Man Score: 32 minutes

Recommended plan of action: Find a padded seat in a quiet corner, hunker down and start familiarizing yourself with fine Whiskeys and the dos and donts of boat shoes. This is as good as it gets, but look at it this way: at least you're not at the Coach outlet.

Hmm, so I did not realize the bf hated F21 so much (okay, maybe I did : P). Do you gals have any tips and tricks to share on how to keep the significant other content during shopping trips?