Father's Day

A wallet, a tie or a flat cap. None needs a size, all get used regularly, and none requires him to be conspicuous. Clothing is the riskier gift because fit preference varies more than most people expect.

The finishing pieces most owners skip. A second sporran in a different register, a proper kilt pin, or hose and flashes pulled from a colour in his sett. Most people buy the kilt and stop, so those are usually the real gaps.

No. Ties, wallets, caps, braces and pocket squares all work with ordinary clothes. Sporrans, kilt pins and flashes do not, so avoid those unless you know he wears Highland dress.

His family sett if you are confident of the connection. If not, a district tartan tied to where the family came from, or a universal sett, carries the same warmth without any risk of being wrong about the clan.

It differs by country. In the United Kingdom and the United States it falls on the third Sunday in June, while several other countries use different dates entirely. Check yours before ordering.

Look at the pieces people replace rather than buy. Hose and flashes wear out, sporran chains get lost, and most men are still using the kilt pin they were given twenty years ago.