Be-spoken for: A custom-made gift guide for the dudes in your life

Though Christmastime is unquestionably the season of generosity (and credit card debt), I like to think of it as the time for dropping subtle hints en masse. If you’re anything like me, you’ve given any of the following things in the past as Christmas presents to your father, brother, husband/boyfriend/that-guy-you-hang-with-but-it’s-like-whatever: a grooming kit, boxing gloves, gym clothing. All of the aforementioned, you’ll notice, bear gentle suggestions for self-improvement. While the Nike gym gear was well-received, the boxing gloves were soon forgotten after a few rounds in the ring and certain pieces from the grooming kit were looked upon with mild confusion, then gathered dust in medicine cabinets.

It seems to me, then, that in order for certain men to better appreciate what you’ve chosen for them, they should have some sort of involvement in their production: I’m talking about bespoke gift-giving. Because I live to serve, I’ve put together a guide to the best bespoke services in Manila, whether it’s custom-made scents, jewelry, even glasses. Though you’ll have to set an appointment for your intended recipient and it’ll take a while to get it made (well past Christmas day), there really is nothing like giving a gift that’s made specifically for the men who matter to you. Unless you’re giving cash. Nothing says “Merry Christmas” like cold, hard cash — the more, the merrier.

Bespoke handbags

We’ve come a long way since Joey Tribbiani intoduced the “murse” on Friends. These days, guys have no qualms about placing all of their stuff in their own tote bags, instead of in their girfriends’ carryalls. “That’s how I got started. I got my own custom-made bag where I carry my iPad, iPhones, files, all kinds of things that I dump there,” explains Raul Francisco, the brains behind Eterno, the first local store to sell men’s handbags in exotic skins. Though they don’t advertise their bespoke services, there are clients who place special requests.

It’s hard to estimate how long the bespoke process takes because it requires a week, roughly, to have a bag made, but what really takes a while is the sourcing of materials. “Skins are very, very hard to come by now. And if it’s a more complicated bag with certain lining, it takes longer,” Francisco says. According to him, getting a bespoke bag made only costs 10 to 20 percent more than the ready-made bags in his store. (For reference, a men’s croc leather carryall costs around P185,000.) But if it’s something you’re ready to spring for, it’s not a bad deal, considering the bag is completely personalized from the style, the lining and even the option to place initials on it.

Eterno is located on the G/F of Greenbelt 3, Makati City.

Personalized fragrances

My boyfriend’s Axe body spray is the bane of my existence, but when I sprayed Comme des Garçons Amazingreen and Maison Francis Kurkdjian Aqua Universalis on both his wrists, they gave him rashes. His body clearly has an aversion to synthetic fragrances and good taste. If you’ve been living with the same predicament, why not have a fragrance made just for him? He can choose exactly how he wants his scent to turn out, along with ingredients that he won’t be allergic to.

Oscar Mejia Artisan Fragrances offers custom-made scents using local flowers, floral oils from Grasse, France, spice-derived oils from India and rare oils like opium, champaca and lotus from Singapore. The entire process takes one to two months and costs P2,500 and up for 30ml, but once you get a signature scent right, it’s a convenient luxury. Though some men usually go for citrus (bergamot, orange, lemon grass), woodsy/spicy (sandalwood, cinnamon, ginger) and green notes (green tea, vetiver, patchouli, fresh bamboo), Oscar says that adding flowery notes won’t make them pansies: “Even perfumes for men have  floral components, like lavender and lily of the valley,” he notes.

To book an appointment, call Oscar Mejia at 0928-5501702, e-mail OMArtisanFragrances@gmail.com or visit OscarMejiaArtisanFragrances.com.

Handmade jewelry

Like most women, I’ve always been wary of men who are much more into jewelry than I am, but the ultra-machismo aesthetic of 13 Lucky Monkey dispels all doubts surrounding the manliness that’s in question. The biker “ride or die” lifestyle of the men behind it, sculptor Noli Coronado and his partner Dante Dizon, is what drove them to learn the art of silversmithing in Baguio. “I don’t like my rings to be too clean. I don’t want the bling — something too polished-looking, or shiny,” Coronado says.

The two use a mixture of 92.5-percent sterling silver, along with brass and other precious metals and incorporate diamonds and other stones into their signature skull rings. Making a piece of bespoke jewelry takes one to two months because, as Dizon says, “Our work is handmade, no machining, just pure sculpting.” As a result, bespoke rings start at P13,000, depending on the technicality of the piece. And though the final piece may look unfinished with its rough edges and blackened patina, it’s only because they approach jewelry in the same way that denim purists treat selvedge denim: so that the wearer’s body can fade the blackness over time, in just the right places as they conform to the body.

To book an appointment, e-mail 13luckymonkey@gmail.com or visit 13luckymonkey.com.

Custom-made shoes

I get it. Leather shoes are a man’s equivalent to high heels: they pinch, they’re no good for traipsing long distances and they chafe. But when you finally break them in, nothing else will fit better — especially the type put together by a skilled cobbbler. Apart from offering supreme fit, just the opportunity to create that dream pair of slip-on wingtips with tassels in that specific shade of chestnut should be enough of a draw.

I first heard about Glenmore Shoes from photographer Cholo Dela Vega. They’ve been in the business since 1960, but disappeared for about a decade before being revived by Adam Glen Santos, the grandson of the original owner, Juan Aquino Santos. It takes approximately P7,300 to craft one pair of shoes with leather soles and P11,300 for high boots with leather soles. Soles can be converted to rubber to lessen the cost, but ultimately, what you’re also paying for is the lifetime repair service, which covers re-conditioning, re-soling, color tinting, leather stitching and pasting.

To book an appointment, call Adam Santos at 0908-4918790, e-mail adam@glenmoreshoes.com or visit Glenmoreshoes.com.

Made-to-order frames

The option to customize optical frames and sunglasses are a difficult thing to come by these days, so we’re glad that newly launched optical brand Madeira will offer this service to their customers. “With Madeira custom frames, we make wood frames according to your design and desired measurements from frame width, lens height and width, arm length, bridge gap and nose pad height (since Asians usually have a problem with low nose bridges). And we also personalize each frame by engraving the owners initials on one side of the arm, which gives each frame a certain uniqueness,” Madeira founder Dino Yasay explains.

Madeira works with four kinds of organic wood, namely rosewood, mahogany, teak and pinewood, all of which are lightweight and can float on water. Yasay is careful to note that none of the types of wood that they work with are rare or endangered. The entire process for made-to-order frames takes around three weeks, starting with a meet-up where the client’s measurements are taken and preferences are noted down. However, like most things that are bespoke, these custom frames come at a price: P16,000, which is three times the amount of Madeira’s ready-made glasses, but a more worthy splurge in comparison to RTW designer frames. However, according to Yasay, their bespoke services will only be available in January.

For inquiries and to book an appointment, e-mail madeirafilipinas@gmail.com.

Tailored shirts

In Manila, there are always neighborhood tailors no matter which part of the city you're in, but if you want something truly special, the best bespoke shirts that money can buy are by Ascot Chang. Known as the tailors of Leonardo DiCaprio, former US president George W. Bush and Hermès chairman Jean-Louis Dumas, Ascot Chang has maintained the same tradition of producing shirts that are individually cut, pre-shrunk, and hand-stitched down to the buttonholes and lapels with single-needle French seams in 22 stitches per inch, since 1953.

With bespoke services starting at P8,000, their shirts are fully customizable with 20 collar and cuff styles, 10 collar lining options, 24 monogram styles, plus 30 monogram thread colors, along with 3,500 options for high-quality fabrics from the likes of Alumo, Albini, Thomas Mason, David & John Anderson, Monti, Ermenegildo Zegna and Loro Piana. The same attention to detail is also paid to their bespoke suits, which start at P100,000. In Manila, patterns detailing your individual shape and posture are taken by highly trained tailors then are sent off to Hong Kong to be made, a process which takes three to six weeks. After that, they keep your paper pattern for 10 years for future reference.

Ascot Chang is located at Rustan’s Makati and Shangri-La  Plaza and at the Shangri-La Makati hotel, offering signature bespoke services as well as ready-to-wear tailored shirts and accessories.