Investment Banker | Get Dear Old Dad "linked In" For Father's Day

I know nothing will ever top - in your mind - the beer hat you bought him when you were 12 or the World's Best Dab coffee mug you made in kindergarten, when you still weren't always batting 100% on that whole confusing difference between 'd' and 'b.' But you've grown up now, and it's really time that you do for dad what you'd expect anyone else to do for you - buy a gift that will make a stylish statement and have meaning for many years to come.

Husbands - about 27% of them, if you talk to my friends - have long known that the gift that keeps giving is jewelry. I know, I know - ties are considered traditional gift fare when Dad's Big Day rolls around, but all your other siblings are going to get him a tie. And then, and when he opens your box last (why, why, why are you always last?), Dad is going to look in the box and say, "Oh, look, another tie."

Really, if that's as far as you are going to go for Pop, just wrap up a new lint brush in festive paper and be done with it.

For me, it wasn't all that hard to figure out what to buy my father for His Big Day. You see, he was a huge fan of the original Rocky movie. Despite the whole underdog battling the big corporate athlete thing, my Dad seemed a bit focused on the names of Rocky's pets - Butkus the dog and Cuff and Link the turtles.

I don't know what it was about those turtles, but my father thought their names were hilarious. After the film was released on a Betamax tape, my father watched it over and over again - in part because there were only about five other movies released on Betamax at that time - and with each viewing, he'd repeat over and over, "Cuff and Link. That's so funny."

So I was putting two and two together, and thanks to the very excellent liberal arts education paid for by my dad, I came up with cufflinks.

Cufflinks on a man are like a great handbag or chic jewelry on a woman. They just complete the outfit. I know guys who wear immaculately tailored suits, handmade shirts, amazing ties, and truly striking shoes, polished to a high shine. All of this effort falls a little flat if there's a button peeking out from the edge of his sleeve, though, because it shows a detail was overlooked. And I don't care of you're an investment banker, an architect, or a suit salesman - you can't overlook details.

Shouldn't Dad feel good about the way he looks? Whether he wears his cufflinks to the office, to religious services, or out to dinner with your oh-so-appreciative mother, isn't Dad worth a little wrist-bling this Father's Day?

Whether you choose a subtle silk knot or classic engravable style, or one that will flaunt to the world his true and undying appreciation for golf or Batman (or the Batman, as it were), there is a style to suit every dad. There are even functional designs - such as those with compasses, clocks, and little tiny levels for those dads who might also enjoy sporting goods, watches, and power tools.

Even if Dad opens your gift last this year, with a great pair of cufflinks, you will be the favored child who gets asked to fetch beers and discuss Tiger Woods while the rest of the sibs are in the kitchen with Mom whining about how unappreciated they are.

Aren't you glad you thought of this?

Let Dad know that you've started a tradition. There also are many handsome storage chests for your father's new present. Buy one, and let him know that you're planning to really rev up his style from time to time with a new pair.

Pretty soon, your father will be subscribing to GQ and buying shirts in a rainbow of colors on which to display his new jewelry - gifts, he'll tell people, from his favorite child, who is obviously do so well.

As for me, I know the exact style for my dad this year - a tiny little pair of sterling silver sea turtles. Go, Rocky, go.