Shaving sets in its Savile Row or Mayfair designs include a razor, a pure badger-hair brush and a matching stand (HK$2,500 per set; see www.gentlemenstonic.
com for details). Its best-selling Babassu and Bergamot Pre-shave Oil and Traditional Shaving Cream (HK$260 each) come highly recommended.
While there, enjoy a wet shave (HK$375) with expert advice thrown in. Also, ask for a copy of the complimentary A Guide to the Perfect Shave.
Mr Dandy: New grooming to chase away the post-holiday blues?
Love it! And it’s so much more fun than a boring old detox. Joyce Grooming (The Landmark, tel: 2522 2886) sells Royal Shaving’s full range of: silvertip badger-hair brush and holder (HK$1,520); modern razor and stand (HK$1,280); eucalyptus and menthol shaving soap (HK$320); shaving cream (HK$200); shaving foam (HK$200); and more. You’ll also find famous English brand Samuel Heath’s fancy chrome-plated brass stand, razor, brush and ceramic bowl at Bed and Bath (HK$4,380; Prince’s Building, Central, tel: 2522 5151).
I’d like to get my boyfriend a proper hat for the winter. Like a fedora or something classic so he stops wearing those tiny trendy ones. Any advice? He won’t wear a cap. He likes to spiffy up some days at work but he follows that unfortunate trend of wearing a size too small at the back of his head. I know you know the look. I was thinking if he had a handmade hat he would wear it, well … properly.
Mr Dandy: Are you kidding me? That’s a cute look. If my boyfriend tried to change the way I dress, I’d dump him!
Mr Dapper: I have wasted days picking through paltry hat selections in Hong Kong. However, none compares with the misleadingly named Hatwoman (Man Yee Arcade, 68 Des Voeux Road Central, tel: 2167 8337), which stocks Anthony Peto from Paris (HK$1,820 to HK$1,990), My Bob from Brussels (HK$2,200 each) and Sombreros Signes from a village near Valencia in Spain (HK$990 to HK$1,580). The hats range from 57cm to 60cm, with brims of about 5cm to 8.5cm. Its incredibly knowledgeable owner, Elizabeth Bradley, says younger men tend to wear smaller-brimmed hats, while men of a certain age suit larger ones. She recommends you find the right size for your boyfriend. He can then add flair with a tilt to the left. (Traditionally, she says, men go left, women tilt right.) I should add that Bradley defended your boyfriend’s right to individual style: “If he can get away with the Pete Doherty look at work, he must be in some kind of creative business, so it probably doesn’t matter anyway.”