Is this too personal?

[wbwici]

I want to buy a gift for someone I know, The budget is £300. He is turning 50 soon. The problem is he has a very good job and has everything he needs etc so I am stumped at the moment.

I know he likes a certain brand of clothing (just going to make this bit up) so say he likes Tom Ford, I have been looking at Tom Ford neckties, It would be below my budget. I know that he wears these so know the style he likes.

I told a friend and she told me a tie is classed as a personal gift for a guy and might be taken the wrong way??

Is a tie too personal a gift for a friend?

I definitely wouldn't have thought a tie was too personal or an indication of flirtatious intentions.
It's a nice gift and you seem to be choosing it

Oops ...
Choosing it with thought and care. I'm sure he'll be pleased.

Definitely not too personal

I would say if you are spending £300 on someone you must be quite close already! (Not in a romantic way)

No, a tie isn't personal, but I'd agree with Brie that if you are spending £300 on a friends, then you must already be pretty close.

I def dont think a tie is code for lets hook up

The gift of a tie isn’t romantic in my mind, it’s more of a corporate gift or something an aunt would give!

What about Cufflinks?

I think a tie is an (appropriately) impersonal gift if anything, like one you might get for years of service in a workplace. I’d get it.

Georg Jenson cufflinks have a variety of styles within your budget and to me are a nicer gift than a tie!

As long as it’s not a grey (50 shades) tie ....

Enclose a gift receipt. £300 is a big budget. I’d be inclined to go for not-clothes as a gift for a man I’m not very close to. A gift voucher? For a hobby, eg a golf shop if he plays, or a whiskey gift if it’s for his birthday celebration.

I think there was a Victorian hierarchy of what gifts are appropriate to give depending on your relationship with someone, that’ll be what has been passed down to her in some way.

I wouldn't buy him a tie.

What sort of things does he enjoy doing? Is he married? Could you ask his wife/gf/family member for help?

Ok, I messaged my friend to ask what she meant lol.. She just replied..
It's intimate, like buying a woman a necklace..

Liking the idea of cufflinks, I did see a giftbox of his favourite aftershave, but if a tie is intimate then aftershave is probably code for 'I want to take your clothes off'

He's not married, Nothing romantic between us at all, Just a nice guy who has been a good friend to me and recently went out of his way to help me with something at the drop of a hat. The gift is semi birthday gift/semi thank you for what you did for me.

A tie isnt intimate! I think my husband would be massively gutted if I bought him a tie! It's really impersonal, I think your friend is completely wrong.

Fountain pens make great gifts for any budget! Get one of those!

Laughing at a tie bring 'intimate' 🤣🤦‍♀️ I'd say it was rather a dull present myself...it's the thing most of the women at work will buy the two guys on our staff, if they pull their name out of the Secret Santa gift lottery, because it's a 'non-offensive, safe- bet' gift 🤷‍♀️

I'd personally not spend £300 on a 'non-offensive, safe bet' gift (no matter how 'posh' it was!!!

Cuff links would be nice though...and maybe a matching tie pin, if you're still on a tie theme.

I don't think a tie is an intimate gift unless you put it on for him (and then take it off...).

I bought my sister a gift voucher for a Michelin star restaurant recently, looking through the options most of them offer vouchers now either monetary value or for one of their set menus. With a budget of £300 you could treat him to a meal for two somewhere really nice.

I bought my sister a gift voucher for a Michelin star restaurant recently, looking through the options most of them offer vouchers now either monetary value or for one of their set menus. With a budget of £300 you could treat him to a meal for two somewhere really nice

Ooh yes! Much better than a tie, cufflinks, aftershave.

Is he in a relationship OP? I don't think a tie is a secret code for intimacy, that is laughable but there is a point to be made if he is in a relationship that the gesture and show of intimacy might seem quite over the top.

I expect there are lots of people who would be a bit if their partner came home with a £300 gift and gushing words from a friend of the opposite sex.

If that's not the case I can't see an issue but why not just write some nice words in a card and get a voucher or treat him to dinner etc, more meaningful and likely to be more appreciated if he can buy whatever he wants anyway.