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For your boyfriend

Shopping for one's boyfriend is not only tough but also highly challenging. Buying the perfect gift for a guy is one of those very difficult tasks. While the malls are flooded with outfits and accessories made for women, the opposite is true for men. This scenario has limited the choices available to a woman when she goes out to shop for the man she loves.

In Dhaka, only a handful of shops offer exclusive and high class clothes and accessories for men. At the same time, it's difficult to satisfy men with gifts. Nevertheless, when a special occasion is imminent you certainly plan to buy a thing or two for the person you love and care for. This article could be a handy guideline for any girl who plans to buy gifts for the person she loves.

I think it's not a good idea to shop for men's clothes all by oneself. While you might find a lavender shirt graceful, he might find it totally unfashionable. I think most guys are quite picky in nature. So it's always suggested that you try taking your boyfriend shopping while buying something for him. Let him choose the cut and the colour of an outfit. For high-quality men's clothes, you can pay a visit to Cat's Eye, Menz Klub, Seal, Monsoon Rain, Trendz, Yellow, Ecstacy etc. However, if you are planning to buy him a kurta or fotua this summer, opt for Aarong, Jatra, Banglar Mela, Prabartana, Deshal. Within tk.300 to tk.350, you can purchase a designer fotua for your guy.

If your boyfriend loves to watch movies, then a collection of DVDs could also be a good gift for him. Visit Rifles Square and Eastern Plaza for the latest releases. DVDs are pretty cheap nowadays; each DVD may cost you as low as tk.50. Find out a list of all-time favourite romantic movies from the internet, and look for them in the DVD stores. Some of the top English movies at the Box Office right now include Da Vinci Code, Pink Panther, Date Movie and Final Destination 3, Mission Impossible III- you can also keep them in your list of pictures.

If your man is very much into physical fitness then do look around the stores selling sports wear and equipment. Different kinds of Polo Shirts within tk.995 to tk.1495, track suits within tk.2495 to tk.3695, Reebok and Rockport caps within tk.395 to tk.600, head bands within tk.195 to tk.250, wrist bands between tk.195 and tk.395 are available at the outlets of Reebok.

You can also stop at the branches of Nike for similar sportswear for men. While a jogging machine maybe ,well, beyond your budget, push-up bars or dumbbells could be quite affordable.

To buy sports equipment at reasonable prices, visit the Maulana Bhashani (outer stadium) stadium market. Different varieties of sports wear and accessories are available at low prices in the shops located in this market. Some of the renowned stores include OK sports, New Dhaka sports, AP Sports, Shah Sports, Kamal Sports and Bangladesh Sports. Tennis, Table Tennis, Badminton, Cricket, Football and Indoor game accessories are also available in all of these shops.

You can also visit Sports World to purchase sports accessories and sportswear for your man. At Sports World, Football jerseys of both local and foreign brands are available.

While the locally manufactured jerseys are usually available within tk.100 to tk.300, the imported ones are being sold between tk.800 and tk.1250. You can also purchase health magazines for your man if he's the kind who is interested in keeping himself fit and healthy.

Your boyfriend is most likely to be a bachelor and if he lives away from his family then a culinary book with easy and quick recipes might turn out to be really handy. Visit Etc, New Market or Aziz Super Market for such cookery books. If your man is a booklover then novels by his favourite writers could also be a perfect gift.

Electrical gadgets are the number one favourite of all men. Nothing would satisfy a man more than a sleek silver or black cell phone set equipped with the latest functions of the hi-tech world. You can also opt for a palmtop for your boyfriend this year. You might have to spend quite a fortune for such a state-of-the-art gadget, but then don't forget the significance of such a mind-blowing gift. If you want to buy a quality PDA with the latest computer technology, pay a visit to Computer City at IDB Bhavan or G.S.M. Mobile Communication at Kemal Ataturk Avenue. The various models of Chinese palm One PDAs available at this outlet include: Zire, Zire 21, Zire 71, Tungsten e, Tungsten t3 etc. Price will vary from around tk.7000 to tk.29950.

For small things like leather belts and wallets, go visit the outlets of Priyo and Almas. I think wrist watches could also be a cool gift. Besides Priyo and Almas, you can also pay a visit to the showrooms of Time Zone for men's watches. World renowned brands like Tissot, Rado, Guess, Swatch or Calvin Klein would be available in the above mentioned stores. But watches could be very, very expensive. You would have to spend as low as tk.2500 to obtain a fine wrist watch.

While toiletries as gifts are not in vogue now, but a cool set of shaving accessories from Gillette or a hair gel from a top-notch brand, could still be considered as good gifts for a man.

Gifts for men can also be in the forms of concert or movie tickets. Check out for the upcoming concerts of his favourite artists and surprise him with a ticket days before the show. Star Cineplex's upcoming movie releases are available online as well as on newspapers. Keep track of the dates and time so that you don't miss the day of the show. Buy tickets for two and spend a wonderful time in the most modern cinema hall of the city.

There was a time when jewellery was worn solely by women. However, this is not true anymore. Men now ornament their ears, neck, hands and fingers. For trendy jewellery made from metal, visit Bashundhara City. A numbers of stores in this mall import men's jewellery. Besides these, if you are looking for wristlets and malas made from beads, visit the handicraft stores and Aziz Super Market in Shahbagh and New Market .

I think there's not a single guy out there who doesn't love to eat good food. If you don't want to bear the risk of buying material gifts for your man, you can always take him out to his favourite restaurant. Even a candle lit dinner at a classy bistro may turn out to be the most romantic gift for the man of your love. Within tk.800, you two can enjoy buffet meals in high-class restaurants like Emmanuelle's, Topkapi or EFES.

So, do plan ahead of time while shopping for your man. Although slightly fastidious, but men take great happiness even from the little gifts they receive from the women they love.

By Penelope

A rugged five o'clock shadow on a chiselled manly face may be great to look at for a woman. It is quite another story when she puts her smooth face against it. Here's a friendly pointer for all the rugged men who are about to have close encounters with the female kinds: shave clean and close. Yep, women seem to love the feeling of a smooth, clean-shaven man's cheek. This is understandable since most of them take exceptional care of their face, and don't want the unnecessary irritation of a prickly face against theirs.