Ever since mankind progressed beyond its original Neanderthal tendencies and hunting and gathering was no longer sufficient as a method of seduction, men have been wooing (or attempting to woo) their desired women with clich'd gifts such as chocolates, jewellery, perfume and flowers. But behind every clich? there lie few crucial grains of truth, so are these really the keys to a woman's heart or are they overused and out-dated?

Chocolate, of course, is rather dependent on personal tastes and circumstances. Giving chocolate to a girl who's clearly watching her figure would be insensitive and, almost unbelievably, not all girls are total chocoholics (though most are partial to the odd box of truffles with a fancy ribbon.) The key is to know your audience.

Jewellery usually comes with the ?wow? factor. It's a sure-fire method of impressing a woman and letting her know that yes, you are genuinely very interested ? certainly not an approach for the feint hearted. It must be tasteful, or, more specifically, to her tastes, and timeless, classic pieces are almost always preferable to the latest trends. A well chosen gift should never go out of date, just like the sound relationship that it will hopefully accompany.

Perfume is more difficult still, a veritable minefield. Never try and guess a woman's taste in perfume, it's about as unpredictable as trying to guess what the weather will be like on the Cornwall coastline next Wednesday. Even if you've lived right by it your whole life you're still liable to get it dramatically wrong. It's usually advisable to seek advice from friends or to learn her favourites. Or simply to try a different genre of romantic gift altogether.

Of all of the traditional romantic methods, the gift of flowers is probably the oldest trick in the book. From a casual bunch of spontaneously hand-picked snowdrops in January as a small but very sweet gesture to a full on bouquet of twenty four rare and expensive roses for a dramatic entrance on St. Valentine's Day, flowers can be adapted to suit all occasions. They can suit all budgets, tastes and circumstances. They can represent gratitude, apology or simply an unprompted sign of affection. It's important to know one's audience. Some women will instinctively associate flowers with a guilty conscience and all of a sudden the romance has turned sour and, as with any gift, every girl will have her personal preferences. Usually, however, flowers are a classic choice and it is, in fact, relatively difficult to go wrong. Flowers are also incredibly convenient as gifts, available from supermarkets like Asda or even to order online from companies such as Interflora, making it even easier to be spontaneous.

So don't shy away from the clich's; embrace the gifts that come with a legacy of romantic history and relish in the traditions. Chances are that they're here to stay.