Crimson satin berries.

Thursday, February 28, 2008:
Today I chose a tie I had bought in high school from JCrew. It is a satin tie in a crimson color with small yellow dots. I think JCrew went away from this kind of tie a long time ago and have gone down the preppy east coast path, which I don't mind, except I don't get to see this simple, yet formal and sophisticated. I like it because of the formal design, so I paired it with my navy blue suit with brown pinstripes from Banana. I like this suit because no matter how fat I feel, or am, its seems to always fit right. The color is of the tie is pretty cool because it changes in the light and makes the spots pop out when the light hits it. I paired it with a light blue shirt. This tie has has had a tendency to slip down at inopportune times only to have my boss fix it in front of important people - kind of fatherly I guess. Today it didn't so he didn't and that's cool with me. I think I dress in berries. Corporate berries.

Lavender fields

Wednesday, February 27, 2008:
I chose my Banana herringbone suit I love so much and paired it with a tie from Banana (it was a Gap, Inc day). The tie has simple floral pattern in green and dark blue on a iridescent lavender field. I generally wear it in the spring and summer with my lighter suits. I decided to mix it up with a brown suit and a blue shirt. I had a bunch of meetings and so I wanted to spiff it up and wear a comfy suit that had depth in the pattern. I love this suit jacket, too, and I have been able to match it with a good pair of khakis so I can pull off the same kind of look as with my favorite wool herringbone blazer but well into the spring.

The one that started it all.

Tuesday, February 26, 2008:
Today I chose to wear one of my favorite ties ever. No surprises it is a Ted Baker creation. This was also my first Ted Baker tie. I bought it in the spring of 2006 at Nordstrom, and I remember being so excited, but at the same time a little astonished that I spent the amount I did (a lot). But after I wore it and liked how abstract the tie seems at first glance, but how it actually is stripes made out of what look how a child would draw fireworks in the sky. I liked the playfulness of the color selections of fuchsia, green, light blue and purple set against a very dark background. I also paired it with a red striped shirt because I have found myself wearing safe solids, and it turns out that it looked nice.

Muted stripes

Monday, February 25, 2008:
To keep up with the number of striped ties I own and the fact that it is a droopy Monday I decided to step out with one I bought pretty shortly after I moved to DC in the winter of 2005. I remember when sought out H&M in downtown DC I got very lost. Knowing now where I had headed towards I get a little nervous, and also a little silly since I clearly had no sense of direction when I stepped out of the Metro. I had never been to H&M before and I ran around the store for a while looking at all these things I had never seen before: very slim clothes in interesting colors, and pretty inexpensive suits - I had just seen the 2004 Jude Law version of Alfie and I thought that Alfie and Helmut Lange wanted everyone walking out would be rail thin and pretty close to the metrosexual/homosexual line. I found a couple shirts that I like, as well as this tie. It had muted colors of light blue, a steel blue, a khaki and a raspberry - I clearly hadn't caught the pretty east coast bug yet. It contrasts very nicely with all the brightly colored stripes I have in my closet. I paired with my favorite blue shirt from Banana and my navy JCrew suit which I am not convinced fits me properly. I liked the whole look, the tie may be a little too narrow and the suit a little big on the shoulders, but I liked the color palette together.

Cashmere

Thursday, February 21, 2008:
Today I donned a tie I purchased with my sister at the Saks Off 5th Avenue outlet in Woodbridge, Virginia. It's unconventional in the fact that it is a cashmere knit. I wore it on more of a casual day, but I still had meetings. One of my bosses said that she really didn't "feel" my tie, that is, until she felt it, and then she thought it was ok. I think it's pretty decadent that this tie is made of cashmere, and I think it met it's value of "fun". I like the fact that it isn't a solid color, but made up of some different, deeper colors. I should have probably worn it differently, however, maybe with jeans? I chose a blue shirt and dark tan pants with my black Banana blazer.

The gift of paisley.

February 19, 2008:
Today I wore a tie that was found for me at Filene's Basement by Katherine. I remember her calling me to tell me she had found a tie that she thought I would like, and "do I think I need it?" Silly girl. The tie, by Carl Palazzi Studio, has paisleys with blue, reds and greens on a field of iridescent olive green. This was actually the first time I had worn this tie, and I really liked the way it tied, which you can't ever really under-appreciate. It also really was sharp with a light blue shirt and under a gray suit. See, silly girl. Who doesn't need paisley? The wonder of this exercise, and I think I have said this before, is that that I can rediscover - or in this case - discover a great tie that I can wear a lot. I think the next time I will wear this will be with my khaki suit. I may be speaking too soon, and with a certain sense of forgetfullness, but I can't wait for summer. Ugh. No. I remember now.

My apologies to the blogosphere. . .

First off, my lack of entries isn't discontent with the concept of blogging, or a lack of commitment to my goal. I've been sick and then a general sense of malaise has washed over me beckoning me to sleep, rather than to keep up appearances on the net. However, a sudden creative spirit washed over me and I've decided to get my things in order and catch up. Sorry blogosphere.

Wednesday, February 13, 2008:
Today I decided to wear a sharp combination of a blue paisley tie (from Banana) and a blue striped shirt (from the JCrew outlet) with my gray JCrew suit. The Oregon State Society birthday reception was that evening and I wanted to be refined, but at the same time a little young and sporty. I liked to contrast between the strong verticals and the completeness of the paisley. I also like the cut of the shirt, which is more slim fit then some which is good. I also like the cut of the collar which frames the knot well.


Thursday, February 14, 2008:
I decided to wear one of my favorite ties today. It was my second Ted Baker tie, which was purchased in the summer of 2006. It was the second Ted Baker tie I purchased and I am pretty sure that it was purchased at Saks Off 5th Avenue with Natale and Ian. I paired it with my Banana navy suit with brown pinstripes. It like the unconventional pairing of the colors. I had meetings that day so I decided to dress up for the day. I paired the tie with a blue shirt as to highlight the blue flowers in the tie. This is one of Ted Bakers non-repetitive ties, kind of like a jungle, and a beautiful bramble of flowers. It makes me a little sad that I can't wear this tie for a while now, but it only makes me want to complete this task quicker.


Friday, February 15, 2008:
I made a bold move today and decided to go for the bow tie. The tie was a gift from Katherine's father, Splinter, for Christmas in 2000. Splinter had taught me to tie a bow tie, so he thought this was something I needed. I agree. It's by John Talbot and has a nice geometric design on a field of blue. I remember Katherine asking me what I was wearing when I came over for Christmas dinner and my choice of a white button-down shirt and herringbone pants seemed to be a fine selection as to be paired with the new gift. I went old school at work and chose the forest green sweater I got in Rehoboth, DE on New Year's Day 2008 and my favorite old blazer. Amid the hoots and the hollers from staff when I arrived at work I completely forgot I actually had meetings so I got to share the glory with more people. Thankfully I have another opportunity to wear a bow tie. I think I messed this one up because it was too loose and came out to floppy, maybe.

Candy Stripes

February 12, 2008:

I hadn't worn this tie for what seems like forever. I had gotten it around the same time as the fun Brooks Brothers striped tie. I think it falls into the same category as that one because it is so out there compared to what you think you would find at Brooks Brothers. Indeed, I found this in the "other" bin on sale and it is labeled "Brooks Brothers Makers" which means that it was made by Brooks Brothers as opposed to for it. The first time I remember wearing this tie was when I took Katherine out to a fancy dinner in the LoDo in Denver. I best thing about this experiment is deciding whether or not I enjoy wearing the tie, and I definitely do enjoy this tie. It definitely brightened up the day.

Vintage YSL

February 11, 2008:

Thanks to my mother I know who Yves Saint Laurent is, and again thanks to my mom I own a vintage YSL tie. She gave it to me this fall and it probably was from a sale years ago and then resided in a box until being unearthed in some great passion and brought to my attention. I really like the pattern and the maroon, yellow and gray stripes, but I was nervous to wear it because it is narrow. I should have just sucked it up and worn it with a white suit, but I didn't want to look rock star, young hipster, and I can't faux-hawk my hair so wimped out and hid it up a sweater that was of similar colors.

Ol' Professor

February 8, 2008:
Feeling a little feverish and in need the familiar low maintenance tie/sweater/blazer combination. I chose to go back to my favorite Banana herringbone blazer paired with a maroon vneck cotton/cashmere sweater, a blue striped shirt and a cotton navy knit tie my father gave me from his collection. It's cool to think that this tie, with a Nordstrom label (like the original Nordy label), was worn here in DC in the seventies when my dad was tracking down senators and running around the hallways I do now. It's mostly hidden under a sweater. I wanted to be hidden under my comforter.

Bright Stripes

February 7, 2008:
Some labels say bright vibrant color and creative designs, and some don't. I think that Brooks Brothers falls into the latter category. While extremely classy and well made, Brooks Brothers is very conservative in its fashion. Brooks Brothers prides itself in its conservatism shaped by double breasted blazers, bankers collars, French cuffs, and pleated pants, along with the upscale Eddy Bauer-ness it tries to do in its sportswear collection. Variations on the "old man" theme. Sometimes I feel like they could do much more then they do, and it's a shame. However, one bright spot is this silk tie in all shades of purple and blue. I bought this tie at the Brooks Brothers outlet in Castle Rock, CO. It was deeply discounted as it probably was undesirable for the normal crowd. There is no repeating pattern in the stripes, in fact, there is no consistency in the width which is the fun of the tie, $20.00 of fun.

High Class

February 6, 2008:
Today I wore a simple minty green and light blue combination. I had seen this before on the stereotypical male staffer and I thought that it was overdone. But today I created a new spin on the Hill classic by matching the light blue shirt with a tie I picked up at the Lohmann's store in Park Meadows in Denver when I was in college. The tie is from by Nicola Trussardi, a designer from Milan. It's an intricate arabesque pattern with yellow flowers. I remember shopping with Katherine buying a tie that I had no reason buying because I didn't have a job or any events to wear it to. And it was something like $20. It was destiny! Oh, and nice picture, huh?

The Oldest Tie Ever!

February 5, 2008:
In honor of Super Tuesday I wore the tie I have owned the longest. This JCrew tie I bought my sophomore year in high school. I bought it to wear at a dinner party I threw at Christmas 1996. Crazy, huh? It is a dark navy tie with frogs in a dark green and green eyes. This tie has gone everywhere with me. I paired it with my Banana Republic cotton/wool brown herringbone suit and a white shirt. It's funny that I don't jump for critter ties because they aren't generally subdued - it seems that I found the most subdued one in the pond. I can't believe this tie continues to tie so well. It's flatter then when I bought it - it's taken a few trips to the cleaners - but the windsor knot still works. This is the tie I will frame when I retire it.

Ties on the road.

February 1, 2008:
Today I tied my tie in Portland, Oregon. I was on my staff retreat and we were doing site visits so I felt the need to wear a tie. I chose to pack a tie that I've had for close to ten years. It was selected and purchased to wear to a dinner my senior year in high school. Ah history, how it chooses to live on. The alternating blue and green circles on a field of navy in this JCrew tie has been a standby tie. I paired it with a Banana Republic blazer I've actually owned longer, since my sophomore year in high school and a dark blue shirt and brown pants. I felt the whole thing was age appropriate and good for field work.


February 4, 2008:
So in order to make it to work on Monday after taking a red-eye flight from Portland I had laid my suit and tie out on Friday. I chose a medium blue shirt and my Banana Republic grey suit, all sensible choices. The tie was a Ted Baker I had purchased on a shopping trip to Arundel Mills with Ian and Natale. I bought it at the Saks outlet. It was an interesting choice, I think. It's a silvery blue tie with a touch of purple with sketches of daisies in lighter blue and green. I think it's playful. I brought a little spring today. People were nervous.