Super Seersucker Thursday

Thursday April 10, 2008:
This tie is yet another exceptional find in the Brooks Brothers clearance bin. I found this tie when spending the day shopping with my mother in Woodburn. We found it and it was instantly a winner. It is a cotton tie in a light blue with criss crosses of variegating stripes of white, along with red and yellow and blue. It is also a little seersuckery. It's really a three month tie (May, June and July), and a pretty casual one at that. The first time I wore this tie was for my sister's graduation from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. I actually basically duplicated that outfit today with a white shirt and a really cool linen suit I scrambled together from Banana Republic. It's in a dirty green, but not really an olive color - I think it's too dark. It was in the 70s today and even though I didn't get to go outside until after 6pm I imagined myself on a veranda sipping something tangy.

Bursting with color.

Tuesday April 8, 2008:
I had been waiting to wear this tie, but with the clock running out on options I needed to spring this selection. This was one of those selections I found at Nordtrom and took a chance. It is definitely a chance. I remember looking at it a couple different times in it's bag asking myself if I had actually just purchased it. It is one of my "crazy" ties, and perhaps I have one too many "crazy ties" but I think they all distinct. To demonstrate this fact my coworker, Dennis, asked me today if I had already worn this tie. I was totally shocked at this. Sure, this Ted Baker goes further than others to bring light into the room by bursting with olive and bright blue flowers with pink dots in the center on a dark navy field. You need to have an extra strong will to wear this tie. If I wanted to go extra flashy I'd pair it with a pink shirt and my chalk stripe suit. That is, if I wanted to also spend my day on Wall St. I have, it's awkward and does really get the looks I want. I paired it with a good textured, blue shirt so there are more options for this tie, and I will definitely explore them more this spring.

Trying to spring spring once more.

Monday April 7, 2008:
Today's inspired selection came to me in effort to comfort my soul because of the lack of spring. The selection was the inspiration of Katherine, even though she doesn't remember suggesting it. We were in the Banana Republic at 13th and F St NW and saw this shirt which was a loose graph check of blue and purple set on the bias. Sitting on a nearby table was a light green linen tie. It was her inspiration and insight that lead me to think I needed this. Oh. No, I did need this. This is the kind of push that I needed into something that is completely different. This shirt has also worked well with my solid purple tie for dressier occasions.

Pink day.

Wednesday, April 2, 2008:
Today's selection was inspired by yesterday's entry regarding the balance of pink in your tie. Today's tie is a Brooks Brother's tie I bought at the outlet in Woodburn, Oregon. I was on a shopping excursion because I swore I needed a pink tie for my young collection. There is a little story here, and a slightly embarrassing one at that, that can explain the inspiration for this purchase. It goes like this: During my senior year at Colorado College we watched a lot of Will and Grace reruns on the WB (now the CW). Also on the WB was also the banal family series 7th Heaven. On one particular evening there was a spot of 7th Heaven and it showed some party and one of the characters, the young guy who marries one of the preacher's kids, was wearing this pink tie with rep stripes in a dark navy (think pink and ink) or black. Anyways, I decided at that moment 7th Heaven was going to help me let pink be OK and perhaps be a masculine tie color. It wasn't the clincher, for sure, since I had to privately try it out and then seek approval from a bona fide feminine source. Needless to say it all worked out and I am not sure as to why I really needed to share that. Oh well. I was really tired of wearing gray suits and lucky enough when I was digging in my closet I found another suit. Yes, I know. No need to tell me I'm a glutton. Remember, I am blogging about my 60 ties. I am very self aware. Anyways, it was a wool suit I bought two years ago at the Banana outlet and it is a gray with a rough texture and there is a hint of blue. I don't know if it's real, but I believe it's there.

I would also like to share Scott's selection today. I have noticed this selection before and I have to say that I am impressed by Mr. Olson2. Stripes are hard to pair together, especially when they are the same relative width. Scott's bold striped tie, and I think it's City of London, is paired with faint stripes. I really like the match here as the intensity of the shirt really does balance the tie out. Way to go Mr. Olson2.

Come on Spring!

Monday, March 31, 2008:
Come on Spring, where are you?!? I'm trying really hard here! We changed the laws to make us think you get here earlier! But what? No? You missed your flight? Got stuck in O'Hare? I have you know, Spring, that I wore one of my spring ties for you and I saw drizzle out my door. Drizzle! WTF? With my plans to wear a light suit dashed, I chose my really formal chalk stripe suit from JCrew but in my demanding that you make an appearance I offered the bribe of my fuchsia Hickey Freeman tie. Not only is it fuchsia, but it has blue and yellow dots on it. This tie was found at Saks Off 5th Avenue on a shopping trip that yielded at least on other Ted Baker tie. This tie ties great, and I knew that when I picked it up. I saw Hickey Freeman for the first time when Katherine and I were walking down 5th Avenue in New York when we went to see The Gates in the winter of 2005. I was entranced by the stripes and colors in the window - I had never seen such pure color. However, I didn't think I could spend the money at the time on a tie then so I passed on the option. I was glad to find this tie at Saks Off 5th Avenue, especially since when I was back in New York to see friends and I went shopping at Hickey Freeman. I found that I summoned the restraint to not just buy a tie because I was in the store. The truth is not one tie really caught my eye. It was alarming for sure, but it was the correct thing to do. You can't just buy ties just because. Not even I can do that. I know, I had a moment of strength. So Spring, you should get one yourself, man up and get out here.

Happy Spring!

Friday, March 21, 2008:
Today's choice had several inspirations: the season, the weather, my friend Chris - who wore this palette yesterday, and the fact I was getting a haircut. Also, as I'm still a little shaky about the bow tie look, I chose a bow tie because I knew it was a Friday in recess so not that many people would be around to witness it. I feel it puts you in one of two columns - the awe-inspiring nerd or the roly-poly - I am dismissing the Southerner as it's before Memorial Day and no seersucker was involved. If I choose to wear more bow ties I would probably attempt to create a new category - the playful-know-it-all. Anyway, everything came together when I discovered that the blue of my summer-weight cashmere sweater was the same as the thin blue stripe in my bow tie I found at Filene's Basement by Bruno Piatelli. I felt a pink shirt would be a fun pairing and then I went from there to looking at the weather and deciding two important things: breezy, sun and high of 57 means I get to wear my herringbone blazer AGAIN and I could wear corduroy pants. The cords were a light tan so the blazer was really needed to tone everything down. Also, I was wearing my brown driving mocs so it paired nicely. Surprisingly, I didn't feel too much like an easter egg, however, I probably should have. Although I was told I looked "awesome," which was nice. Katherine took this photo, and I can't decide which is funnier and dorky - my apparent strabismus or the now-public display of my picture of Josh Lyman (Bradley Whitford) in my cubicle.

Green and pale blue redux.

Thursday, March 20, 2008:
Today was another meeting day so I decided to dress up for it. I did the light green/light pair pairing again, and again I attempted to add a little more depth to the combination. The tie was purchased at Macys in the winter of 2005 during that first solo venture - that was a good shopping day I guess. When I bought it, I owned a shirt with green and blue stripes - that shirt got torched by the cleaners. Anyway. Without that combination readily available, the tie found it's way to the back of the rack. The replacement shirt didn't actually ever get paired with this tie because, as it turns out, the original was irreplaceable. Oh well. If it wasn't for that circumstance, the world wouldn't have had the purple solid tie/green and purple stripe combination from the Ides of March. The tie, by the Club Room line at Macys, is a woven silk tie with light green with light blue squares and dark blue squares. I really liked it. I wore it with my gray JCrew suit with my Cole Haan cordovan oxfords. It was really dressed up, but everything fit well today, so I enjoyed that, and it received approving looks in the coffee line.

Not Hip Enough, I Guess

Wednesday, March 19, 2008:
Today I found out that there is difference between being hip and well-dressed. My friend Chris and I went to a photo show tonight, for the The Sartorialist, and I found myself in the middle of a love fest of actively fashionable people close to my age. I should have had a good time scoping out the scene and all the young women circling each other in attempts to prove their fashion street cred to one another, and don't get me wrong, it was a terrific show, but it was probably 130 degrees in the gallery and the stench of bad merlot evaporating into the air was a little too much for me. So, back to me. Today, to look well-dressed, I chose the remaining knit tie - which is purple - and a light blue oxford with my favorite blazer - this is probably the last time this year I get to wear it this season. The tie is a recent acquisition from Brooks Brothers. Once again, I proved that the good ties at Brooks Brothers are found on the clearance table. It met the threshold of the cost per unit of fun equation so it came home with me. I can't find the words, or an SAT analogy, for the difference between hip and well-dressed, but I know I am happy with the one I am. However, if I wanted to try the hip thing, there are plenty of people in the photos with Wayfarers, and I have Wayfarers. . . I'm just saying. However, I have about 25 more lbs than they do, too. Maybe it's the same as the difference between a job and a career? Feel free to correct me.

Solid blues

Tuesday, March 18, 2008:
Today's tie was all business. The tie, a solid blue tie from JCrew, was purchased along with the shirt at the JCrew outlet in Leesburg, VA. It's a very simple story, really. The tie was heavily reduced in price, and I really like the way JCrew shirts fit, and so one for $30 that will get a lot of wear is totally worth it in my mind. I put the tie on the shirt, it gained my approval and Katherine's nod, so I figured it was good to go. The tie was $19.99 and sometimes when you pick up a tie you know it ties well - I think it's in the stiffness of the fabric. For someone my height and shape (short with a short torso and long legs) vertical lines always appeal to me because of their lengthening effect. I'm still not 5'6", but I'm getting there. I like the solid blue tie as an anchor to the stripes and it is really nice under a simple gray suit.

Mixing and Matching

Monday, March 17, 2008:
Today I had more meetings that I remembered so I was glad that I wore a comfortable sitting suit. I love my cotton/wool herringbone suit. Anyways, as I've eluded to, I am getting down there in tie selection and in order for me to keep on schedule I need to continue to push on through, and therefore leave behind all apprehensions. For some reason I have had a fear of mixing patterns and stripes, but a wise bird told me if I chose two patterns at different scales then everything will work out just fine. Breathe easy, I think she said. The tie I wore was a selection from JCrew that I bought in high school - probably junior year. I had convinced my mother that I absolutely needed this navy tie with red stripes on it and that it was different than anything else I owned. Totally different. I swear. It is, and I have to say that as far as striped ties go, even navy and red ones, a little different and fun. And it ties really nice, even for being so old.

Guest ties!

Since the beginning of this process I thought it would be fun if I had a "Guest Tie" section, however I thought it weird, especially where I work, and who I meet with, to take snapshots of ties. Yeah, it would be weird. However, I did find two right in our own office and they were proud to pose for me.

Scott's flowers:
Scott works with me and covers foreign affairs (in the places in the world that speak romantic, slavic and germanic languages), the judiciary, telecom and housing, along with some other areas. Scott is from Astoria, and he likes orange. I like Scott for his like for orange. Orange is a hard color, but Scott does really well with it. Scott's tie is by Pronto Uomo. The tie is made of two oranges, one slightly lighter than the other, which disguises a really nice fleur de lis pattern unless the light hits it. It reminded me of the wall paper in the Mansfield Room on the Senate side, and several other rooms of the Capitol. The wall is plain vanilla until a flash of light hits it to reveal a very intricate pattern. Really cool tie.


Dennis's stripes:
Dennis also works with me and the tie I photographed is one that I have been interested in for a long time and is very "Dennis". It's a striped tie made of a series of different stripes over an orange background. The stripes, upon closer inspection - and I have stared - is made out of various colors like gold, purple, a light blue and a dark blue. The really good stripe is made up of a series of circles. Not to disparage the other stripes, they are fine, too. Dennis tied it with a graph checked shirt which works because of the different scales in the pattern - the thinness of the lines work really well. Yes Dennis, I stare at your tie, but don't worry, I listen to every word you say.

This was fun. I should do more of these. Maybe I could just take screen shots off of CSPAN for the more entertaining ties.

wood and flowers

Thursday, March 13, 2008:
I feel like my jovial attitude helped pull off today's combination - it was either that, or this new combination actually worked on it's own. After the last couple weeks, I think it was the ether my brain was running on that made it all ok. Today's selection was a Ted Baker I bought at Nordstrom when I was on a shopping trip with my friend Natale. I remember being slightly confounded by the salesman who directed me to the Ted Bakers, and that's where I was headed anyway. Ok, it wasn't a funny story or even an interesting one, it was just a story. The tie is a light turquoise with light blue flowers outlined in brown in an overgrown mess. It's more of a stretch, I guess, in the design column, especially when paired with my brown herringbone suit. It easily goes with a tan, khaki, or gray suit, but I hope my cheerful nature made up for it.

Cool Crosses

Wednesday, March 12, 2008:
I have a problem with this tie - I can't for the life of me remember when I bought it. It's a satin tie with woven cross hatched stripes from Banana, and I vaguely remember getting it when it was on sale, but I can't picture if it was after I moved here or before. Regardless, it was a smart call. I am really fascinated by satin and the effect light has on it. This two tone effect paired with the cross hatches of dark navy and light blue is really strong, and at the same time reminds me the visual effect of water on window panes. I think that it's a really smart tie, very upscale, and paired with a white shirt and my favorite suit from JCrew (that is a little snug right now) it is one of my favorite combinations. The sad part is that I have had this in the back of the rack and it took so long to surface, with 24 days to go.

Bright yellow for Monday

Monday, March 10, 2008:
Today's tie was one of the first ties I purchased when I decided I wanted to wear suits for ever and ever. Katherine, her mother, and I had gone to the Woodburn outlets because I was on the quest to work in politics or in law (or something requiring a suit) so I needed an interview suit. We were in Brooks Brothers, the pinnacle of taste in my life at that point, led us to a simple black suit. It is a little stretchy, has flat front pants and no back vent - I am told that it's a peculiar suit by Brooks Brothers, and if you went through their selections you will not find another one like it. The tie is a silk print tie, also from Brooks Brothers, in bright yellow and has alternating small blue diamonds and red dots. This is one of only the silk print ties I actually like, and it works with a light blue shirt. The selection was at the suggestion of Katherine's mom because everyone needs a bright tie in their closet - inspiration for further purchases perhaps? Thanks LeeAnne.

Can't convince myself.

Wednesday, March 5, 2008:
I think it's funny because I haven't yet uttered dislike for any of my ties, but I think this the closest I will get. This tie is one of the first ties I bought at Brooks Brothers. It is a simple pattern in three shades of blue. Clovers made of alternative medium blue and light blue sit on a navy field. The pattern is printed on silk, and the tie is so old the label has fallen off so I am forced to use a safety pin to keep the tie under control. Sometimes silk print ties are harder to tie and produce thin knots, all adding up to a frustrating experience. Surprisingly this morning, this tie cooperated and produced a nice dimple. I decided to wear it a with my navy suit with a a brown pinstripe. I am not all together convinced I enjoyed this outfit, but I decided it was because I have never worn the suit with a tie that didn't have warm colors.

Shimmery Gray Day

Monday, March 3, 2008:
Today was a hard selection. It was an unseasonably warm day for early March so I decided to wear a cotton suit, but it was still March so it had to be one that was still pretty subdued - so no khaki. I bought this suit two years ago because I wanted to wear it to an formal event for Katherine's medical school. I also wanted a new light weight suit that could be worn in three seasons. The gray suit has a nail head dent pattern in gray cotton with a light tan pin stripe. I chose a tie I had purchased with the suit which is a woven silk tie with three colors; taupe, tan and blue. The three colors combine to give the tie a shimmery and silvery effect, which adds to the its formal look. You have to closely examine the tie to pick out the colors - just ask, I'll let you. Like most things in my life, the tie and the suit are from Banana.

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.

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.