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.

More Stripes

Tuesday, March 25, 2008:
Today's selection was a striped tie that I found on the bed at my parent's house when I arrived for a visit. I believe it was lying next to the vintage YSL tie I wore on February 12, 2008. I kind of fell for this tie because of the color combination: It has a green and yellow stripe (rather Duckish) against a dark inky navy, almost midnight, background. It's a Brooks Brothers, and I imagined if I had found it in the store it would have been on the clearance rack like all of my other finds. It is really nice up close. Also, I have decided that my brown herringbone cotton/wool suit will now be treated as a neutral since I seem to be pulling off wearing it with just about every tie I didn't think I could, so I am pretty pleased.

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.

English Squire

Friday, March 7, 2008:
Today's selection is from the annals of history and style. It's a tie my mother gave to me, part of my father's collection. The label is "Churchill's of London - English Squire" and it's a place that no longer exists. I checked. It's a tattoo and piercing parlor. It's a skinny tie, and the first one I've worn out in the open. I didn't know how I felt about it at first, but when I paired it with a white shirt and my gray suit from JCrew. I really like the calm yellow behind a really complex paisley pattern with reds. If I had these glasses, I would have had the complete look.

Kennedy Center debut

Friday, February 29, 2008:
Tonight I took Katherine to see one of our favorite groups, Pink Martini, at the Kennedy Center. A couple months ago I was procrastinating at work and was on the band's website where I found out they were going to be in town on February 29, 2008. Since I did the calculation that Katherine and I going to see Pink Martini at the Kennedy Center on February 29 wasn't likely to happen again anytime, soon I made the rare executive decision to buy us tickets and Katherine, who likes to be taken out to fancy things, easily compiled. Not to denigrate, since I love fanciness, too, and so we make a good pair. The show was simply fantastic - they played with the National Symphony Orchestra and did one of my very favorite songs "Brazil" as an encore which left people dancing in the aisles. We had seen them once before at Wolf Trap but we were WAY out in the grass, regardless the music and the people watching was priceless - and we had bought all our parents tickets for their New Year's Eve show in Portland - my father could not stop talking about it for the better part of a week. So anyway, I chose to wear a tie that I had purchased during my trip to Boston to see my dear friend and old college roommate, Carla. We walked on Newberry Street (fancy) and that's where I found Frank Stella Men's Clothier (fancier still) - how could I not go in? I had seen a tie in the window that I really liked, but when I went in and found their complete collection, I decided I needed this one. One quick consultation of the rule book, where I didn't find any mention of prohibitions on purchases made within the time allotted of blogging, I decided to buy it. The tie is a purple-ish navy field with burnt yellow, fuchsia, and emerald leaves drifting across left to right in loose stripes. I wore a blue french cuffed shirt from Nordstrom with cuff links purchased in Williamsburg with my initials on them - made by one of the resident craftsmen down there. I wanted to be worthy of the venue and the concert. After the show Katherine and I stood in line for autographs and we got our programs signed and chatted nervously with these great performers. I had commented on the guitarist's tie and he nicely returned the compliment, only to receive a jibe from the bassist about how I hadn't commented on his tie - they had actually done a very good job of coordinating that night, which we all laughed at. Then, for some unknown reason I blurted out that I had this blog, and in her unmeasurable good humored way, Katherine backed me up in explaining it. They were totally into it, and the guitarist asked how to find it on the web. So I told him. Looking back, I should have probably have written it down for him on something, but I hope he remembers it. Either way I can put this in the same column as riding an elevator with Nancy Pelosi, being told "Good Morning" by Speaker Hastert, meeting Lucy Liu and being introduced to Carl Castle by the President of NPR. God I love this town.

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.

Stripes!

Monday, January 28, 2008:
I have always liked stripes because I have always liked the way the designer can put on a show with juxtapositions of color and even pattern to bring a little light and life to a plain suit, and a plain day. Today I wore a bright yellow tie with a green striped flanked with navy and white, as well as a similar set up of a red stripe flanked by navy and white. As an added bonus, there is a light blue stripe that separates the two larger motifs (you have to look close). The tie is from Carlo Palazzi Studio and was a gift purchased at Benetton in Georgetown, and it was because I didn't have a yellow tie. It's bright, and it should be worn with a dark suit so it's free to be seen. I think it's a nice play on the plainer world in which I live and work. It's shiny-ish! I need this kind of thing on a Monday.

The beginning of the diminishing selections.

I'd like to start off my saying that this is my first attempt at a blog. I hadn't thought that I would want to express ideas to my friends, or strangers, through this kind of medium, but I've decided that this quest requires 24 hours of freedom for comment, scrutiny, etc by my closest friends.

So this adventure, to wear a different tie from my closet each day without repeat, I figure, needs to be subjected to the public eye.

I'm a gatherer. No. I'm an amasser. It's hereditary, and I fight my genes everyday. I've found that ties are an excellent way to bring difference into the day. To paint the gray-suit-world with a little color.

I have 60 ties (58 at my house, and two hidden in my desk for emergencies) - and in the interest of full disclosure there are two of which I won't wear during this trek. The reason? Too formal - one black bow tie, and one solid red bow tie. Come on! Who wears red bow ties? I mean, unless you're at a Valentine's Day thing, and I can't think of when that will be. Besides, there are better things to wear anyway than red bow ties. And 58 days of better things.

The process is easy: each morning I pick a tie to wear, match it with a shirt and jacket/suit, take a picture and then walk out the door. When I come home at night, I simply take it off, roll it up and place it in a bag - it's almost like that tie never existed!! Which is good, right? I mean, "out of sight, out of mind" is actually a powerful, powerful phrase that carries a lot of W.A.S.P.y wisdom that we should all follow from time to time. That, and learn to drink a lot more gin.

So anyway, I have included the first four days below. And if you choose to comment, thanks, but please refrain from Corky Sherwood comparisons: there will be no detailed weather forecasts.


The stage is set, and the adventure begins on:
Monday, January 14, 2008:
Today I chose a tie my father got me for my 27th birthday, a blue/green wool tie he got from John Helmer Haberdasher in downtown Portland. It's Jonathan Richard of Ireland. Not to get too much into the selection process, but it was cold that day so I paired it with a brown merino sweater and my favorite herringbone blazer.







Tuesday, January 15, 2008:
I decided to wear a Brooks Brothers tie I got with my mom when we were at the outlets in Woodburn. It's a print silk tie. Don't get me wrong, I like print silk ties, but sometimes they slide and I don't like the knots. But hey, I thought it would go nicely with my brown herringbone suit. The purple and brown work, along with the bold print of the tie compliments the tight print of the suit. Also, I will forever remember this combination because Lorelei Elizabeth Deuel, Katherine's niece, was born on this day. Yay!






Wednesday, January 16, 2008:
Today I had a very hard decision to make: I had a dinner date with Katherine at 1789, a French restaurant in Georgetown. Of course, this meant the tie I selected had to be perfect for work and a fancy-pants dinner. Well, of course I needed consultation but I decided that the purple, blue and magenta Ted Baker tie I found at Marshal's for $24.99 (retail $85) would work, paired with a simple white French cuff shirt and my Banana Republic gray 3-button suit. I wore my engraved cufflinks purchased at historic Williamsburg, Virginia. I think it worked. I've decided I like detailed floral patterned ties, like those on Islamic walls or pottery, better than I do stripes, or Vineyard Viney ties. Those patterns paired with the strong look of a tailored suit look make really good matches.


Thursday, January 17, 2008:
For the final of this week's installments I chose the navy blue silk knit tie that I received as a present from my father, by Gitman Bros. from John Helmer Haberbasher. I paired it with a light blue oxford and my favorite herringbone blazer again. I thought it was very collegiate/1960s when my dad was in school. And never mind Brian Branton, who commented that "the 80's ended blah blah blah." What-ever dude. Besides, didn't you love the Eighties Mr. Branton?