Banker's stripes and flowers

January 30, 2008:
Today I chose to wear my gray pinstripe JCrew suit with a light blue shirt and a tie by Gianfranco Ferre. The tie was purchased at the Saks 5th Ave outlet in Woodbridge, VA. I bought it on a shopping trip with my sister when she was in town this past fall. The tie is a punchy-orange, with a wispy flower pattern (maybe poppies). I liked the simple, sparse pattern of the flowers and the way that you have to look closely at the tie to see the fact that the flowers look antique in some sort of way, like wallpaper from 1890. I thought it worked well with the power of the chalk stripe of the suit. It's a little banker-ish, and that isn't truly me, but I think that the simple pattern of this tie softens it significantly.

Geometric-fantastic!

Tuesday, January 29, 2008:
Today's selection was one I should have agonized over more than I actually did - it was a tie from Banana Republic and thinking back I don't necessarily know why I was attracted to it. Don't get me wrong, it's a nice tie with an interesting color combination of a silvery blue and a brownish green that brings it a lot of depth. But if I were to buy a tie right now (and I won't - how long do you think this game can go on??) this one wouldn't be the first one I picked out. But at the same time, it's one of those ties I can't wait to wear again. And if you are wondering when that will be, my best estimate is sometime in late April. Gee, I hope it's sunny because I already know which is going to be the final tie: the crowning achievement. But before that I have to wear TWO bow ties. Rough waters lie ahead. Beware!

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.

Patchwork party

Friday, January 25, 2007:
See! I told you that I had a healthy amount of purple in my closet. What I love about what I chose to wear today was the richness of it all - the sweater is not a flat purple, but a it's an eggplant, and I managed to hide a complicated black patchwork tie under it, and got to wear my favorite blazer. It all comes together with a worn style, and a sense of a sophistication. I don't think I could wear this tie any other way, unless it was for a swanky cocktail party. The tie, which is by JCrew, is a patchwork pattern of other black ties they had made, which was a theme of theirs this fall and winter - they had a patchwork tie of plaids in greens and reds. Fall is definitely my favorite fashion time of the year, and I keep trying to inject my favorite parts throughout the year. It is important to note that each year JCrew totally wins me over. Whether it's their focus on dense fabrics and warm, rich colors or their inclusion of supermodel Maggie Rizer, I always look forward to what their catalogs hold. Since the tie was hand-stitched from 1 and 1/2 inch squares of other ties, each one of their patchwork ties was inherently unique. I chose one that didn't include the martini motif since I wanted to wear it at work at some point. But it still brings a little party to the day.

Analyzing purple

January 24, 2008:
I've always had a respect for purple, but never knew what to make of it and certainly didn't know how to wear it, or if I should. The connotations of purple have always been effeminate, which takes away from the historical value of the color as that of royalty, power and wealth, all very masculine things in my book. Needless to say it took some feminine direction and support and I have a healthy dose of it in my wardrobe and I am not the least bit ashamed - as you will see. The word "purple" comes to us from the Latin "purpura" and didn't make into the English vocabulary until 957AD. Tyrian purple, the "original" purple, was the color of a dye made from a mollusk that, because of its incredible expense (many times more expensive than gold), in classical antiquity became a symbol of royalty because only the very wealthy could afford it. I don't want to lay blame on anyone for making this color one that men stay away from, but I don't necessarily think that you should drape yourself in it. It should be adopted but modified to fit within your limits until you trust yourself with it. Today I chose a purple paisley tie Tasso Elba by Macy's, which I know pushes the limits a little, and chose a blue and purple striped shirt from the Gap, which pushes it a little more I think. I attempt to solve the situation with plain black suit from Brooks Brothers - my interview suit. I had worn this combination a lot in the fall of 2005 and I liked it, and I still kind of do, but looking at it now I am distracted by it quite frankly. Paisley is an interesting pattern concept but I think that it is better off much smaller than the one here. I think that this tie is a selfish look at paisley. The focus is in the lower, lighter vine thus hogging the rest of the visual effect. I think the paisley looses its richness when the focus is so intently on one feature. Maybe it's confused more by my choice in shirt in a completely contrasting manner. I don't know, you tell me what you think. . . either way I won't see the tie for a couple months so I have some time to mull it over.

New shirt in the mix

Wednesday, January 23, 2008:
Even though this blog isn't about shirts I decided I would talk about the one I wore today, because I'm proud to have seamlessly added it into the rotation, which is harder to do than one my think. So the shirt was a Christmas present from my best friend, Katherine, and it's from Talbot Men's. It is a blue woven check pattern, but has a skillfully placed orange thread to add a little dimension to the shirt. To match it I didn't go straight to my orange ties, but I decided to find something that brought the same kind of detail to the table, so I chose my red square patterned Ike Bahar that I had purchased at the Nordstrom Men's Half Yearly Sale in 2006 with my friend Danny Ly. I thought it was adventurous to buy a red tie, kind of bold, since I was straying from safe blues and greens and oranges and purples and turquoise.

Brown tie on Tuesday

Tuesday, January 22, 2008:
Today I was in a pinch to grab a tie, but I wanted to wear navy. Also, I wanted try to reach back and pull out something I haven't worn in a long time, which by the way is a huge part of this journey. What is not part of this journey, well, not necessarily anyway, is that I will throw these ties away. Maybe, just maybe, I find that the luster has faded from a certain one, or that another no longer snaps into a perfect dimple, I will then, perhaps, find a nice shady spot in the back garden and place it to rest. Ok, having said that, today I paired a simple light blue shirt (I have a lot of those) with a brown tie with crosses of dark blue and light blue. It's Tassa Elba, which I think is Macy's top end brand, and I got it soon after I first moved here. I think it was my first trip to Macy's and I was unescorted. . . that day I also bought an orange tie and a striped shirt combination (which wins all the time). Needless to say this is one of those ties which is a little complex and therefore finds its way into the back, but it turns out a simple blue shirt and a navy suit brings it to the front again. Three years later. . .