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?