The Ties that Bind.
by Jeff Stokes on 04/11/11 at 1:39 pm
Your neck tie should work for you not against you.
Brothers, you all heard that the Worshipful Master Elect Don Harper has proclaimed all Brethren holding an office this coming year will adhere to a dress code.
As we must all be required to be in at least a shirt and tie I thought I would share some of my formal and business dress tips about ties.
I have lots of ties, hell I have lots of dress clothes. I have an entire closet that is just formal wear. I’m not yet wealthy and have had my bouts with the empty wallet, but that doesn’t stop the well dressed man. It takes some skill to dress sharp on zero or small budgets but anybody can do it.
My tie rack is full and I’m always looking for more ties. I found most of my ties not at expensive department stores or suit stores but in resale shops. Used dress clothes are usually well taken care of, especially an item like a tie suffers little wear and tear in what time it is in actual use. Terrific finds from different decades and styles past can be found in resale shops. From skinny ties from the 50′s/80′s to shorter fatter ties from the 40′s, whatever taste you have you can find it. (Just wash them, it takes that “eau de old man” out.)
While nothing admittedly looks quite like a crisp new suit or tie, you can find such items made from superior materials in resale shops for a fraction of the value at original purchase. If you are like me and piece together looks from different time periods you know you cannot just walk into any department store and find vintage color schemes and patterns.
Now maybe dress clothes aren’t your thing and you are not sure of what your taste in ties (or suits or shoes) even is. That’s fine, you will only start to hone in on what you like by shopping around. Suit stores like the Mens Wearhouse have tables full of ties arranged by color gradient. It’s like a color palette of ties. Suit stores and department stores also sell shirts and ties as a set. This little trick guarantees that you look sharp with matching shirt, ties and handkerchief.
You have some of my advice, put it to good use now that you have no excuse to not dress sharp and remember real men wear pink. Go forth and look deadly Brethren.
Discussion: