Shiny firmament

Today's tie is from Richard James, Savile Row (the premier London street for fine menswear, in case you didn't know). The woven stars and circles on a lustrous purple field are a product of what I call the Great British Purple Tie Craze of the early aughties. Too bad they had to end; Richard James' current tie selection is rather drab by comparison. Oh well, the purples will be back in another ten years or so.

Missoni for Missoni

I missed getting any Missoni for Target ties during the few minutes that they were available on September 13, so I will just have to make do with my few plain old Missoni ties. This one combines "primitive" graphic elements and stripes; fabric and construction-wise, it is one of the most luxurious ties I own. Note to self: try this out with the charcoal suit next time you wear it.

The Honeycomb Bunch

This polyester tie in an "interesting" palette of browns and blues and a little too much black is from the aptly-named Cravateur. There is an extant Cravateur Tie Company in South Africa, but I get the feeling that this one originated a little closer to home, and about four decades back in time.

Paco Rabanne

This necktie from Paco Rabanne takes a traditional medallion design and updates it with larger shapes and a wider, bolder color palette. Originally a jewelry designer, Rabanne (born Francisco Rabaneda Cuervo) launched his own fashion house in Paris in 1966. His use of metal as a dress fabric has inspired an enigmatic short story, "The Dress" by Elizabeth Brown, published by David Longhorn in Issue 17 of his excellent Supernatural Tales journal. (Note that there is a free PDF edition if you feel inclined to read the story right now.)

Arguably modern

Today's tie comes from Ruff Hewn, "True American Wear". The look is supposed to be rustic, but I see a lot of modernism in the minimal shapes and machine-precise lines.

Brownian motion

Continuing the molecular theme, here's another pattern that looks like molecules zipping and caroming randomly around their medium. It's a black-and-white monotone print on patterned silk jacquard, with the label printed on the back: "Design by LOFT Eternal Veri-ties"-- adding some metaphysics to the physics.

The building blocks of Art Deco

This perplexing tie is from Jacques Estier, a brand of Brooklyn-based necktie wholesaler The Tie King, Inc. I like to think of the pattern as an electron microscope image of art-deco molecules.

Stripes

The uneven stripes on this mid-80s-looking tie are in the style of Leonard of Paris, but it's from Conte San Giorgio of Santa Ynez, California.

Tablecloth

I like the colors and pattern in this silk tie from Linea Moda, but I can't help thinking that it looks more like a vinyl tablecloth than a necktie.

Mystery Marble

The label on this unmistakably hand-marbled tie is for "Martin K, New York." I can't find out anything about the mysterious Martin K, but I suspect the tie was actually marbled by one of the half-dozen professional marblers I have featured here in the past. I'm guessing it's the same one who made my x'Andrini branded marbled tie, whoever that may be. If I had to wager on it, I'd wager on Cosette.

Chains

Today's woven-patterned polyester tie is a relic of a Washington, DC menswear institution: it's by Bronzini, "made expressly for Raleigh's, Washington". The Raleigh's at White Flint is where I bought my first serious necktie. While the Raleigh's name went defunct in 1992, a group of employees bought it out and continued the business as Boardroom Clothiers in the White Flint location. There is now a second location at Tyson's Corner.

Monotone floral redux

This monotone floral necktie is of fairly recent vintage from Liz Claiborne. Practicing brevity to expedite backlog processing.