Do you remember "dippy birds" from the 1970s? They were a popular desk toy to rival the Newton's Cradle bouncing balls. They would rock back and forth, going lower and lower, until the beak dipped into a glass of water, then they would spring upright, gradually start rocking again, and repeat the process over and over. Don't the white birds in the rust-colored bands look like those? As for the other creatures on this tie, your guess is as good as mine. Dinosaurs? Lizards? Sometime in the early 1970s, something tragic happened to neckties. Designers started taking the garish colors of mod design and applying them to more traditional and antique patterns. The result was a multitude of weird brocade ties: classical and baroque motifs in diagonal bands of downright ugly color combinations of woven polyester. (Ted) Sturgeon's Law states that "ninety percent of everything is crap" (though he actually said "crud"); but on the other hand, ten percent isn't. Even among the ugly brocade ties there are some gems, and I consider this to be one, truly inspired in its whimsicality if not its hues.
Thursday, October 27, 2005
Dippy birds
Do you remember "dippy birds" from the 1970s? They were a popular desk toy to rival the Newton's Cradle bouncing balls. They would rock back and forth, going lower and lower, until the beak dipped into a glass of water, then they would spring upright, gradually start rocking again, and repeat the process over and over. Don't the white birds in the rust-colored bands look like those? As for the other creatures on this tie, your guess is as good as mine. Dinosaurs? Lizards? Sometime in the early 1970s, something tragic happened to neckties. Designers started taking the garish colors of mod design and applying them to more traditional and antique patterns. The result was a multitude of weird brocade ties: classical and baroque motifs in diagonal bands of downright ugly color combinations of woven polyester. (Ted) Sturgeon's Law states that "ninety percent of everything is crap" (though he actually said "crud"); but on the other hand, ten percent isn't. Even among the ugly brocade ties there are some gems, and I consider this to be one, truly inspired in its whimsicality if not its hues.
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1 comment:
Doesn't look like you blog anymore but had to note, this is one fine tie. Woudn't mind getting ahold of Dippy Bird myself. Sweet!
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