Catching up

I've finally run out of steam. Here's the tie I wore on May 20, by Modules of Japan, one of the best of the art deco revival labels. There might be one more photo on the camera.

Products for your happy enjoyment

From a few feet away this looks like a tie with an abstract woven pattern in rather bright colors, but if you look closer you will see that the little red rectangles actually say "Toshiba," and every other diagonal band contains a repeating line drawing of a different Toshiba product. They've even labeled each one: starting at the top and working down, we have cinema T.V., battery, car radio, cordless [telephone], "fst" [flat screen television], cell phone, and VCR. Corporate ties are usually very dull, so I applaud Toshiba for commissioning one (from Vinuchi) that's so lively and distinctive, if not actually attractive.

Still pampered

It's been almost a month since I last wore a tie, and a year and a half since I wore one of my treasured Pamper Him ties from Chicago. This is the third one to appear on the blog, which leaves me with three yet to be blogged, I believe. That could take another couple years, at this rate. Pamper Him seems to have vanished, as have most of the fabrics from Exotic Silks from which they made their ties (but this one is still there). Only the ties remain, and darn few of those, I suspect.

Fortunately I have popped back onto the blog in time to learn about Catherine Gutsche's upcoming show at the Mississippi Valley Textile Museum in Almonte, Ontario. Faithful readers (both of you) will recognize Catherine as the artist who turned my wedding tie into a painting, which now hangs in its place of honor over our marital bed. The show runs May 14 through August 2 (2008, in case you're reading this in the future), with an opening reception on Saturday, May 24. If you're in the area, go see!

Spring has sprung

Ithaca residents were assured today that spring is finally here, because I wore my rainbow-striped shirt with a rainbow-spattered tie. (The fact that snow is forecast for the weekend in spite of my sartorial proclamation is concerning; have my neckties lost their magickal qualities through neglect?) While most of my "crayon vomit" ties are roughly 35 years old and made of polyester, this is a silk tie by "A. Taghi" of more recent vintage. The only thing I can think of to say about it is, "Whoa."

Kimono my house

It finally warmed up here in Ithaca, so I tried my hand at tie-wearing again. My tie for Monday, March 31, is a patchwork tie of vintage kimono silks by T. Carney, made in Korea. The dark band next to the bottom has a very fine batik-style resist print on it; the triangle on the right side (my left), as well as the band just under the knot, are particularly lustrous, in a nubby weave that is sheer joy to look at and touch. The whole tie is quite tactile, for that matter. I wouldn't mind wearing full garments made from silk like this.

Graphic

I took advantage of the unseasonably warm weather on Monday (60 degrees, 50 higher than last week) to wear my first tie 0f 2008. A tie that looks like a graph (or several graphs) is about as graphic as you can get, wouldn't you say? This bold silk tie with rectangular jacquard weave is of unknown provenance, but is probably 30 to 40 years old and has seen a lot of use. It even appears to have been bitten at least once.

While my tie wearing, and thus tie blogging, has tapered off considerably over the last year, Mike Segers at Knot a Blog continues apace. This month will see his five hundredth blogged tie, so be sure not to miss that! In fact, I recommend you review ties number 1 through 499 in preparation for the big 5-0-0.