The Brown Whisper

The amazing period neckwear of the dapper gentlemen at Knot a Blog and Will's Vintage Ties piqued my interest in real vintage ties, i.e. from the "swing era" of the 40s and 50s when pants were high-waisted and ties were short, and men called women "dames" and "broads" and "tomatoes" and ogled their "gams." I was lucky to find this rayon tie on ebay; it's "The Brown Whisper" from Wembley, 1950. I know that because it was in unused, mint condition, with its cardboard sleeve-label still intact! I'm sure I've just torpedoed its resale value by wearing it (after 56 years of careful storage), but that's how committed I am to my calling. A popular catch-all key phrase on ebay for anything moderately funky from that period is "Eames era," riding the coattails of Charles and Ray Eames, who popularized the "playful-industrial" look. It's an overused phrase, yet I wouldn't hesitate to use it to describe this tie. "Atomic" works too. Now please excuse me while I go toss back a few with the guys at the Frolic Room.

Update: Here's the label from the tie, which includes such quaint phrases as "For the man in her life," and "Correct color for fall:"