10E2483: Fridays Are Tie Days - The Old Boy Network II

Well, you know how it is when you're in some public spot and a stranger comes in wearing the old school tie. You shove a hasty hand over your own and start to sidle out before the chap can spot it and grab you and start gassing.

-from Tried in the Furnace by P.G. Wodehouse

Not sure why but I'm not that wild on striped repp or regimental (long) ties. Striped bow ties I like, and the crested ties look fantastic. I went to LSE (dubbed "Let's See Europe" by the American students) but can't bring myself to wear their gold/purple/black. LSE is a constituent of the University of London; their (Ben Silver'd) ties are v v tasty. Around $75.



In other great news for me - another alma mater in London, City University will soon join the federal University of London (UOL). City will continue to operate under its Royal Charter which will be amended to reflect its change of name and the titles of its senior officers as an autonomous college of UOL. That means I can wear either the tie above or below to reflect both B.A. Phil/Econ and M.A. Arts Crit. You want fries with that?

10E2434: Aran Knit - Fridays Are Tie Days

This seems like a quick way to age yourself by about 30 years. File under 'old man'. Love it.
"Aran" style wool knit ties from The Knottery - in 'army', burgundy, navy or off-white.
Use promo code WINTERSALE for 35% off even the sale prices...

The Aran Islands lie off the west coast of Ireland don't you know. Read much about this fabled style of knitting in our older post on the subject. Is it all bunk about the family patterns??

Read the origin of the Fridays are tie days posts here.

10E2408: Fridays | Poly Tie Days

My job as a digital librarian does not require me to dress in a suit and tie. Hell doesn't really require any dressing up as work from home mainly... Treat it as a pleasure not a chore though and you will find yourself wearing a tie when travelling. Even with a cardigan it elevates. 

These straight 80s poly/icon type ties are great thrift shop finds, and always from oddball regional stores. This place Tech Tailors was in Woostah! Think it may have morphed into a drycleaners now??

 

10E2374: Fridays Are Tie Days - Knottery Raw Silk

New from The Knottery - Navy (or burgundy) dotted, raw silk bowtie.  Silk milled in England, 2" diamond tip/batwing shape. Sewn in Brooklyn. $38. Dry hand-feel, not slick like you might imagine - good. Update: I pounced on this w/ cold hard clams - this color sold out already... 5 other raw silk options though.

10E2365: Fridays Are Ties Days - DDay

Buzzfeed has an amazing gallery of Normandy veterans today. And some great regimental ties on show. Pat Churchill here is wearing a Royal Marines Commando tie w/ regimental motif of a white dagger.

 Another fantastic example thanks to Eddie Wallace - Honourable Artillery Company I think.

H/T to Max for this one...

10E2327: Fridays Are Tie Days - Robert Ellis

Fantastic cover of The Grand Tour (by the late George Jones) from Robert Ellis.
HT to T_C_F on this one... #tearjerker

UPDATE: forgot to mention - this guy playing at Great Scott in Boston area this Sunday Feb 16th - link.

10E2304: Handknit Knit Tie

Handknit in Scotland using moss stitch. #oma #secretsource 
Heathered wool next. V reasonable.

10E2281: Knit Tie - Literally - Fridays Are Tie Days

Lion Brand Yarns in NJ offer a bunch of free knitting patterns for various ties. A certain Scottish grandmother knitting this for me next week! #oma #resource

10E2245: Andover Shop -reblog

Had my eye on this bow of my Pops'. Great spotted pattern, an oldy from The Andover Shop in Cambridge, MA. Funny thing, after wearing it for a while I began to feel the scratchy neck symptomatic of a reaction to horses... and Mrs 10e concluded that as Pops had worn the tie to feed the animals many times it must be the bow tie causing the reaction. Smart cookie. Changed ties and bingo, all good. 

Let that be a lesson... don't steal a horseman's tie.

10E2228: Fridays Are Tie Days | Harris Tweed

 

Ties hand-crafted by Rarebird on the Outer Hebrides using Harris Tweed. Great nubby cloth, and cheeky color names; Signal above and Pentland, Luskentyre, and Peat Fire below.

10E2184: Fridays Are Tie Days | Duck Heads

Not related to Duckhead khakis I don't believe - but rather made by Pintail (big in polyester embroidered tie world... see here). Thrifty score. 25¢.

It has been a while so will revisit the "fridays are tie days" slogan... Activate Major Gowen.

The opposite of casual  Friday.. Fridays are tie days was a tradition for many British regiments including the Royal Artillery, in which Major Gowen (resident in the comedy Fawlty Towers) served. This particular tie below is often called the Gunner Tie, and might work for those that are averse to regimental stripes (i.e. me). Long/short, it is still a regimental tie, but the lightning pattern really takes it into geometric land.

"The inspiration for the character of The Major in Fawlty Towers was said to be one Captain Lancaster — John Cleese's Latin teacher as a young lad... Major Gowen, played by Ballard Berkeley was a bumbling, quintessential stiff upper lipped English gentleman. And proud of it! Well known for his distrust of foreigners in general he could always be found wandering about Fawlty Towers enquiring if the newspapers had arrived yet. The only thing more important to Major Gowen than the arrival of the newspapers to keep himself abreast of the cricket scores was the opening of the bar."
-via FawltySite.

Sidenote: repp ties are so-called for the weave; nothing to do with reputation or clubs or schools. A repp tie was made from silk that's woven in such a way as to produce tight diagonal ribs. Often, striped ties for schools, clubs, and regiments are rep ties, but not all rep ties are school/regiment etc..

Most silk neckwear is produced in only a few weaves: rep (with longitudinal ribs), ottoman (with crosswise ribs), crepe (with a broad range of grained surface effects) and faille (with conspicuous crosswise ribs).
-G. Bruce Boyer

10E2087: Eagle Claw Tie Clasp

Easy gift call; $2. Tie clasp (or hat pin) by Eagle Claw. Like all their hooks, made in the USA. Can buy them all over the place (e.g. Sears) - or buy a box of 100 on ebay. #fridaysaretiedays  HT to Teresa at Camp Wandawega for this one. 

10E2047: Fridays are Tie Days | Pierrepont Hicks for Red Wing

Silk tie featuring the classic Red Wing 875 Boot, from Pierrepont Hicks. Def' reminiscent of a certain old LLBean tie, and doesn't hurt a bit.

10E1999f: Fridays Are Tie Days - Murray's Toggery

Can't completely remember but think this summery cotton tie was a score from the Hospital Thrift Store on India Street, which is a wide open secret but still good to grab a flannel shirt if you underpacked on a chilly weekend, or a beach read - or if you are lucky actually get something good. Club that thing so it doesn't get in your way and get back to chopping fish, or cutting limes.

fridays are tie days -coral madras

Weather is fantastic. #boston

fridays are tie days -the knottery

Missed these guys being mentioned on ValetMag/AHeadlongDive and other places, but saw this tie in the wild and it is a winner. The Longshoreman from The Knottery. Yup, reminiscent of a certain Norwegian sweater favored by preppy enthusiasts. Not unintentional. Good stuff.

fridays are tie days -andover shop

Had my eye on this bow of Pops' for ages. Great spotted pattern; an oldy from The Andover Shop in Cambridge, MA. Funny thing, after wearing it for a while I began to feel the scratchy neck symptomatic of a reaction to horses... and Mrs 10e concluded that as Pops had worn the tie to feed the animals many times it must be the bow tie causing the reaction. Smart cookie. Changed ties and bingo, all good. Let that be a lesson to me I guess... Don't steal a horseman's tie.

fridays are tie days -christmas pudding

Def' a smart move to club your tie when working with lit brandy [well played bruv -ed.]. Pissed the pics do not show the halo of blue flame that was ghosting round the dish here. Anyhow it was suitably soaked and excellent. On me, Brooks Brothers 347 job. A workhorse tie and real favourite, hence pulling duty on Christmas dinner. Wearing it again as I type this infact...

fridays are tie days -cetacean

Cetacean [def from Britannica Concise -ed.]: They are found in oceans worldwide and in some freshwater environments. Modern cetaceans are grouped in two suborders: about 70 species of toothed whales (Odontoceti) and 13 species of toothless baleen whales (Mysticeti). They have a tapered body, no external hind limbs, and a tail ending in a horizontal blade of two lobes, or flukes. Cetaceans must come to the water's surface to breathe through blowholes located on top of their head.

50cent tie from the thrift store.

fridays are tie days -black watch regimental stripe

This is barely perceptible as a regimental stripe when worn which is half the point. Of all plaids, Black Watch is often deemed the most universally accessible, and appropriate for non-clan affilaites (though I have never seen of heard of anyone being bothered by what tartan you wore). Further reading. Anyhow, along those lines, for those that are sensitive about regimental stripes (ie not wearing them if you don't belong) I recommend the Black Watch Reg' Stripe.