Sunday, March 26, 2006

Rusty Red and Yellow on Gray

This is an example of a quite different style of 40's era tie that I have enjoyed collecting. No shiny sheen with elaborate brocade woven into the fabric here. Instead, we have a more matte type of finish, featuring a sort of swirled background with free-flowing lines, on top of which are abstract colorful blotches of somewhat geometric design.

I don't remember when or where I obtained this tie. It might be another eBay purchase, I just can't recall. I have a few others in a similar style, and plan to put another of them up next week.

The tie has no labels, but inside both ends, the large end and the small end, on the lining fabric, is stamped the initials CWH. I would guess that these were put there by the tie's original owner, but I don't really know. They could be a maker's mark, I suppose, but not like one I've seen before.

This tie definitely shows its age, with some staining and wear. But it's still quite a dashing example of 40's style, and one that I get a kick out of wearing.

Sunday, March 19, 2006

Red with Golden Globes

This is probably my favorite vintage tie in red. I'm not quite sure what it's supposed to be depicting. Some kind of fruit, I suppose, with leaves connecting them. It reminds me of the verse from Psalms (or is it Proverbs?) "A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver." I just checked the King James Bible via a quick Google search, and it's Proverbs 25:11. I had a grade school teacher who loved to quote that verse, and did so incessantly.

I bought this tie early in my collecting life, during my college years, when I used to haunt the St. Vincent de Paul and Salvation Army stores in Walla Walla, Washington. Good vintage ties could often be found there, and I rarely had to pay more than a dollar or two for them.

I used to have a wonderful 40's era suit to go with this tie. I bought the tie first, and later bought the suit to go with it, which fact I was happy to impart to anyone I could get to listen. Paid $5.00 for the suit as I recall. It was off white, thick bulky wool fabric, with lots of colorful threads imbedded in it, the predominant color of which was a deep red perfectly matching this tie.

Actually, I think the suit is still in a box out in my garage somewhere, but unfortunately, my waistline expanded over the years, and I havn't been able to fit into that suit for years, and I'm don't suppose I ever will again. I should sell my old suits on eBay, I suppose. I had half a dozen 40's and 50's era suits. They were sure fun to wear! The ties still are. I wore this one to church today.

The tie has no sewn in labels, but it has a label printed directly on the fabric on the back that simply reads "HABAND." The brocade pattern consists of large squares, each of which contains 6 by 6 rows of tiny squares inside it. The squares are tipped onto the perpendicular.

Sunday, March 12, 2006

Red and Blue Diagonals

Blue and red combined seems to be a favorite color combination for 1940's era ties. I've already posted one example, Dad's red and blue paisley. Here is another favorite of mine utilizing a similar color palette.

This one, if I remember correctly, I purchased on eBay back in the late 90's, probably 1998. That was when I made my first foray into online purchasing. I had fun buying several lots of vintage ties, also some stamps. My stamp collecting is relatively desultory, more off than on, but given more money, and more time, I'm sure I could spend more on both (stamps and ties).

This tie has a nice, albeit minimalistic brocade pattern, barely visible in the scan, if you look closely, consisting of paired squares, turned on their side, diagonally, reflecting the dominant pattern of the tie itself. That pattern of diagonals is laid out in diagonally oriented stripes.

How much more interesting this tie, however, than the typical plain colored stripes that are so prevalent in conservative ties: yesterday, today, and one assumes, tomorrow! Boo to those boringly traditional stripes, and hooray for colorful well-designed ones like these!

Sunday, March 05, 2006

Orange Pseudo-Books and Vines

I have an entire rack of vintage ties in shades of orange and brown, of which this is one of my several favorites. I particularly like this tie because the featured rectangular shapes are reminiscent of books, even though in all honesty, I'm forced to admit they probably aren't intended to BE books. Close enough for me, the inveterate bookworm and librarian.

What more can one say about it? It has a lovely swirling ribbon brocade, which may be intended to depict vines and leaves in an abstract fashion. If you look very closely, right at the bottom of the bright orange bookish object, for instance, or right above and impinging on the top of the same object, you may be able to see what appear to be leafish objects curving off one of the ribbon vines.

Unfortunately, I don't remember where or when I obtained this tie. The label reads:

"Wembley"
"Reg. U.S. Pat. Off."

which leads me to wonder just what aspect of a tie is patentable.