Ruby Red

Here's the second exemplar from my matched set trio from the Spokane lingerie salesman's hoard. This one is a brilliant deep-hued crimson red color, certainly suitable for Christmas. And the design on the tie is somewhat reminiscent of an ornate Christmas tree ornament, or several such ornaments, if you will.

So, how to describe the design on these ties? It's difficult. A main feature are the several ornament shaped patterns that stand out from the rest of the busy surface. Three of them are depicted in the scan, with one more just a bit further up the tie, that didn't fit on my scanner bed. These are made up of four tulip-shaped patterns forming a kind of rosette or floral shape, each with a small red flower inside, on a yellow-gold background. Another small red flower sits in the middle.

Around them is a lighter colored border, giving the entire ornament a more rounded shape. This is surrounded by a more difficult to see border of deep red segmented ovoids. I've loaded a larger view of one of these rosette patterns which may be a little easier to see.

The remainder of the tie is filled with what almost look like shadow echoes of the primary rosettes. Sort of half- completed or outlined versions of the others, each one typically has a small portion of its shape hidden behind one of the primary patterns. These are over top the primary background of the tie, which is composed of hundreds of tiny red pebbly shapes, differentiated by small black lines. These are probably only barely visible in the scan, if at all.

Overall, it's a very busy, very ornate, elaborate pattern, somewhat reminiscent of arabesque style designs, based on Islamic or Arabian kinds of patterns. Which create a very opulent and rich effect, especially since the fabric of the tie has a lush, silky soft feel to it.