Monday, May 25, 2009

A Green Dream

Isn't this a a gorgeous beaut of a tie! I call it "A Green Dream." It's maybe a bit TOO flamboyant, but I like it a lot. I have to tell you its story (the limited part I know):

I found this tie languishing in a junk store--oops, make that a second-hand store, located right next to the discount mall in Seaside, Oregon. It's a favorite place for us to stop and poke around whenever we're passing through Seaside, which is not too often these days.

I say "languishing," because the tie was almost completely disassembled when we found it. It was completely unsewn in back, all the stitching that holds it together had come undone. Consequently, we didn't have to pay much for it, 99 cents, or less, as I recall.

When we got back home, we took it to the dry cleaner, where a seamstress also plies her trade, but she refused to have anything to do with sewing it back up. Too tricky for her, I guess, although she didn't give a reason, just said no.

So Arline (that's my wife for anyone who doesn't already know), sewed it up herself, carefully stitching it up by hand, a process that took her a couple hours of painstaking work all total. In addition to the stitching, she had to carefully iron it, removing the wrinkles that were imbedded, from its having not been in the correct shape, or form for quite some time before we acquired it. That was truly a labor of love on her part! Thanks, my dear!

The tie itself is quite spectacularly over the top. It's a deep glossy green, with three downward pointing triangle shapes near the bottom, with a large pointed spear of fluorescent yellow-green stabbing down toward the center of the tie. I now realize I'm going to have to scan and post another shot of the tie further up from the bottom, to show what happens there. My scanner just isn't big enough to do it justice all in one scan. I really do need a larger scanner bed.

As you can see in the second scan, the three triangle shapes are repeated further up the tie. I'm also posting the label, which is embedded directly into the fabric and design of the tie itself. It reads as follows (although I'm sure most of you can read it for yourself):

Cutter Cravat
Artist Original ©

In addition to its striking design and colors, the tie has a large scale brocade woven into the fabric, giving it yet another aspect of opulence. The brocade consists viny curlicue patterned shapes, somewhat reminiscent of the classic paisley design.

Well, that's more than enough said about this tie. Hope you enjoy it!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Cutter was quite prolific in the '40s, and produced some interesting designs. Nice example!

L. Bartoletti
Los Angeles