Basic Blue -- Backside View

This tie is SO ordinary, so plain, so basic blue, that I decided to show you the backside, rather than the front, in order to demonstrate a point about the construction of some older ties.

The tie is made of wool, virgin wool, to be sure, but wool all the same. It has no pattern, no design, nothing hand painted or otherwise imprinted on it. Certainly no brocade woven into the fabric of the fabric (ha!). So why even bother to scan and post it?

Because it is indubitably old. The construction alone, says so. Note how it is unevenly folded over in back, with one side wide, the other narrow. This occurs on both the wide and narrow ends of the ties. This type of construction is typical of 1930's era ties, which are almost ALWAYS constructed that way, and some early 1040's ties, as well. But by later into the 40's, most ties were constructed with a more evenly divided fold in back, although many 40's ties still had a slight overlap, one side over the other.

Another clue to this tie's age is the lack of any type of lining. Most later ties had a lining of some sort inside, for stiffening, if nothing else.

The label reads as follows:

Fortmann's
Charmeen
by
Superba
100% Virgin Wool,

The tie is in great shape, given its age, and makes a fine example of simplicity in form and function.

Brushstroke Swirls

Another '30's era tie. This one I'm calling "Brushstroke Swirls" for lack of anything better. My scanner really seems to have problems with dark shades of maroon. I had to really run this scan through the image enhancement software process in a major way to get it to come even close to the actual color.

It's pretty close now, but just a bit on the dark side. (Not the dark side of the force, mind you 8^)

I believe I mentioned embroidery in one of my previous 2007 entries. These ties have a unique kind of fabric that resembles embroidery, but unlike embroidery, the design is not stitched on TOP of the fabric, but is embedded into the fabric itself. I wish someone with more knowledge of fabric would explain it to me. How this fabric is made, that is, and what the proper terminology for it is.

I have said several times before that these scans don't really do it justice. But then, the ties themselves, from any distance at all, appear rather plain and ordinary, dull even. It's only when you take a look at them up close that you can perceive the richness, the sheen, the jewel-like colors, the elaborate stitching effect that is created. These ties are much more subtle than those from the next decade, but are not nearly as dramatic and flashy. But seen up close, they are just as stunningly beautiful. That's my view, anyhow, and I'm sticking to it!