Red & Blue Icicle Swirls

Don't ask me why I called this tie "Red & Blue Icicle Swirls." That was just the pseudo-poetic expression that popped into my head when I was trying to think what to call it.

I'm not even sure that "swirls" is the right term to use. Curlicues might be more accurate. And why icicles? The color patterns on the tied, all kind of swirled together in shades of silver, white and blue, with the red background streaking through in places, somehow reminded me of icicles. Probably not very accurate, but it worked for me.

This is one of the most recent acquisitions in my collection. It just got back from the dry cleaners this week, having arrived the week before in the mail. I purchased it together with another in a lot of two vintage beauties on eBay. At the time I am writing and posting this blog entry, you can still see the pair online, but I don't suppose the pictures will stay up there indefinitely.

You will have to forgive me for cutting of the pointed end of the tie, but I wanted to show as much of the design as possible, and my flatbed scanner just isn't long enough to do the tie full justice. I have sometimes resorted to my digital camera, but I haven't really mastered it well enough to get very good tie shots with it. I generally get glare off the flash, for instance. So I prefer the scanner.

The large end is close to how the tie actually looks, but the small end is most definitely not. For some reason it came out much darker. The only good thing about it is that you can see the brocade pattern quite distinctly down near the end. A diamond shape made up of four parallelograms. This pattern is embedded into the fabric hither and yon, fairly infrequently, but consistently every few inches up the tie.

Well, that's enough for this week. No labels on this tie, unfortunately. Until next time, au revoir, auf Wiedersehen.

Tan and Brown Circles on Red

This is an intriguingly patterned tie. First we have some largish tan circles, filled with smaller solid brown circles. Then we have an arc shaped slice filled with concentric brown circles on a tan background. All superimposed over a solid deep red background.

All in all it makes for quite a striking design. Striking enough that we don't really miss the lack of a brocaded fabric in this case.

The tie appears to have been well liked and frequently worn by its owner. Or else he was careless, as the tie shows some dark staining towards the end.

There is one label which reads (not unlike several others I've posted):

Resilient Construction
Towncraft Deluxe Cravat
Fabric Loomed in U.S.

Orange Rosettes

This beauty is another of my favorites, and hangs on my rack of orange, brown and tan colored vintage ties. There are over 25 ties on this one rack alone.

I have similar racks for blue, red, and green. The green rack also holds some miscellaneous ties in silver, gray, and other colors. Plus there is a separate rack devoted to ties with autumn leaves, most of which were featured on the blog last fall.

I don't know that the shapes on this tie are proper rosettes, but that was the only term I could think of to describe them. The fabric has one of those rich brocades woven into it, of an apparently floral design, which is probably difficult to see in the scan.

There is one label sewn into the small end of the tie which reads:

Pebble Beach
Made in California

Green and Silver

Now here's a tie that no one has cut down, refolded, and narrowed! It's fully 4 and 1/4 inches in width at its widest point.

Quite striking in design, with two dark green patterned sections cut from much larger circles impinging on a silver background, the circular patterns themselves filed with small overlapping circles, some plain, some filled with many pointed stars, some of which have a smaller silver circle imposed on them. The areas between the small circles are filled with small silver dots.

The tie also sports a fabric brocade consisting of vertical rows of diagonally oriented squares forming a kind of checkerboard pattern. The brocade continues unabated through the green circular patterns, but are not as visible there unless you examine the tie closely, and probably aren't very visible in the scan.

This tie is difficult to wear with any color other than white. I typically wear it with a matching dark forest green shirt, but then, finding a pair of slacks that doesn't clash in tone with the silvery background of the tie is a challenge.

Unfortunately, no labels survive.