Tie a Day, Number 112

Tie number 112 is another from Countess Mara. I am estimating that about a fifth of my ties fit into this category. I can tell because they all have the little CM and the crown on the front of the tie.

The black background with the small blue ovoid shapes is sure to not upset me as some of the previous ties have done. The tan trim, around the blue shapes, means that the tie will go with brown without a problem. So wearing the tie is a win for me. I can almost wear it with anything in my wardrobe.

Looking up Countess Mara, I found out that Lucille Mara de Vescovi was a real person but not an actual Countess. Perhaps that is not very interesting, but she did build a men’s neckwear empire by making tie that appealed to the elite buyer. At the bottom of the article I saw that Countess Mara ties stopped using the CM and the crown at the bottom of the ties before the 1990’s.

That would make this tie over 20 years old. I feel Like Kramer with my extensive vintage-wear collection.

"Giddy-Up!"

Tie a Day, Number 91

Tuesday's tie was a yellow tie that looks like it has red, green, blue and white paint slashed across it diagonally. I am not really a yellow wearer, but in keeping with my tropical Atlantis theme (here is a movie I made from our trip photos), I thought the tie fit well.

There have been many interesting things that I have discovered about men's neckwear in my tie research. I found things out mostly because I was curious, but sometimes it was an accident just so I could have more to say about my ties than,"this tie stinks," or "this tie is awesome."

For example, I always wondered why so many ties have diagonal designs going across them. Originally, I thought that it was part of the overall men's wear thing. A diagonal to offset the pinstripes in a suit or the vertical lines in a shirt. It seemed logical, but it was completely wrong.

When woven fabric is cut across the grain, or on the bias, it is cut at a 45 degree angle related to the vertical thread, or warp, and its horizontal thread, or waft. The reason that tie fabric is cut in this manner is so the tie will come out of the knot evenly without twisting. If the pattern on the tie fabric is a woven pattern, such as stripes, when the fabric is cut on the bias and a tie is created the pattern will become a diagonal pattern.

Now the problem with this new found piece of information is that doesn't explain ties with a diagonal slant that are prints, such as the tie I wore on Tuesday. Maybe Countess Mara is just messing with my head.

Tie a Day, Number 37

Today’s tie is fruity, and by that I mean it has lots of fruit on it. I don’t normally like fruits, vegetables or even plants on my ties, but this tie is ok. I do think it is odd that the fruit is all leaning to the right but somehow that doesn’t attract the eye as much and leaves you with a feeling of color rather than shapes.

Another late 80’s Countess Mara tie made of fine silk with an unexpected thickness to it, I imagine that at one time this was an example of fashionable men’s neckwear. Sadly, this tie hasn’t escaped my closet in at least 12 years.

Not normally a tie I would choose to wear, but it worked for me today. It is surprising how many ties I have liked that I would not have wanted to wear except for this silly tie a day gig…

Now if I could only get my little photographers to line up the pictures vertically. Lately my pictures seem to lean a bit.

Tie a Day, Number 18

My school will be holding its 4th annual blood drive today, so I dove into my closet looking for a tie with red in it. I found this classic Countess Mara tie. I had no idea that the little CM on my ties meant much of anything, but it seems that this is a well known and respected maker of ties.

This particular tie is at best, ok. The red is the background and the blue spots are leaves. It is hard to pick out exactly what the tan areas are supposed to be without getting really close. Those spots are animals, specifically, deer, rabbits and foxes.

The little loop in the back that normally holds the back part of the tie down with the front part has come detached on one side. I now use a small piece of scotch tape to hold it down so it doesn't flop all over the place. Classy!

The tie countdown continues (Or is it a count up?).

Don't forget to give the gift of life! I am down for double reds today.