THE STORY OF TIES

The wide-ranging social and cultural changes of the 1960s and 1970s changed fashion for good. Ever snice, under ordinary curcumstances, wearing a tie has been an option rather than obligation. A tie offers its wearer the luxury of a beautiful object, as well as sophisticated means of self-expression. Because it serves no practical purpose, the tie speaks columes about its wearer. As the Italian novelist Alberto Moravia put it: "As useful article of clothing, a vest for example, is insignificant precisely because of its utility... Modern man is permitted but one acessory allowing him to reveal his vision of the world, to signal his persence in it: the tie."

TIE ARTISTRY
Luxury Fabrics

Although synthetics have taken over in recent years, silk remains the best tie-making material. cotton, wool, and even leather ties may hold their own, but only silk, occasionally blended with wool for authentic poplin, produces the unqiue tactile thrill known as a tie's "hand". In addition to the fabric, crafting quality and methodology contribute to producing an agreeable "hand".


A fine tie is a work of art from beginning to end. Whether woven or printed, it is first designed, transformed into a pattern silk by skiiled artisans and technicians, engineered, and sewn by experts to meet with the maker's approval before a label is added.


Woven silk ties are the most luxurious and dressy of all. Though less common today, they were at one time the incontestable mark and indispenable accessory of a true gentleman. Their greater manufacturing most raises the price of woven silk ties, which part accounts for the tact that they now represent only five percent of tie production. But they will never fall entirely by the wayside, and make periodic comebacks, especially in times of prosperity.