Ties

I would imagine that Thomas Pink ties are made by John Comfort or Drake's or one the few other British tie makers that seem to make all the private-label ties for all of the British shirtmakers. If so, then ther're certainly of good quality. I'm a big fan of Hermes printed ties, but I think that their wovens are considerably less successful. Ben Silver has acres and acres of ties (including Arnys ties, which are supposed to be the most exquisite printed ties in the world). You can find some rather subdued ties of similar quality to Thomas Pink ties on the New & Lingwood website and the Harvie & Hudson website. Still, it's hard to judge how you would like a tie unless you can see it and touch it in person.

For Italian ties try: Raffaello Ties

I like Tiedeals.com. They stock Duchamp ties, amongst others, which are quite thick, but also pretty narrow.

I have one Thomas Pink tie. It is fairly thick, and to my eye, well constructed. Recently, I have purchased some Hickey-Freeman ties, and I am very pleased with them. They have some rich shades of color that I usually do not see and feature many classic designs. Robert Talbott, of course, has great ties. Nordstroms always seems to have a great selection of Talbott ties and a wide variety of patterns.

I think for the most part, you are wise to purchase ties at Nordstrom, as they have some of the best selections of Robert Talbott's around.  I am suprised that you found many of the Talbott's to have loud patterns, as I think generally they are more conservative.  Nordstrom typically carries their Best of Class line ($98) as well as their Talbott Studio line ($65).  I prefer the Best of Class line just because they tend to be mostly wovens as opposed to the Studio's which tend to be print ties.  In addition, they have an Estate line which are much harder to find ($145) and their 7-folds ($195).  The Nordstrom nearest me usually only has a few 7-folds.  I have  only seen a few of the Estate ties, and they are beautiful.   Ah...Thomas Pink...I have a few of their ties and I have found them to be pretty high quality.  They tend to be narrower and the ones I have are wovens.  Typically, Pink makes mostly solid colored ties, which is fine by me because I do enjoy solids.  However, if you are looking for more elaborate patterns such as some of the designs you may have seen on Talbott's, you will be disappointed.  However, if you are looking for very bright solid colors, Thomas Pink is the place to go Additionally, when you are at Nordstrom, you might want to look for Altea and Montebello ties.  Both are made by the same company, and retail for $55 and $35 respectively.  I have found them to be very nice looking ties, especially for their low price.  The $65 tie you bought is probably an XMI (extraordinary marketing ideas).  XMI has a Platinum line which Nordstrom also has a good selection of.  They retail for $95 and tend to have edgy designs with geometric patterns in them.

I think Neiman-Marcus generally has the best selection of very nice ties all in one place for you to touch and see. Better than Nordstrom. Higher priced than Nordstrom too, unfortunately. Neiman-Marcus Last Call is the place to go to get the deals on last season's great ties.

For Bargains, Nordstrom's Rack has Talbott Best of Class ties for $40. They come in such a wide range of styles and colors, that I think that you must be able to find something you like from them. Paul Stuart has an amazing selection of ties, but their internet site is quite limited, so unless you live in Chicago or New York, you won't see them all. Ben Silver has a great internet site with a nice variety of very nice ties. Sartorial Solutions www.sartorialsolutions.com is an ebay seller who has amazing 7 fold ties made from the nicest woven silk for about $70. I have two and they are some of the nicest ties I've seen. Occasional Ebay bargains on Kiton ties can also be had.

There is definitely some deception going on there; the name "Nordstrom Rack" certainly implies that it is a Nordstrom outlet store, like Neiman Marcus Last Call or Off Fifth, but that's not really the case.  It's more like a lower-end department store that happens to share the Nordstrom name. Most of that stuff is  never sold in a real Nordstrom's.   The suits, as you noted, are particularly bad. The one exception would be shoes - the two stores near me always seem to have a lot of Bruno Magli, Ferragamo, Allen Edmonds, and other brands that are sold at legitimate Nordstrom stores.

I agree with Bryce, with one caveat. In general, the Nordstrom Racks are depressing, with crappy merchandise that has never been within smelling distance of a real Nordstrom. The caveat: if you get on their mailing list, they will notify you when the stuff from the real Nordstrom stores arrives. When this happens, you may find some decent stuff, including Faconnable shirts, ties, and tailored wear, Talbott ties, Hickey Freeman tailored wear, and some Zegna stuff. The good news about the Rack is that, often times, good stuff will languish and get marked down further; a few examples, Hickey Freeman sport coats $99; a $2500 Linen/Cashmere sportcoat, under the Albert Goldberg/Faconnable label (made by St. Andrews or Belvest) for $150, $400 Faconnable wool pants for $60, Scottish-made cashmere sweaters for $55, a $750 Talbott pure silk bathrobe for $200, Oxxford pants for $70, $850 Santoni Handmade, Reverse-welted shoes (a la Lattanzi) for $140. Unfortunately, IMO the quality of alot of the merchandise at the regular Nordstroms has declined, so this means less good stuff going to the Rack. As far as I know, Nordies no longer sells Oxxford, and Faconnable and Zegna have largely supplanted Hickey Freeman, etc. Also, what you find may be a function of the specific location at which you shop; my impression is that some stores get more of the Main-line store merchandise than others.

I wholeheartedly agree that the regular Nordstrom clothes have declined. Almost everything in the men's section is made in Southeast Asia these days. Nicer items made in Europe are getting harder and harder to fine there. Even Faconnable items are largely made in Asia, despite its French heritage. It seems to be that Nordstrom is placing a declining emphasis on quality and is beginning to look like another Dillard's or Lord & Taylor.

Ok guys, I am a little on the defensive here because I have worked at Nordstroms during my summer breaks. First of all, I can tell you that you are correct when you say that some stuff sold at Norstrom rack has never reached Nordstrom. However, I can tell you that there is alot of stuff which is sold at Nordstrom and then shipped to the Rack stores. I know this for a fact because as a salesperson I have been the one to organize alot of the ties and shirts to be marked (we put a red mark through the label) and sent off to the rack stores. This includes everything from Zegna ties to Talbott shirts to David Danahue cufflinks. I would agree that Nordstrom rack stores are the pits. The one I went to in San Francisco wasn't too bad though. However, the other ones I have visited on the Peninsula are depressing and the clientele of people isn't the best. Another element that the above brings in is location and region. Certainly region does have a big part. I am from San Francisco, and our Nordstrom store on Market has alot of great merchandise, particularly with dress shirts from Robert Talbott and Barba. They also do carry Zegna. However, juxtapose this store with the Nordstrom stores near where I go to college here in Oregon, and it is night and day. I have checked out the Nordstrom in Salem and Portland. The Salem one was only 2 stories and the mens furnishings department was about 1/5 the size of the mens furnishings department at our San Francisco store. So region definetely plays a role. Where abouts was the Nordstrom that you checked out meta? Also, I beg to differ with anyone who claims that Nordstrom is like Dillards. Quite frankly, I think that is a complete insult to the company, especially in terms of Nordstroms commitment to customer service. They go out of their way to provide superior customer service and our return policy is the best around. I don't go into Dillards, but I doubt they provide the kind of customer service and return policy that Nordstrom does. I know I am biased here because I have worked for the company, however I can tell you from first hand experience as a salesperson that I always enjoy expressing my enthusiasm for clothing to customers and steering them in an appropriate direction when picking out shirts and ties. I doubt Dillards gives customers the same kind of attention. I have always thought of Nordstrom as a unique kind of retailer because it doesn't really compete with any other department stores. First of all, its not really a department store, because it doesn't carry appliances and bedding and all those other things. It doesn't compete with Neiman Marcus or Saks Fifth Avenue, as both have, for the most part, higher end stuff then Nordstrom (although I do realize that some things found in Nordstrom can also be found in Neimans and Saks). And Nordstrom does not compete with places like Macys or Dillards. The merchandise is better then you will find in those middle of the road places. So in reality, Nordstrom is really in a spot by itself.