J. Cogburn
Senior Member
- Joined
- Dec 3, 2009
- Messages
- 654
- Reaction score
- 15
As part of my recent sartorial awakening, I’ve had to toss the bulk of my gaudy Robert Talbott ties (the foundation of my old necktie rotation) and start anew. This is not a light financial or aesthetic undertaking, but it is an interesting intellectual exercise. I thought I would share with you how one man has strategically reconstructed his tie wardrobe from (near) scratch.
I have decided on a one-month rotation. Since my workplace is afflicted with the infernal “Casual Friday,” that means I need a minimum of 16 ties. But since I am also the kind of guy who wants to wear wool ties in the winter, I needed separate cold weather and warm weather necktie rotations.
Seven of the more relevant considerations that went into my tie selections follow. First, I have become quite conservative in my form of address, preferring a blended outfit to one that serves to highlight interesting color contrasts. Second, I have opted for a classy, conservative dressing style. Third, I wear conservative grey suits with a couple of dark blues tossed in for good measure. Fourth this is a wardrobe aimed at work. I have enough old Robert Talbott ties (courtesy of Nordstroms) to get me through a garden party or other non work-related activity. Fifth, I wanted some versatility in color and style. Sixth, I am a "summer" (a bit ruddy skinned with salt & pepper hair). Seventh, I wear a mix of solid powder pink, light blue, white, and blue pencil-striped shirts to the office.
I had hoped to take advantage of Will Boehlke’s excellent work in this area (parts one and two), but alas, I had to tweak his recommended wardrobe somewhat. Here’s what I came up with:
5 solid colored ties; a grey, a blue, a burgundy, a black, and a dark purple. Well, actually, I have well more than five because I have grenadines, wools, and solid silks in various textures and shades for most of these colors. But in the rotation, it’s one solid colored blue per month, one solid colored grey per month, etc. I’ll choose between wools, grenadines, and silks as my mood demands and my suit fabric requires.
3 Macclesfield ties; a black and white dogtooth, a red shepherd’s check (an Alan Flusser design that's a somewhat toned-down version of this), and a silver neat.
2 dot ties; a grey ground with blue dots and a blue ground with white dots. In the summer, I'll replace the navy blue with white dots with this saxe blue number as the mood strikes me.
2 foulards; one Madder with black ground and a small green and red motif and a Madder with a green ground and a sky and red motif.
2 repp ties, both in blue. Well, I have a bunch of these, but I’ll be choosing each month primarily between this, this, this (and no, I wasn't in the Royal Navy, a concession I am happy to make to anyone here in America - the one in one million - who eyes that tie suspiciously), and this among a couple of others. In the summer, I’ll include this light blue and navy Brooks Brothers #1 in the rotation.
2 paisley Madders; one with a blue ground and another with a red ground.
On a color basis, that leaves me with five blue ties a month, four greys, three reds, two blacks, a purple, and a green.
There are still others in my closet that demand the occasional trip to the office – like this green & navy Argyle Sutherland bow tie and this gold & navy Jockey Striped bow tie – but I’ll leave those for Fridays and the weekends.
Ack - how to keep this down to a one-month rotation?! There are so many ties I love but couldn't put in this wardrobe; for instance, solid navy, grey, and black knit ties are nowhere to be found, nor are killer foulards like this navy neat, any glenn checks like this one, etc. But to budget is to choose .....
Comments and/or suggestions (other than to get treatment for my obsessive-compulsive disorder)?
I have decided on a one-month rotation. Since my workplace is afflicted with the infernal “Casual Friday,” that means I need a minimum of 16 ties. But since I am also the kind of guy who wants to wear wool ties in the winter, I needed separate cold weather and warm weather necktie rotations.
Seven of the more relevant considerations that went into my tie selections follow. First, I have become quite conservative in my form of address, preferring a blended outfit to one that serves to highlight interesting color contrasts. Second, I have opted for a classy, conservative dressing style. Third, I wear conservative grey suits with a couple of dark blues tossed in for good measure. Fourth this is a wardrobe aimed at work. I have enough old Robert Talbott ties (courtesy of Nordstroms) to get me through a garden party or other non work-related activity. Fifth, I wanted some versatility in color and style. Sixth, I am a "summer" (a bit ruddy skinned with salt & pepper hair). Seventh, I wear a mix of solid powder pink, light blue, white, and blue pencil-striped shirts to the office.
I had hoped to take advantage of Will Boehlke’s excellent work in this area (parts one and two), but alas, I had to tweak his recommended wardrobe somewhat. Here’s what I came up with:
5 solid colored ties; a grey, a blue, a burgundy, a black, and a dark purple. Well, actually, I have well more than five because I have grenadines, wools, and solid silks in various textures and shades for most of these colors. But in the rotation, it’s one solid colored blue per month, one solid colored grey per month, etc. I’ll choose between wools, grenadines, and silks as my mood demands and my suit fabric requires.
3 Macclesfield ties; a black and white dogtooth, a red shepherd’s check (an Alan Flusser design that's a somewhat toned-down version of this), and a silver neat.
2 dot ties; a grey ground with blue dots and a blue ground with white dots. In the summer, I'll replace the navy blue with white dots with this saxe blue number as the mood strikes me.
2 foulards; one Madder with black ground and a small green and red motif and a Madder with a green ground and a sky and red motif.
2 repp ties, both in blue. Well, I have a bunch of these, but I’ll be choosing each month primarily between this, this, this (and no, I wasn't in the Royal Navy, a concession I am happy to make to anyone here in America - the one in one million - who eyes that tie suspiciously), and this among a couple of others. In the summer, I’ll include this light blue and navy Brooks Brothers #1 in the rotation.
2 paisley Madders; one with a blue ground and another with a red ground.
On a color basis, that leaves me with five blue ties a month, four greys, three reds, two blacks, a purple, and a green.
There are still others in my closet that demand the occasional trip to the office – like this green & navy Argyle Sutherland bow tie and this gold & navy Jockey Striped bow tie – but I’ll leave those for Fridays and the weekends.
Ack - how to keep this down to a one-month rotation?! There are so many ties I love but couldn't put in this wardrobe; for instance, solid navy, grey, and black knit ties are nowhere to be found, nor are killer foulards like this navy neat, any glenn checks like this one, etc. But to budget is to choose .....
Comments and/or suggestions (other than to get treatment for my obsessive-compulsive disorder)?
