Windowpane Tie

I guess I'm stuck on windowpanes all of a sudden. Maybe it has something to do with looking at my windows and knowing they need cleaned.

I could have reversed things and worn a striped shirt underneath the windowpane tie but decided instead to stay solid with an ecru, pinpoint straight collar.

The tie has a burgundy background with varying shades of olive and gold criss-crossing the blade. It's another Jos A. Bank Signature series but it's not self-tipped like most of the others I have.

The tan sport coat tops it all off. The gold stripes fit the tan coat quite well. I could have used an overcoat today as the rain was on that fine edge of turning to snow. Burrr! Who said it was Spring?

Checks and Stripes

It's a bit stylish lately to wear a striped tie with a check dress shirt. Maybe not lately, but at least in the last year or so. It could be two. I am getting older and the time does fly.

I have conglomerated that particular look a few times. Today I tried it with a windowpane shirt rather than a smaller check. I like today's conglomeration so well that I'm going to try the same, yet different in the near future. I also have the same dress shirt but in a navy, red windowpane. That one would take a little searching to find a red and navy striped tie. Maybe I'll look for one while looking for the other two on the "list".

The tie is a Paul Fredrick navy, blue, white herringbone stripe. The three colors pick up the colors of the navy and blue windowpane stripes (?) on the white background of the dress shirt. Of course the navy sport coat was the obvious choice.

Charcoal Suit, Gold Tie

Out of all the neckties that I have, I cannot get any but gold neckties to work with my charcoal suit to my satisfaction. The suit has a gold and a blue pinstripe. One would think that I would be able to find a blue tie that would work. So far that is not the case.

Yesterday (Sunday) I mixed it up a bit and wore a regular blue shirt instead of a french blue. Oooo Ahhhhh! I did manage to wear a different, but still gold, necktie. I guess I'm going to have to actually go out and shop for a tie that will work. I've been meaning to look for another tie to conglomerate with the shirt I wore a few weeks back. Wish me luck. I'm going to need it.

Black Gold

Texas tea. Not really but black and gold is not a bad conglomeration at all. I once again conglomerated around the necktie, as I often do. I figure if "They" put the colors together on a tie then it must work.

The necktie has a vertical pattern of black and charcoal stripes for a background. I'm not fond of vertical or horizontal stripes on a tie but on this particular one it's really more texture than pattern. Over the top of the background it has black diamonds outlined in gold.

The dress shirt is a gold, broadcloth, hidden buttondown collar with lighter gold stripes. It really picks up the diamonds' gold outline on the necktie. The collar really does end up looking like a straight collar without any of the hassle of a straight collar. I really don't know why this style of collar didn't become more popular.

Topping off the whole thing is the black sport coat. Why? Because the diamonds are black! If you're curious, I wore charcoal trousers. I'll give you three guesses why and the first two don't count.

Brown for Spring?

Sure, why not brown for Spring? Today's necktie also has blue and tan dots just to mix it up a bit. There's a paisley-like patterns woven or jacquarded (is that a word?) into the fabric. It's fairly difficult to see and I don't know if the picture shows it all that well. It's a Talbott Best of Class but I think it's a bit older since it knots a little on the smallish side, as knots go.

The dress shirt is a pinpoint, tab collar. It has brown, tan, navy and blue stripes. The sport coat is solid brown.

Tab collar dress shirts take a bit more planning. You could wear any tie with them but if the tie makes a big knot, it will be difficult for the tab to contain it all. It will also make it look kind of funny too. A snap tab may give up and unsnap unexpectadly. A button tab is difficult to get fastened when the knot is too big. Today's dress shirt happens to have the button variety and it was difficult even with a smaller knot.

Navy Coat, Red Tie

Is there anything more "normal" than a navy sport coat paired with a red necktie? Probably not. Today's necktie is a XMI Platinum with gray and navy striped dancing boxes on the red background. They sorta look like they're dancing. Maybe that's what I'd look like if I was dancing -- square. Even in a four-in-hand this tie makes a pretty big knot.

The background for today's conglomeration is a blue bengal stripe pinpoint from Lands End. Nice enough shirt but it's a little difficult to get that nifty inverted V from the collar that "They" say is correct. The whole thing is topped off with the navy sport coat, of course.

Gray and Dreary

I had planned on something a little different today but after events in Virginia yesterday I just wasn't in the mood. So it's a plain, white straight collar dress shirt, a black and gray Ferrell Reed City of London necktie and the gray sport coat.

It started out rainy and gray here today so it fit. This afternoon the sun came out. The sun will come out again for the families and friends of the victims but I'll keep them in my thoughts and prayers anyway.