Tied and True

I came across some wonderful vintage finds for my tie collection-- apparently from someone fond of wool ties- as none of these contain silk, instead opting for other natural fibers. A wool or cotton knit tie has a certain texture that silk ties often lack, giving a more casual appearance that can look great year round.

One under-appreciated aspect of thrifting is the history behind some of the items you'll come across. A little bit of research turns up all sorts of details and anecdotes about the past culture of small haberdasheries and how every little town had their own. These have since been replaced by the Jos. A Banks and Men's wearhouses putting out the same cheaply made goods in strip malls across America- with no variation or individuality between them.




From Left to right: 


The tartan (labeled a "Lime Tree Isle") is from a small but famous London shop called the Scotch House which has been shut since 2001 apparently. The two locations now hawk Burberry instead...a sad transformation.

Next we have a cotton madras tie from Rooster, a company known throughout the 1950's and 60's for neckwear, and producer of many trad-friendly designs and patterns.

The red wool repp has a tag from a store called A.S. Cooper Bermuda, which is a store still in business on the island today.

We then have offerings from the holy J. Press and Brooks Brothers. The Press is all wool with a classic tag bearing the name of the San Francisco location which closed its doors in the early 1980's. The Brooks Brothers tie features the Brooksgate logo, used throughout the 1970's as a separate line of items designed for younger men, kind of their "collegiate line" in a sense. 

Image from a vintage Brooksgate Catalog 

The solid blue knit (with a square end) is the only tie without a makers tag, but it does say "Made in England 70% New Wool 15% Mohair 15% Alpaca" so at least it has the bragging rights of being made from 3 different species.

Best part is, the whole lot was only $3 due to a store-wide 50% off sale. Pretty hard to beat that!