Go tie your bow tie

Calling all Men...

...'If in that time you aren't thrilled and delighted, return for money back without question!'

Genius.

What more can be said?!

Some vintage ties...

... from one of my favourite fashion resource websites: http://www.vintagetrends.com/

What a dude.

Lambs Conduit Street Tailors, London.

A shop for Marwood

Soho, London.

Randal: borderlinemag.com

loving this look

Recycled Ties

I like this image and the authentic appearance of the fabrics being vintage and original. Tumbler & Tipsy's Tipsy Ties are handmade from vintage fabric and embellished with vintage details like Russian pins from the 1970s. Although it's not right for Marwood, it's good to see another play on the necktie.

Alberto Moravia

"A modern man has only one accessory to mark his presence - a cravat"

Quite a weird concept but nice branding...

Thanks Ravi :)

Necktie Necklace

Kris Ruhs Colours

Far from inspiring aiport shopping...

This is the generic look of airport shopping... racks of ties lined up by brand (designer names only) and hanging from black plastic clips. There is never any imagery or inspiration with Ties and they seem to be an after-thought in so many ways, seen as a necessity to add to suits for meetings or events but not highly considered. It could be an innovative marketing project as well as design project to inspire a man to not only wear ties again... but shop for their perfect one seasonally (and before they enter the airport).

Woolrich Woolen Mills

Great packaging...

10.corso.como

Visiting 10.corso.como yesterday in Milan, these snaps are of the Tom Ford display of shirts and ties for this season. The look [large collars and wide ties] is not evocative of Marwood, yet the silk used and the construction of the ties is quality and so highly considered - they have the same old-school authenticity of the British tie brand 'Drakes' when you pick it up and feel the weight and the finish of the silk. The Marwood tie will be more compressed and less puffy to touch and the standard width will definitely be narrower... without it going so far as to being modish or trend orientated. If an era has to be named, it will reflect an older style from the 30'/40's but have a twist to make it modern and recognisable. It will definitely avoid the 'City' look.

This store has so many things right, but seeing this layout of ties made it clear that Marwood needs a more innovative approach in terms of display/presentation/packaging (without being over-fussy or awkward). One very important factor is that that a tie is rolled, like in this display and not crushed in to a folded flat object.

Portobello Ties

Rejected ties... never the right print/right material/right shape in the same tie.

Factum Arte supports Curtis Moffat

Alice Neel

Use of colour

Sarah Moon

Eccentricity.

Childhood imagination

Michael's Box of Ties

Sitting under Michael's desk at work is this box of ties that he has collected over (so many ;-) years. This last image is of his 'lucky' tie... a Christian Laquoix statement that Michael wore for his first design job interview. He got the job.

Necktie Quilts

My aunt has a selection of her husband's old ties to give me and mentioned that she had been saving them to make Necktie Quilts. On a general internet search there are plenty to be found...

Alice Channer

Other-Directed,
2009 , Cigarette ash, pencil and gouache in and on paper
© Courtesy the artist and Lisson Gallery

Nostalgia

Book cover: 'Ode a la Bievre' was made by Louise Bourgeois in 2002 as an embroidered book from fragments of cloth. In the book, she reminisces, through images and text, about the impact the river had on her. Her family moved next to the Bievre in the suberbs of Paris when she was 8 years old (1919). Years later, Bourgeois was to go to that house with her own family only to find the river no longer exist, "only the trees that my father had planted along its edge remained as a witness". (Posted by factum-arte.com).

On a less sentimental note... book cover images collected for colour and typeface.

Ed Ruscha

An inspiring exhibition is going to be Ed Ruscha's upcoming retrospective at the Hayward Gallery, London from the 12th October. These images taken from his book Ed Ruscha Photographer are some of my favourites.

Playing dress-up

More from Ellen Von Unwerth...

1920's Bugsy Malone style man. Classic.

A pretty good look[ing] modern chap.

Patterns upon patterns...

This Ellen Von Unwerth shot shows a great mix of graphic patterns evocative of traditional menswear.

Jean Cocteau

These images are from the book 'JEAN COCTEAU: The Mirror and the Mask'. A Photo-biography.
A man at ease in front of a camera, he collaborated with many iconic and inspirational creatives in Paris until his death in 1963. His style and sensibility are wonderfully charismatic, quirky and playful yet he truly embraced traditional masculine attire. He was rarely photographed without a necktie it seems and that added element (even to a denim workwear suit) adds something quite unique to his look and visual personality. The blend and mix of pattern-on-pattern in Irving Penn's portrait taken in 1949, depicts a beautiful combination of clothing, yet also of irony and humour from Cocteau's expression and pose.

Bob Bob Ricard

After visiting Bob Bob Ricard in Soho last week I felt the attitude and audacity of the 'PRESS FOR CHAMPAGNE' bell at your breakfast table was right up Marwood's street. The humour of indulging yourself in such an audacious manner just shows the wonderful blend of old contradictory British ways... ring the bell first... but then apologise before ordering.