All good things must come to an end, it is said. Some of them are available for a limited time…happy hour, McRib, the Titanic, and Bow Tie Fortnight are but a few. A funny/good thing about wearing bow ties for 3 weeks (no full 5-day weeks, but you get the idea) are the comments, many from people unbeknownst (is ‘beknownst’ a word?) to me. A sampling:
- “You should be selling ice cream”/”Are you the Good Humor Man”–a variation of this was definitely the leader, with 10+ versions coming across my bow.
- “Do you sell [Item other than ice cream]”–fried chicken, organ grinder music, washing machines.
- “My _____ wore bow ties all the time.”–Fill in the blank. Dad, uncle, grandfather, fried chicken salesman. An honor.
- “Nice guys wear bow ties”–this is a summarization of the sentiments received from two people. And being a nice guy, I liked hearing it.
- “Is there a horse race goin’ on that I don’t know about”–far and away, the winner. A guy I don’t even know said it getting off the elevator the other day. It may have been partly based on my seersucker jacket and white/brown saddle bucks, but oh, man, was that a good laugh for me all weekend.
Though I will miss BTF, it was nice to pull out a regular, albeit a bit staid, tie this morning. I mentioned the existence of this Tie du Jour a few weeks ago, when I talked about Wafa Zanayed, the proprietor of A-1 Tailor on Dempster. He had altered a tie for me, and he sold this tie to me that had been left at his shop in the late 00’s (have we figured out what to call that decade yet? oughts? single-didgies?).
So, if someone recognizes this tie as a tie that you or a loved one dropped off hurriedly and requested that it be finished by the next day, only to ignore it for the next 500 or so next days…well, then, make me an offer and you can have it back.
The TdJ is from Marshall Field’s, which most of you will remember as a downtown Chicago icon. They were bought by Macy’s a few years back, and their flagship store looks a bit different. But, luckily, Macy’s has quite a bit of cachet in terms of traditions, so they know how to handle the transition. I’m sure some will think I am speaking the language heretic, but the few times I’ve been down have been fine. If I started a tradition going down there with Julia this year, she’d be just as happy had it started at Marshall Field’s.
A colleague in the Evanston community, Carolyn Dellutri of Downtown Evanston, passed along this great photo of a tie wreath that she took over the weekend at an awesome Andersonville business called Necessary Extravagance. I’ll have to go check that place out…
Small pianist, big bow tie
Paul Hletko (partial resumé: double Guy With Tie alum, winner of a Friday Freebie, soon-to-be-announced winner of the Friday Freebie, Bow Tie Division) sent in a picture of one of his offspring, P.Q. (or “Paul Quinn”, when his parents want him to listen), sportin’ the bow tie for his piano recital. Can’t wait to see (big) Paul with his new red bow tie.
Thanks for reading…Brooke
100 Days, 100 Ties 
June 22, 2010 at 12:28 pm |
Thank you for featuring the great handmade tie wreath from our store “necessary exTRAVagance” at 5416 North Clark Street in Chicago’s Andersonville neighborhood! Please come visit us – and when we expand, it will be in Evanston!
June 22, 2010 at 7:09 pm |
Isn’t that a handsome little fellow on his way to a piano recital.
June 24, 2010 at 12:35 am |
….enjoying your blog immensely Brooke. Felt compelled to comment on your reference to the ‘end of the ’00’s’ and what we should call this decade. We paddy’s are calling it the ‘Noughties’ (although you yanks would pronounce this ‘naughties’). As no doubt you are aware, we call a Zero a Nought – and so ……..
June 24, 2010 at 9:03 am |
Ah, yes, there is an expression (Midlands of England) that I learned from “The Full Monty”–‘Nought as queer as folk’
So, would ‘Noughties’ rhyme with ‘rowdies’? It’d be fun to call the decade the ‘naughties’…but I prefer the ‘nowdies’…