Archive for the ‘Tie du Jour’ Category

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Tie Fellow Americans…

February 23, 2011



Rahm-a-lahma-ding-dong

…or what Rahm Emanuel said, “Tie Fellow Chicagoans.” He probably said ‘my’ instead of ‘tie’, wouldn’t you think? Congrats to the new Chicago Mayor for leaving DC and getting a job right away. He should be a great post-Daley exec, and his sound bites should be fantastic.

In other election news, zzzzzz.

It’s been quite a while since I’ve posted on the same day that I’ve actually worn the tie. There are still 3 minutes to midnight, but I’ll give myself the credit anyway. The past two were 5 and 4 days late…sheesh. But, I’m sure that’s expecting a lot from a guy who calls his blog ‘100 Days, 100 Ties’ when it’s gone to 228 days & ties. Houston, I have a problem.

The Tie du Jour was selected in honor of our host for our monthly Networking Breakfast, the North Shore Retirement Hotel. You may recall that, at the request of Managing Director Margaret Gergen, I gave a short presentation about my ties to their Open Forum group. As a thank you gift, she gave me three ties. This pink beaut from Oscar de la Renta was one of them. Margaret recognized it right away…so cool.

One of the prospects at the meeting, Steve Schwartz, was kind enough to remain motionless for 1.3 seconds while I snapped this shot. He laughed when I told him that he was the 3rd Steve Schwartz that I know, and we all shared a hearty chuckle (or was it a chortle) when a woman mentioned that she knew another Steve Schwartz. It’s a schmall, schmall world.

Thanks for reading…Brooke

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Prince of Ties

February 21, 2011

We got a great big Conroy, ain't she a beautiful site...Con-roy!

For the love of books and the language…Pat Conroy

That is the inscription in my copy (real hardback!) of The Prince of Tides, a book I thoroughly enjoyed right up until the moment where director Barbra Streisand directed leading actor Nick Nolte to say, rather emphatically, “You’re so beautiful” to leading actress Barbra Streisand (yes, they are related). Pretty sure she bought the movie rights just for that magical movie moment, and I can just picture her watching every morning before facing the world. Funny Girl, my ass. That character put the ‘arf’ in ‘barf’.

Since I am not, by nature, as cynical as I make it sound, I assume that Mr. Conroy was not talking about the legal language one uses when selling rights to an international film/entertainment star. Instead, he was talking about his passion. Again, I go on the assumption that this dedication was for me only, and not his regular, get-this-kid-away-from-me script. Also, I don’t remember his hair being quite that big…the combover is mightier than the sword, indeed.

Anyway, let’s get on to the Tie du Thursday, even though it’s Monday. Just so you know why there won’t be Ties du Friday et Monday, I was off of work Friday, and Monday was a holiday–President’s Day, for which even Hallmark can’t create a demand for cards. Thursday morning was highlighted by the North Shore Business Breakfast, hosted by several departments at Northwestern University. It was a grand gesture to local businesses, in which NU detailed how to go about becoming a vendor for the university. That is a key question from chamber members, trust me.

Againyway, my tie is a mildly vintage strip from Pierre Cardin. It’s my last purple tie, and I wanted to look my best with the whole Northwestern Wildcat theme of the morning. I’ll have to stock up on my resale shop visits. Fairly simple pattern, but the dark purple adds some prestige.

And, for the second day in a row, Dr. Vince Roberts made it to a networking event; for the second day in a row, he wore a tie (it’s a nice Paul Fredrick one!); AAAAAND (the suspense is killing you, n’est-ce pas?) for the second day in a row, he has made the GWT list. I think he and Paul Hletko are leading the GWT race, not that there was one (if there was, I’d be winning [sticking tongue out]).

As the coming short week sets itself upon us, I would like to determine another Tie Week Week. Also, I realized this evening that it’s less than a month until my one year blogging anniversary. Can’t believe it. Think I should have a party. I’ll also think about ending the blog, even though I probably won’t. Would love your thoughts on what I should do. Oh, one thing I’d like to do is revisit some of the ties that have been worn (and are so nice I’d like to wear them again): should I choose a day of the week to reprise a tie? Or should I have a vote, where people choose their favorite 5 ties, with the winners getting their own Winner Tie Week? Help me ponder, help help me ponder.

Thanks for reading…Brooke

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Tie-er Beware

February 21, 2011

Well, this is officially the latest I’ve ever been, as far as blog posting goes. Those who know me well will know that my procrastination knows no bounds; those who don’t should just know that this blog (still hate that word) has gone against the grain for me. So, let’s get to it.

A few days have happened since Wednesday, although there have only been two Ties du Jour since then (a Tie du Wednesday et a Tie du Thursday). So, I’ll try to properly apportion the goings-on from this 5-day period.

My TdJ for this particular post is a navy blue and white number from Barini Originals. Though I really like the tie, I don’t think I gave it its best shirt companion. Oh, well, can’t win ’em all, I guess…though the blue tie clip gets an ‘E’ for effort in my attempt to save the ensemble.

Wednesday was our Business After Hours event, held at Bar Louie Evanston. Our good friend, GWT, Friday Freebie winner, tie contributor, Vince Roberts was there, sporting the vintage purple and black bubble tie that was given to him at the inaugural Guys With Ties Mad Men Happy Hour last month.

Thanks for waiting, and reading…Brooke

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We’re all gonna tie!

February 16, 2011

No, no, relax…that 50-mile wide asteroid will miss Earth by thousands of yards. The 25-miler right behind it, however…

Doom schmoom, let’s have some fun! The snowcaps are melting, here in Evanston, at least…sloooowly but surely. I’m not a weather-payer-attentioner, but it’s hard to miss the chatter about hitting 50 degrees by the end of the week. Good thing I’m driving further north to Madison for Thursday night. But I’ll have dozens of different whiskeys to keep me warm. No, I won’t be traveling like Nic Cage, with a suitcase filled only with booze, in Leaving Las Vegas; I’m going to Distill America, presented by the Madison Malt Society. I’ll be wearing a tie, of course.

Speaking of ties, as I tied the Tie du Jour, I realized that it was the tie of a child. Not a particular child, mind you; as in, I didn’t steal it. But it was incredibly short: from the small picture on the right you can see that it only came down a couple inches short of my bellybutton. Did I replace it? Heck no. Thought of the solution as I tied it on: just throw a sweater on it. Bingo. Next time I’ll try a more colorful sweater…and by the way, it’s a tagless strip. No clue where it’s from.

Mildly funny story about taking the pic. The first pic I took of the way-short tie was taken without pants. No underwear were shown (yes, I was wearing ’em), but it looked pretty risqué. But, we’ll keep it clean, and leave it out. This shot is pretty goofy in it’s own right.

My string of snapping shots of GWTs on the TV carries on. This time it’s a RWT (Rapper With Tie), as Mos Def was rhymin’ on the Gorillaz concert from the Roundhouse in London. If you haven’t checked out Palladium channel, you really should. Some great shows on there. Anyway, I liked Mos’ purple tie; it has a snakeskin quality to it. Promise I’ll get some in-person GWTs tomorrow.

Thanks for reading…Brooke

 

 

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Can’t spell ‘Valentine’ without T-I-E

February 14, 2011

You also need L-I-N-T and a N-A-V-E-L, but that’s beside the point, especially when you get to the ins and outs of it.

So, here we have the feast of St. Valentine, which has become the #3 spending holiday on earth. Yes, I just made that statistic up, but if you’d seen the line at the Belgian Chocolatier Piron today, you’d know that procrastination knows no bounds.

Back to the Cupidity at hand. My friend Dan Murrell passed along a few tie-related quotes, as well as some song titles. Here’s a good quote from the master of suspense Stephen King (which you can’t spell w/o T-I-E): He had a massive stroke. He died with his tie on. Do you think that could be our generation’s equivalent of that old saying about dying with your boots on?

Not bad, Mr. Master o’ Suspense. Here’s one, that’s quite apropos for today, from Earl Wilson (who, for all I know, may just be some random citizen): A woman may race to get a man a gift but it always ends in a tie. I hereby dub thee the Earl of Clever!

So, on to the TdJSVE (Tie du Jour, Special Valentine’s Edition)…

This is a wonderfully crafted tie, from la maison du Charvet. This high-end atélier has served kings and politicians for almost two centuries, and their shirts are world-famous. I thought this blue and red pattern had a little hint of hearts, perfect for today (yes, Mom, I’m writing it on time).

As for the ensemble, I had my friend snap a shot of it, so I could show my redness. Cufflinks, pocket square and pink shirt, of course. In this pic, it actually looks like there are tiny blue hears weaved into the fabric of the tie.

Well, once again, I delve into the world of the tele-vision for my new Guys With Ties. This is from a movie whose title is perfect for this blog. School Ties, of course, starring Brendan Fraser, Matt Damon, Chris O’Donnell, Ben Affleck, Marlon Brando, Gregory Peck, Laurence Olivier, Elvis, Ronald Reagan. Okay, I lied from Brando on, but this is some heavy cast. And, since the movie, from ’92, was set at a prep school in the mid-50s, the students wore a lot of ties. I picked out a couple of good ones…

Thanks for reading…Brooke

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Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodtie

February 14, 2011

I actually don’t believe that he kissed him goodbye, but President Obama’s farewell news conference to his Press Secretary Robert Gibbs was very tie-centric. Apparently before Obama’s speech at the convention, he, his wife and his staff (pfff…I said ‘staff’) were arguing about which tie to wear. Someone suggested they take Gibbs’…the rest, as they say, is restful. Take a look at this video (click about halfway and you can see the actual presentation that I’m talking about) for a very cool gift idea.

As for my Friday, no one gave me a framed tie, nor did I leave a high-powered Washington gig. But, I did wear a tie, as I have done a few times. And, yes, I did remember to close out Paisley Tie Week. I didn’t close it out with a flourish, which is kind of a surprise. My TdJ was rather plain: muted tones, small paisleys. It’s a vintage strip from Besley’s Inc., sayeth the label. A quick journey to the land of Google tells me that Besley’s was purchased by the Robert Daskal Group in the 80s, and that they still make ties today (or at least until their website lost a webmaster). I got this at Unique, and I actually have an almost-exact replica, which is only slightly varying in color. A few months ago, I bought a bunch of ties to see if I could figure out a way to make pocket squares out of the tips; I figured it out, but I never cut up the ties. This is one of those ties that were almost cut up for business.

Speaking of business, here we have a different kind of GWT…a Godfather With Tie. Michael Corleone, who goes by Al Pacino during the regular course of the day, was hanging out on my television this weekend, so I thought I’d put him on here. This is the part where he is plotting to get into the family business, by the simple act of executing an execution on Captain McCluskey and Sollozzo (aka “The Turk”) at Louis Italian Restaurant.

Thanks for reading…Brooke

 

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Smoke gets in your ties…

February 11, 2011

No, don’t worry, there wasn’t a fire here at 100D100T Inter-galactic HQ (thanks, AC), I was just fishin’ around for another blog title. And, it’s only natural that a song by The Platters should come to mind in times of literary (sorry, that’s a stretch) distress (oh, come on, it’s a blog).

Once again, no Guys With Ties were snapped on this cold Thursday, so it’ll be another basic-themed posting. Oh, well, maybe we can fire up a limerick to enliven this installment of Paisley Tie Week (extended).

There once hailed a young bloke from Paisley

Who looked on the world rather hazily.

His Mum saw to his needs,

Sis supplied him with weed,

And Da’ thought he lived his life lazily.

Not bad for midnight.

So, with that Scottish Irish poem, we stick with the British Isles theme with the Tie du Jour. It’s a gray (grey) number with pink and purple undertones, from the house of Liberty of London. This may be my 5th or 6th Liberty tie…Dad had a bunch from their London travels (Dad liked to go on soccer hooligan tours…he loved the random thugness that came from being part of a larger, opponent-stomping mob). This one I found at Unique, at the same time as yesterday’s TdJ.

Just one more day for PTW (ext.), so I’ll have to choose the Tie du Friday wisely.

Thanks for reading…Brooke

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It was the best of ties, it was the worst of ties.

February 10, 2011

My daughter’s soccer coach, Jay Bulev, suggested this post title, and I thank him for it. What I do not thank him for is the dilemma of which tie to saddle with the Dickensian curse of the best/worst title. I knew that I couldn’t make this title go along with my best tie, because someone may think I’d be putting the ‘worst’ moniker on it. And vice versa. Am I overthinking this? Oh, yeah, probably. But that’s what happens when I write before bedtime. I need a blankie…

My Tie du Jour was purchased about 3 weeks ago at Unique Thrift Store, along with about 6 or 7 others (yes, I have an illness) that seemed to have belonged to one funky dude (now they belong to little ol’ me, the guy with an illness). I felt the need to add this closeup of the little paisleys because I had a premo that some would doubt its paisley worthiness. Plus, I didn’t bother with standing still while I took my regular pic, so we got blur.

See those little curvy things? Those are paisleys. Just because the whole tie doesn’t look like a 7th-grade science class pop quiz (a. Paramecium b. Amoeba c. Zygote d. Sperm e. Coli) doesn’t mean it can’t be a paisley tie. My blog, my quiz, my rules.

Apart from that, no Guys or Girls With Ties. Dang, Wednesday was chock full of networking events. Oh, and the end of the day featured a very fun band, Expo 76, at Simon’s down in Andersonville. The keyboard player was wearing a vintage strip, and I didn’t even get over to him to take a shot. Gotta get my mojo back. Okay, after this Paisley Tie Week (extended) is over, I will try to figure out a challenge to take more pics of Guys (and Girls) With Ties. Maybe I’ll try to get 10-15 through the end of the month, then we’ll all vote on the best tie.

Thanks for reading…Brooke

 

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Rip Tied Lounge

February 10, 2011

RIP Marie Wuczynski

If any of you ever skulked around Wicker Park in the last, oh, 4 or 5 decades, chances are you ended up at Marie’s Rip Tide Lounge on Armitage. Marie–owner/bartender/songstress/therapist–had a heart of gold; alas, that heart gave out about 50 years after buying the place. ‘Twas a great place, and my old roomie, Brendan Kelly, was kind enough to pass along tidings of her demise. I will raise my next pint or dram to ye, Marie.

I’m still on the paisley kick, and Geoffrey Beene makes a consecutive appearance (don’t think I’ve worn two in a row from the same shop, in all of my 220 or so ties) with a blue, gray and pink number. Thought it went pretty well with my clown shirt, although you may disagree.

Just an update on a couple o’ things. My friend (and oft-times GWT) Paul Hletko is muy close to opening Few Spirits, a distillery that will focus on crafting gin and whiskey in the birthplace of Prohibition. In addition to my Chamber duties (which you can’t spell w/o T-I-E), I’ll be serving as brand ambassador on a part-time basis. Check out our FB page (there’s the link, again) to keep track of our progress.

At press time (yes, Mom, I’m late again), it has been one month to the day that my boss, Executive Director Jonathan Perman (another GWT alum), resigned. Wanna be my new boss? Go for it. Here’s the job description.

Thanks for reading…Brooke

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There’s no tieing in baseball!

February 9, 2011

I like to think that I’m being ironic, using a baseballesque title on the day after the Super Bowl. I will probably regret not saving Tom Hanks’ drunken outburst from A League Of Their Own for a more baseball-appropriate date (pitchers/catchers report date, opening day, Cubs’ being mathematically eliminated from playoff consideration, etc), but, hey, I’m gonna live in the now. I’ll just figure out a way to use a different sport phrase then, so there.

As the snow days last week affected my daily use of the noose, my Paisley Tie Week was stricken down to a mere 3 days. So, luckily I have enough paisley in that thar closet to fill this week, too.

For the Tie du Jour, a very good friend made me very happy. Not only did she give me a paisley tie, but she got it from TJ Maxx at such a bargain ($3!) that I was proud to wear it. It’s from Geoffrey Beene, and it was complimented by the first two people who saw it (and, no, it wasn’t my mother twice. ha. ha.). It’s just such a well-made strip…great texture and electric coloring. And, of course, I put it with such a damn cool shirt. That’s right, I cussed. Sheeit.

Emmett

Vasile

In the early part of my morning, I was able to add to the GWT numbers as I stopped into the Evanston branch of Wells Fargo (over on Howard, by the Best Buy Evanston). Branch manager Vasile Malutan and personal banker Emmett Higgin were both sportin’ ties and were kind enough to pause & pose.

Thanks for reading…Brooke

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