Mildly subversive ties for sale in Seattle?

April 10, 2007 1:29 PM

I want to buy a tie in Seattle! Must have character, but also have the ability to pass muster at a relatively conservative workplace.

I've already done the work of figuring out what kind of gift to get someone at a new job without the help of AskMe, but I need help actually buying it. It's his first Grown-Up Job, and it's the sort of job that demands a suit and tie every day. On the other hand, he'd be the last person to consider himself Grown-Up, so I'd like to buy him a tie that is just the tiniest bit subversive, or at least stylish. Nothing with skulls and crossbones, anyway.

I remember meeting someone at a party a year or two ago who had a brown tie with a bicycle silk-screened on the bottom of it, and I thought at the time that it was exactly the kind of gift I'd want to get for this particular person when he got his first Grown-Up job. He mentioned he'd bought the tie in Seattle, but I have no idea where. (I honestly think he said it came from R.E.Load, but that can't be right, can it? I'm sure I'd had a lot to drink at that point.)

I need to be able to buy a gift with some immediacy, so nothing online will help me.

Or maybe you have a better idea about a gift for someone who's working in a conservative workplace that doesn't entirely fit his personality? That would be fine too.

posted by limicoline to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (14 answers total)

In a conservative workplace, anything involving law or finance, a bicycle would be very out of place. Learning to wear a tie in a conservative workplace means finding subversion in colors and patterns rather than shapes and messages. I like Charles Tyrwhitt for this.
posted by anotherpanacea at 1:50 PM on April 10, 2007 [1 favorite]

Ack! Missed the no-online prerequisite.
posted by anotherpanacea at 1:53 PM on April 10, 2007

For the love of god, no matter what you do, don't buy him a novelty tie. A novelty tie is any tie that has a picture of anything on it (e.g. bicycle), unless that something is a school crest or similar.

He'll thank you later for adding something wearable to his wardrobe.
posted by awesomebrad at 1:56 PM on April 10, 2007

Response by poster: Thanks anyway, anotherpanacea — I lack experience with truly conservative workplaces, myself (although his job is public sector and hardly a Wall Street kind of thing).
posted by limicoline at 1:57 PM on April 10, 2007

Etsy has some sellers who make stuff that might be the kind of thing you're thinking of. Of course, it violates the "not online" clause, but you might luck into a seller in the Seattle area.
posted by MsMolly at 2:05 PM on April 10, 2007

If it's specifically a tie you want, 2nd-hand clothing stores of all stripes are goldmines. If you feel like doing the legwork and sifting through a bunch of neckties, there's always oodles to choose from. Everyone ditches ties when they clean out their closets, and yet very few people think to look for them used.
posted by sonofslim at 2:29 PM on April 10, 2007

"Able to pass muster at a relatively conservative job" + "buy in Seattle" means you go to Nordstrom. A bicycle tie or other novelty tie is unwearable: no patterns (other than stripes) larger than 14-point type is a safe rule of thumb if you can't trust yourself to figure out what is workplace-acceptable, and it should go with a white shirt and charcoal or navy suit. (There are certainly exceptions to this rule of thumb, but these nuances are not recommended if you think a brown tie with a giant bicycle is good for a conservative workplace.)
posted by commander_cool at 2:34 PM on April 10, 2007

You might give Nordstrom a try. They have a lot of conservative stuff, but they have some colorful interesting ones too. I am often surprised by the not-as-conservative-as-I-would-have-thoughtness of their ties. They'll have a huge selection, anyway.
posted by LobsterMitten at 2:36 PM on April 10, 2007

I'm pretty sure Nordstrom still carries Vineyard Vines ties. They have repeating patterns of sailboats or whales or fish or something, normally in a pastel-ish or muted color. Brooks Brothers sells a few similar ties with leopards, lobsters or lambs, but they also carry the most authoritative collection of conservative ties in Seattle - regimental stripes.
posted by milkrate at 3:04 PM on April 10, 2007

(If you decide that you do want a tie with a skull & crossbones, try the Ralph Lauren Rugby store in U Village - everything has skulls on it)
posted by milkrate at 3:09 PM on April 10, 2007

Character + conservative workplace sounds like an oxymoron.

If you can find a Santostefano tie, they are gorgeous silk. Italian design. From Italo Ferretti.

The web site names Oregon ]under 'Our Clients'[ having a store that sells them, but you have to email them. [e-mail]
On the site, click to ties, Collection, B02 — a black weave with gold, B07, B11, B15b — looks like a quilt, Gold, B18, B20 L11.

I have about 5 of these ties. They ran around $100 — $180.00 Cndn. each. Out of this world these ties. Corporate culture, feh, but if you Must wear a tie, say it loud. Worth every damn penny. Very bright. Fucking gorgeous. I have one that is pleated. Wicked. I don't own any of the ones on the web site.
posted by alicesshoe at 3:39 PM on April 10, 2007

If there's a Forbes (the financial magazine) office near you, you might be able to get one of their ties, which would be as in-joke appropriate as you could probably get.
posted by rhizome at 3:44 PM on April 10, 2007

The way to look young, subversive and with it in a tie is to go slightly narrower than normal. H&M, Zara, department stores.
posted by mendel at 3:45 PM on April 10, 2007

The obvious choice for a subversive tie that works in a conservative workplace is a tie-it-yourself bowtie. Take a look at these, for example. It's easy to tie a bowtie, they look good, they indicate independence of thought, they are worn by many establishment types, and if you encounter a roomful of charming women, you just twist it slightly askew and one of the women will inevitably straighten it for you. :)
posted by LeisureGuy at 4:29 PM on April 10, 2007 [1 favorite]