loop Loves: my grandfather’s ties

Some friends of ours were lucky enough to inherit the impressive collections of ties that their grandfathers accumulated during their lifetime. They decided to start My Grandfather’s Ties, taking turns showcasing and writing about each and every tie until they ran out. The result is a hilarious, sweet, and witty set of stories with some serious eye candy.

Here are a few of our favorite entries:

“10 July 2011

Man, those were the days…

Wide polyester tie “designed” by Anderson Little.”

“22 July 2011

“Here’s a very skinny SUPERBA tie that’s all polyester and washable!  That’s right, washable!  There is also “DUELLE” on the label, which is German for “duel”.  Its texture makes it feel like it was made out of some thick tent material.

My grandfather hated using the telephone.

He would never answer.

When we went over to visit my grandfather would always be sitting in the same chair at the kitchen table.  He would always be reading the paper, working on the crossword puzzle, or enjoying the comics while drinking a cup of tea and smoking a cigarette.  It didn’t matter if it was the evening or morning, that’s where he would be.

There was a phone in almost every room in my grandparent’s house, which is ironic because – as I’ve mentioned – my grandfather hated using the phone.  In the kitchen, the phone was hanging on the wall about chest-height right by the chair my grandfather always sat at.  For reasons unknown, the phone was always off the hook sitting by my grandfather with a rubber band wrapped around the phone to keep the switchhook kept down.  The phone would still ring… right next to my grandfather… but my grandmother was the one who had to answer.

Whenever I called to relay some good news like that I had almost done as well on my report card as my brother, Andrew, my grandmother would relay the message to my grandfather.

Speaking loudly so that I could hear him, he would say “You’re a good, good boy!  You’re a smart boy!”.  My grandmother would then repeat the message, which was always nice because I got to hear it twice.”

“Yves Saint Laurent. All Silk.



Yves Saint Laurent is one of the most celebrated designer clothing names of all time. Sadly though, for the last 30 years or so, this tie has only been celebrated from the dark corners of a dusty closet. Until now.

Which is a shame, given the way the strange purple florets seem to explode from their teal back drop. I think this tie missed its potential for my style in 1992, when teal was the fashions king of my 10 year old world. I wore teal cotton shorts, tight, about half way down to my knee. The Florida Marlins were born and brought teal to baseball, my life could have been complete right then. I also tended to wear sweat pants a lot, because, well, they are really comfortable and I was a chubby kid who slipped into sweat pants very well. Black sweatpants and a teal shirt? A match made in fashions heaven. Maybe if I had this tie in 1992, my life would be completely different:

1. Wearing shirt and tie to 4th grade

2. Carrying a briefcase in lieu of spider-man backpack

3. Not chewing pencils

4. Using my ruler to draw straight lines, not to cut pencils in half

5. Using my protractor to measure angles, not to cut pencils in half

6. Practicing multiplication tables

7. Finishing that “stained glass” art project where I had to put tissue paper on cut out black construction paper.

If I had only known I had mature fashions like this tie to look forward to! At least I had a great family to pull me through school.”

good stuff- check it out here