Hanging from the railing, swaying in the wind with the sun beating down, its pluses and minuses are all on display. After reaching out and having a feel, I can tell it is not the absolute best money can buy. Still, its level of quality and the attention to detail exceed much of the competition. The plaids along the seam on back match perfectly. Even the big and little houndstooth on the slip loop line up perfectly. The silk material has a heavy hand and none of that slipperiness or the excessively shiny finish. It’s not a seven-fold, with all the excessive fabric use that entails, this Hilditch and Key, Made in the UK, would be perfect for a wedding. It is a good product that costs around 100 dollars. Even more expensive, but often of inferior quality, are versions from Versace, Gucci, Ferragamo, and Hermes with patterns that tend to leave no doubt about their lofty brands. For one dollar, something can be had that looks nearly the same from a distance but is made of polyester and lacks the pattern matching. But most people would probably never notice the difference. A man with the right taste might spend one dollar and look stylish, while another buys a good product but still looks ugly. Luxury goods might have designs that most people deem unattractive. And yet the polyester version always announces itself as a bad product upon close examination. And so it is with most products and services. Someone had the odd idea to hang out all my ties for all to see on the railing of the balcony in our room. This prompted my somewhat melancholic series of reflections. A few of my ties were good products that looked ugly, while many were bad products that looked nice. There was always that temptation to buy an attractive, good-looking tie at a low price. The only real conclusion I came to after all that tie-gazing was that in the future I would have to only buy good ties that looked beautiful too. But there is always the risk of paying a lot for an unattractive tie. How could I trust my own taste? Finding a wife with good taste is critical – even if she is ugly.
In any case, please do send her over to check out our tie selection next time you are passing by Senli and Frye.
