Higher-priced ties doesn't seem to worry companies known for luxury neckwear

The Journal has an interesting article on ties and a free month of access to their online site here wsj.com/freetrial

Long the most boring gift under the Christmas tree, the tie is getting a luxury makeover this holiday season. Tie makers, struggling with declining sales since the early 1990s, are proposing more luxurious fabrics, pricier construction techniques and fancier gift boxes to position their wares at the highest end of the market. The reason: Ties over $100 are the one segment of the market that's reporting brisk growth.

Earlier this year, Salvatore Ferragamo introduced its most expensive tie ever -- a $180 handmade five-fold tie of Italian silk. LVMH's Thomas Pink label is rolling out its first "seven-fold" tie -- made from a single piece of silk folded seven times -- for $165; that's $65 more than its current top-of-the-line style. Robert Talbott is also launching its first seven-fold tie, a limited edition sold in lacquered wooden boxes. Suggested price tag: $245, a venture into the elite territory claimed by companies like Kiton.

See some examples of the new power ties.
Several retailers say they are stocking up on pricey ties this season because the category did so well last year. "Our customers are telling us they want more," says Russ Patrick, general merchandise manager for menswear at Neiman Marcus. Among this year's offerings: Stefano Ricci ties decorated with Swarovski crystals for more than $1,000.

Besides the higher price tags, shoppers will see new styles. With men's closets full of the stripes and solids that have been promoted in recent years, brands like Calvin Klein and Mark Pendleton are reviving the classic paisley motif, last popular in the 1980s. Many of the new paisleys are woven rather than printed, and colors run to jewel tones like bronze and burnt orange. (When pairing a shirt with a paisley tie, one should coordinate with one of the lighter colors in the pattern.)

In general, though, colors are more muted than they were this past spring, with plums and purples replacing pastels and bright pinks. As shirt collars have gotten wider and shorter, bigger knots are returning, too. Thus the emergence of thicker ties, like the hefty seven-fold, which has "a crisp hand and ties an amazing knot," says Daniel F. Leppo, vice president of men's furnishings at Bloomingdale's.

Shoppers will also see more of the so-called suiting tie -- similar to suit fabrics -- sometimes in cashmere. So far, wool ties haven't gained a wide following, despite promotion by retailers and fashion magazines. But pinstripes or glen plaids, from the likes of Ike Behar and Bergdorf Goodman, are as conservative in style as the suits on which they're based; they're a good bet for men who want to be fashion forward without being flashy.

The upmarket strategy on the part of manufacturers and retailers comes amid a boom in sales of high-priced ties and strong sales of luxury goods overall. At department stores, sales of ties costing $100 or more rose 22% last year, compared with a decline of nearly 9% for ties under $100, according to market researcher NPD Group.

More generally, the tie business is facing a knotty problem. Sales peaked in the early 1990s at about $1.3 billion, according to the Men's Dress Furnishings Association. Then men started dressing more casually. Last year, sales inched up 2.6% from the previous year, to $831.6 million, but sales during the crucial last three months of 2005 actually fell 1.2%, according to NPD Group. Discounting helped push down the average price of a tie to $15.96 last year, from $17.01 in 2004.

Another hurdle: The one-time no-brainer present for Dad is now viewed as the ultimate cliché. Tie makers say one solution is to make their ties stand out. "I don't wear ties very often, but making it something a little special would be a hook that would appeal to me," says Thomas Ingrassia, 53, who runs an artist management agency in Worcester, Mass. If he got such a tie as a present, he says, "my perception would be that the giver put a little more thought into the gift." More...

Learn How to Tie a Tie - Jamaica Style

Check out the island style

Okay, let me immediately 'fess up to being completely bowled over by Daniel Craig, the new James Bond - ruggedly elegant, nicely chiselled and not giving a damn whether his martini is shaken or stirred.

Smart enough however, to know when to pull out all the dress stops, yet able to make a style statement when wearing jeans, a shirt and an Omega watch. Okay, there was that to-die-for Aston Martin, but seriously guys (and you ladies too who oftentimes prefer to suffer in silence) as we approach the festive season where 'dressing up' becomes as important as what's on the menu, here are a few style reminders and a few things to pick up at your favourite boutique.


The single-breasted suit carries 2-3 buttons. Leave either the last button or the top button open. Samuels in Hugo Boss (available at MAXBROWN UNLIMITED).

Boss faded jeans and great-looking shirts. pink with stripes, yellows, purples, florals, etc

. A cell phone is not a substitute for a watch. A gentleman needs a watch.
. Cotton handkerchiefs please, not wash rags.
. 100 per cent cotton shirts and yes, ladies love men in pink, blue, green and floral shirts as much as we love them in white and pinstripe.

. Tuck your shirt into your brief to eliminate creases.
. You need to know your neck size before attempting to purchase a shirt.
. Learn how to tie a tie (properly) and ensure that it kisses the belt.

. Cuff links make a formidable statement.
. No coloured t-shirts with holes under your shirts please.
. No t-shirts under shirts period. Wear a white, cotton, sleeveless merino if you must have a barrier between your shirt and your skin.
. White socks are still for sports. Black is the best option. Silk socks (black) are what you wear with your tuxedo.

. 'Black tie' on your invitation means just that. You cannot go if you don't have a tux. Lounge suit, although not as formal as 'black tie', requires a jacket and a tie.
. There's no such dress code as 'casually elegant' so you'll have to call up to find out what type of function you've been invited to.

. A business suit is a must. Buy a dark suit first before investing in a lighter coloured one. Remove the tag from the outside sleeve before wearing the suit. Wearing it (the tag) in public makes the worst possible kind of style statement.
. If you're short and fat, avoid the double-breasted suit. The double-breasted suit is closed (fully) when standing. Close the inside button first.

. The single-breasted suit carries 2-3 buttons. Leave either the last button or the top button open.
. Don't forget clean shoes, guys.

Marlon Samuels.

Pssst! We're taking secrets out of the crease but West Indies cricketer Marlon Samuels (part of the team that went to the finals) took the recently concluded Mumbai fashion week by storm (check him out on the runway at the Taraash show).

There are behind-the-scenes talk and the possibilities of contracts. "The contracts are in my lawyer's hands," shared Samuels in an exclusive interview with all woman. "I have to ensure that modelling doesn't interfere with my cricket so we have to look at it carefully."

How did it all happen?
I was approached at a function and asked if I'd be interested.

Why do you think you were approached?
I was wearing a long trench. I guess I made a statement.
No idle boast. he walked not once but twice during Asia's largest fashion week and got rave reviews.

What was the reaction like?
It was great, especially since most of the West Indies cricket team was in the front row applauding and lending moral support.

How did you do?
I was great.

No nerves?
Not really, I was just myself. More...

Learn how to tie your shoes all over again

This gets a little painful to read the further you get..

Thought you knew how to tie your shoes? asap's Ray Kugler offers five ways people with different foot types should tie their shoes.

It was a big achievement when you were 5, and then you moved on. But there are secrets to tying your shoes not covered in your average kindergarten class. How you tie your shoe could make a big difference in the comfort of your feet, and specialists have devised different lacing schemes for different shapes and features of feet. Here are five tips:

HOW TO TIE YOUR SHOES

1. If you have a problem with pressure on your big toe you should lace up just the side of the shoe away from the big toe. Run the lace from the bottom, inside eyelet by the big toe up through the top, outer eyelet. Run the other end of the lace through every eyelet.

2. If you have a narrow foot you will want to lift the sides of the shoe to fit your foot. You can do this by only lacing through the outside eyelets; most running shoes have staggered eyelets, with half sitting closer to the tongue and other half sitting closer to the outside. More...

Greetings from Portland

Greetings:

I hope that you are well. Beth, Jago and I recently carved pumpkins that we grew in our backyard and had a great time trick-or-treating (Jago was "Super Jago ala superman). Life in Portland is good and the pace is comfortable, people are friendly and when you go to cross the street even the busses will stop for you. (No joke, it happened to us, we were in shock).

So the reason I'm writing is two fold, first please come and visit! We have a great guestroom and as fall sets in here in Portland attention is turning to cooking good food and testing out new cocktails. I've been tasked to create a hot chocolate-based drink this winter, so if you have any ideas let me know.

The second reason is that I would like your help in promoting my new website. I'm using it as a prototype for launching a bigger project in the future that will provide a go-to destination for how-to videos. So my beta site is www.how-to-tie-a-tie-video.com, it's a simple site that teaches you how to tie a tie with a streaming video. Most people doing a "how-to" search are looking to tie a tie. As you may know Goggle ranks pages largely by the number and quality of incoming links. To rise above everyone else I need links to my site, I'm shooting for 150 links.

Here is my proposal to you to entice you to take a moment and create a link to my site.  For every ten friends who create a link to my site I'll donate an hour volunteering at the Portland Chinese Classical Garden, which I'll take you to when you visit.  By extension of your efforts you will be helping to maintain a beautiful spot of nature in the heart of the Portland.

Just copy the code below and paste it into your webpage, Blog, MySpace page or what have you:

<strong><a href="http://www.how-to-tie-a-tie-video.com" title="Learn How to Tie a Tie Video." target="blank">Learn how to tie a tie with easy to follow video instruction from How-to-Tie-a-Tie-Video.com.</a><br /></strong>

Thanks so much. If you have any feedback on the site I'd love to hear it and hope to see you soon.

Cheers,

Geoff

Video Hungry

Looks like time to beef up that infrastructure again

Soaring demand for games, video and music will stretch the Internet to its limits, Canada's Nortel Networks Corp. says, and it expects service providers will make big investments in its technology to avoid a crunch.

But the telecom equipment giant, still struggling to turn its fortunes round after the tech bubble burst, is treading carefully as it prepares for what it sees as a looming buildout of capacity by telecommunications companies.

Massive overbuild of Internet bandwidth capacity helped lead to the meltdown six years ago, and the company says it doesn't want things to go wrong again.

"It's driven by caution, because none of us want to repeat the mistakes of 1999 to 2001," Nortel's chief technology officer, John Roese, told Reuters in a recent interview.

The mistakes he refers to saw billions of dollars in Nortel losses, as well as tens of thousands of job cuts and a precipitous plunge in its stock price. Nortel stock peaked at more than C$120 a share in 2000. They are worth about C$2.50 a share today.

But perhaps ironically, Roese also believes the capacity bubble helped service providers cope with the surge in demand for bandwidth that came with the advent of online video Web sites like YouTube.com.

"The only reason YouTube didn't destroy the Internet is because there was a bit of a bubble in terms of excess capacity out there," Roese said. "But, boy, don't take that for granted."

Nortel believes its Metro Ethernet unit, which uses technology similar to the one used to connect local, short-distance networks to build Internet infrastructure, will soon draw carriers that need more capacity and let them stay safely ahead of the demand curve.

This curve has been growing steeper as users demand more bandwidth for online video, music, games and, increasingly, television.

"That's our underlying fear," he said. "If the industry cannot keep up with the demand because we kind of take it for granted after the buildout in the 2000 timeframe, if we ever hit a wall, the impact on global economies, the impact on innovation is just profound."

He said market research into trends like Internet video had led the Toronto-based Nortel to believe the surge in demand for bandwidth capacity is real.

"Over the last six months we've absolutely convinced ourselves -- and we think we have a lot of empirical data to back it up -- that this is not a short-term trend," he said.

Tim Daubenspeck, who covers Nortel for Pacific Crest Securities, thinks the company has got the right idea.

"I fully believe in the video thesis, both kind of over-the-top video, browser-based video, as well as the coming Internet protocol television trend ... as telcos push video to the home," Daubenspeck said. More...

Why is it the boys are the only ones wearing ties?

It is interesting how even kids react to wearing a tie, maybe it's just having something around your neck who knows..

Every Tuesday, Kelly Butler puts on a tie before going to his fifth grade class at Oliver Elementary School.

“At first it was hard,” said the student. “But now it takes about 30 seconds.”

Butler, like 50 other fourth and fifth graders at the school, wears a tie every week as the Tie One For Tuesday program.

Willie T. Green, fifth grade teacher at Oliver Elementary School, said, “At the very beginning of the school year, we started out with about four students wearing ties and it started growing. Then we had a couple girls that wore the little cross ties because they started saying ‘Why is it the boys are the only ones wearing ties?’”

Green said the purpose of the program is to promote leadership and character building.

On Tuesday, Dr. Ronald Boykins, president of Oliver Elementary School, told students, “When you wear a tie, you feel like you can do something. I see some of you when you don’t have on a tie, your sitting different. You’re falling all on the floor, but there is something about putting on a tie. And you look good too.”

Tyler Stargell, a fifth grader, said she looked forward to wearing her tie.

“I think it is really cool to wear a tie,” said Stargell. “When I am not wearing the tie, I am a whole different person. I am just a crazy little girl, but when I have on my tie I am like [a] grown up.”

Green said the program started slowly, with only a few students willing to wear a tie. But he convinced a few more to wear one and from there the popularity grew.

“We had some kids that didn’t have any ties,” said Green. “So, I would give them some of mine. They were kind of long, but we got by with a few adjustments.”

Tevin Tyler, a fifth grader, said he now has more than 10 ties.

“I can tie them fast now. I had to get help at first and kept tying it over and over, but it is no problem now.”

Green said the students wear the ties on a voluntary basis and that most of them actually tie the tie themselves.

“We have a few kids that wear the clip-ons, but it is still a tie,” said Green. More...

How to get your video company funded

It helps to tie yourself into the video revolution YouTube just kicked off...

On-demand video upstart ripe with cash
Internet video was in the spotlight this week, with Google's $1.65 billion acquisition of YouTube. But another digital video upstart seized some good fortune of its own earlier in the week.

Ripe Digital Entertainment, based in Los Angeles, raised $32 million in a second round of financing from several high-profile investors, including Hearst-Argyle, Time Warner Investments and Columbia Capital. The investment was one of the more sizable bets in digital media companies made this year, according to the company.

Like YouTube, Ripe aims to attract viewers, largely young males, to watch short, 3- to 5-minute videos. While YouTube lets average Joes upload video clips and share them with the world, Ripe creates or licenses short videos in the form of big surf riding, "Jackass"-like stunts or beauty contests. Ripe also primarily distributes programming over on-demand cable networks, like those of Time Warner and Comcast, as opposed to putting it on a Web stage, where Youtube dominates.

Both companies rely on advertising, and just how each company plays up marketing in the future will be the formula for payoff. For its part, Ripe aims to tie product placements and sponsorship into the video programming. With the funds, it will also bolster ad sales, broaden programming, and build out video services for broadband and mobile networks. More...

These phones do everything but tie your shoes

Tie your shoes, who needs to bother, I'm still in my pajamas

These phones do everything but tie your shoes

It’s a seductive image: One device that can be used as a phone, navigator, computer, camera, video player and mobile music library.

“Part MP3 player. Part phone. Totally sweet,” a voice in the television ad purrs.

Welcome to the increasingly ambitious world of mobile phone competition, where industry executives — unsure of what you will pay for — hope to win you over by adding more functions to cellular mobile phones.

With more than 72 percent of Americans already using mobile phones, the industry must introduce new functions to keep consumers buying new models and spending more money on applications such as text messaging, Web browsing and video games.

The first mobile battleground is over music. About 70 percent of wireless dealers and retailers say new MP3 phones, such as the Verizon Chocolate introduced this summer, will replace stand-alone music devices such as the enormously popular Apple iPod series.

Apple does not appear to be sitting on the sidelines. CFO Peter Oppenheimer has breathed fresh life into an old rumor of a potential iPhone.

The makers of smart-phones such as Palm Treo and the BlackBerry warn that no one phone can do everything well.

As the mobile industry debates what functions and designs work best, consumers should win with a plethora of choices. More...

Google Base - How to Tie a Half Windsor Knot

Google Base - How to Tie a Half Windsor Knot, Must be a new service...

Description
How to Tie a Half Windsor Knot

The Half-Windsor knot is a medium sized symmetrical knot for medium and wide collar openings.

1. To tie the half-Windsor knot, place the tie around your neck with the wide end in your right hand and the narrow end in your let hand.

2. Notice how far above or below the end of the narrow end of the tie is in relation to your belt. This point of reference will be useful later if your tie comes out too long or too short.

3. Cross wide end over the narrow end and turn back underneath and end on the right side.

4. Bring tie up on the right side and down through the inside of the neck loop and end on the left side.

More...

Half Windsor Knot

Tie in - Gold chains out - Tie Pity the Fool

Tie Pity the Fool

Mr. T gave up his gold chains last year after Hurricane Katrina. He says he thought it would be a sin to don the gold when spending time with the less fortunate. He wears a suit and tie.

"The gold is in my heart," he says.

In 1982, Sylvester Stallone saw him on television in the "World's Toughest Bouncer" contest and offered him the role of boxer Clubber Lang in Rocky III. Mr. T then played Sgt. Bosco "B.A." Baracus on The A-Team, which ran from 1983 to 1987 on NBC. Mr. T was diagnosed with T-cell lymphoma in 1995, but his bio says he is cancer-free today.

He speaks frequently about his mother, which makes me wonder if he lives with his mother.

"No," he says. He doesn't like that question and vows to see me afterward. (He doesn't, thank goodness.) His mother, who will be 90 this year, lives in Chicago.

"I'm still a mama's boy," Mr. T says. "I am the mama's boy because [of] the things that I do, the way I carry myself. See, my mother is not proud of me because I make money. She's proud of me because I have not forgotten her teachings."

He says he is proud to show his mother I Pity the Fool. But will he always succeed on the show?

"I always will do my best," he says. "I'm gonna bring it, baby. If the show fails, it's not because I'm not trying."

His best makes I Pity the Fool an entertaining change of pace in a celebrity-addled culture. The guru role fits him to a T. He is still titanic after all these years. More...

Paris Envy

French sister knows how to tie her Hermes carre at least 56 different ways
The Fashionista Phobia is mostly a female disorder.
It strikes young women first, when they realize that their jogging
suits and running shoes are no match for that little black dress and
stiletto heels. The sense of inferiority increases with age, as a
mature American woman fumbles with
her scarf, aware that her French sister knows how to tie her Herms
carre at least 56 different ways. French perfume is another source of
angst because most of the names are....well....French. Even cologne and
eau de toilette are French words that lose a great deal in any attempt
at translation.

There are other neuroses still unnamed and emerging: the current
crusade against foie gras, for example. It's pretty clear that
Americans are projecting thier secret sense of guilt over cruel poultry
farming in the U.S. by running to the rescue of ducks and geese in
France.

There is also periodic wine schizophrenia: dumping excellent bottles
of Burgundy and Sauterne, even Champagne, during a crazed spell of
francophobia, and then convincing oneself that the Shiraz from
California or the plonk from Australia is just as good.

Last but far from least, there is a constant undercurrent of paranoia
in regard to the French lifestyle. Americans are raised on the work
ethic, and often pride themselves on being workaholics. The French, as
we know, have reduced their work week to 35 hours, take five-week paid
vacations every year, and sneak off whenever they can to loll in a
cafe. This, conclude most Americans, is taking the pleasure principle
too far. Somehow, it seems to threaten, or at least contradict, our own
Pursuit of Happiness. The French are having more fun!

Hand was taught how to tie the saafa

Tying a tie is cake compared to this

Abhishek’s got turban trouble

Abhishek Bachchan had a unique problem on the sets of JP Dutta’s ‘Umrao Jaan’. Since the film required actors to be garbed in period costumes and lots of jewellery, it would take a long time for the actors — Abhishek, Aishwarya Rai and others — to get ready for the shot. But Abhishek had an additional burden — the ‘saafa’ or traditional turban — which was so long that it took at least ten minutes to tie it around Abhishek’s head. JP had appointed a special ‘saafawala’ to be around Abhishek whenever he needed the turban to be tied around his head.

The saafawala would tie it around Abhishek’s head just before a shot, and in-between shots, Abhishek would take it off as he found it cumbersome. For the next shot, when he required the saafawala, he would have simply disappeared. Everyone would get busy looking for the saafawala and the shoot would invariably get delayed. Finally, the unit came up with a solution. One of the production hands was taught how to tie the saafa and was positioned next to Abhishek throughout the shoot. Only after this did Abhishek’s saafa problems come to an end. More...

"They show us how to tie basic knots" -Bondage, Domination and Sadomasochism Club

What does it cost to send your kids here?

Nightfall brings sexy events to Columbia U. building

Columbia University’s student Bondage, Domination and Sadomasochism club, Conversio Virium, holds its weekly meetings in Hamilton Hall.

“We usually have speakers who are active in the scene around New York,” Jamie, junior and club president, who asked not to be identified by her last name, said. “They go over techniques and safety. There are demonstrations. For the rope bondage, they’ll actually bring in ropes and show us how to tie basic knots.”

Jamie said certain rooms are better than others for the group’s activities.

“The Literature and Humanities rooms are especially good,” she said. “They’re bigger usually, and have space for fun things. Once, this guy came in to do a lecture on balloon fetishes, and we had this Lit-Hum room that suddenly turned into a balloon frenzy with people chasing balloons everywhere.”

—The Columbia Daily Spectator (Columbia University) More...

Help your Ties Last a Lifetime.

Proper care is essential to making sure that your remains in good condition. The most important step you can take is to untie your tie rather than just pulling the slim end out of the knot, doing this will stretch the fibers of the tie resulting in tie that will eventually not hang properly, wear out faster and leave deeper wrinkles. After removing the tie, hang it in your closet and minor creases should flatten out under the pull of its own weight. Gently rolling the tie up and leaving it overnight before hanging it can remove more severe creases. Knitted and crocheted ties are intended to be stored flat in a drawer or rolled up, but never hung.

A professional dry-cleaner will be your best bet for saving ties that have been stained by food. Chances are good that the dry-cleaner may remove the stain but also damage the tie in the process. The shine on a silk tie is often a casualty of the dry-cleaning process. Knowing that upfront, ask you dry-cleaner how they will remove the stain. Will they do it by hand, place it in a protective laundry bag or just toss it in with everything else. The care they put into cleaning your tie will be a good indication of the likelihood of success.

Learn how to tie a tie with easy to follow video instruction.

How to Tie a Tie Video

"A well-tied tie is the first serious step in life." --Oscar Wilde

You are here because you need to know how to tie a tie. It could be for tomorrow's job interview, tonight's hot date, Saturday's "tie the knot" wedding or you just decided that today is the day that your are going to learn to dress to kill.

No matter the reason The "How to Tie a Tie Video" will teach you how to tie a tie in a quick and easy to follow video. In a matter of moments from now you will know how to tie the Windsor Knot, one of the most versitle and easiest tie knots to learn, the Half Windsor Knot, the Four-in-Hand Knot, the Pratt Knot and how to tie a Bow Tie.

Once you have mastered these simple techniques you will be able to be able to feel the power and confidence you need to succede.

Learn how to tie a tie with easy to follow video instruction.