Color

I've been thinking about this Dries van Noten tie for a long time. So long in fact that it is now sold out. On one hand, I love that shade of blue--bright and refreshing. Fuck navy! Go neon teal.
On the other hand, it's kind of gaudy and, with those flowers, a bit feminine, no? And then I think...
... grow some balls and wear it with confidence. According to Dries himself (after his Spring 2008 show), "The only way to make colors believable for guys is to make them as masculine as possible." It's sad that colors have to be "[made] believable for guys." We should not shy away from color. We should own it and wear it proudly.

As for the flowers, I'm a huge fan; they are so bold and graphic, just no-frill, no-nonsense silhouettes in black. I love the diagonal cascade at the top. And the runty little flower just an inch or so below is a cute surprise.

In conclusion, does the tie remind anyone else of tropical board shorts?

Kiton

Greece. That's all I can think about. Olive branches. That blue.

Canada. Maple leaves. That's all.

In all seriousness, these Kiton ties are gorgeous. The micro-sized pattern, the color scheme (white over base color): it all adds up to a sophisticated, elaborate, and decadent tie.

And with Kiton, you know you're getting amazing quality; afterall, these ties are $172... on Bluefly...

Asian Persuasian

I first saw Mimi Fong ties at NeimanMarcus.com. To be perfectly honest, I thought they were kinda ugly. The colors, the patterns... the pandas...

But there's no denying the artistic quality and craftsmanship of her ties. So I googled Mimi and found her website to give her another chance.

And wow... her stuff is amazing. In general, her ties are so much more subtle than the selection available on the Neiman Marcus website. Note the first tie: the bamboo pattern is gorgeous; I love the large bold pattern and the color combination is great.

The second set of ties are in the dragon pattern. Three words, gentlemen: unique paisley replacement.

Finally, my favorite pattern at Mimi Fong right now: cherry blossoms. The pattern is so detailed and intricate and I love the open spaces between the cherry blossoms--it makes the tie look more like art than a tie. Everything about this tie is romantic and beautiful. Interestingly, all the color combinations work for me, but my favorite is the black and white.

For $145, Mimi Fong's ties are in the higher price bracket, but they're unlike any other ties out there.

Godley

I had never heard of Robert Godley, but his ties are among my favorites right now at Barneys. After doing a little research (yea, all I did was google him), I found out he's worked at Drakes, Turnbull & Asser, and Ralph Lauren. For a tiemaker, I don't think you could ask for better credentials.

Godley also makes the Psycho Bunny collection of accessories that you can find at Neiman Marcus; it's all pretty cute, but it's subversive humor is a little too obvious in my opinion (skulls with bunny ears). His eponymous collection at Barneys, though, is definitely more sophisticated and more my style. Above are 2.5 examples.

I've resisted blogging about the brown striped tie because it really doesn't look all that special. But under closer inspection, it's really quite kooky: the drab browns are drab to the point of interesting and the odd stripe variations give the tie an off-kilter feel. In the end, it's weird, but surprisingly aesthetically pleasing.

Godley's dot ties are also very cool; very floral meets math. I prefer the burgundy, but the Barneys website didn't have a close-up, so I put up the mint as well. Is it floral? Is it abstract? I don't know and that's why I like 'em.

Randomness

I'm always a little wary whenever a department store manufactures their own stuff, so when I saw this Barneys tie, I was just a tad suspicious. From the looks of the first photo, it's a bit crooked, maybe?

Otherwise, it's a beautiful tie. I love the lack of a pattern (though there is one, if you look for it hard enough); it's as if the flowers were falling down your tie. Ties are almost always made with patterned fabric, which emphasize their mass-production quality. But here, the random placement of flowers makes it seem more like artwork than a department store tie. Not to mention, the color combination is perfect.

EDIT 06/10/07: I bought it and I love it... and in a moment of weakness, I bought the blue-with-pink-flowers version, too (50% off, folks!) -- if the brown/blue didn't do it for you, the blue/pink might work. The brown/blue is a bit more sophisticated, while the blue/pink is more sexy, more fun.

Paul Smith Amazingness

There's something about Paul Smith ties, especially his floral prints, that just really impress me. I generally dislike floral prints, but Paul Smith walks the fine line between ostentatious and gorgeous, and lands on the gorgeous side more often than not.

The two above are my favorite examples: I like the first one because 1) it looks so much like old-school wall paper and 2) stripes + flowers = wow. I like the second one because of it's color range; although there's a lot of bright colors there, they all work together and seem to be muted by the dark brown background.