I reported in October (Mis-Matched Grosgrain) that I was trying to have a couple of bow ties made from the same corded silk used on my DB dinner jacket. Well, that was one idea that did not work out very well.
You see, my tailor got his grosgrain from Richard James Weldon, the tailoring supply house. And it is beautiful material, with a flat texture that complements H. Lesser's dark midnight blue cloth. Not to mention that Weldon offers buttons covered with the stuff, a real time saver for the tailor. The downside of all this is that Weldon commissions its corded silk in a width too narrow for bow ties. Even pieced bow ties with buckles.
It is of course beyond my comprehension how this could be when matching bow tie and lapels on a bespoke dinner jacket is de rigueur. But it seems to be fact, a fact that makes me an easy man to spot in a crowd.
I will be the guy with the bow tie that is brighter than his lapels.
Monday, December 21, 2009
A Tale of Grosgrain
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6 comments:
Will,
What happened to the "stuff, don't fold" idea for the pocket square?
Jim
Dear Will,
one thing I do love about this blog, about your posts at large, is your willingness to share with us not only your inspiration for a successful combination of the different items in a gentleman’s wardrobe, but also your readiness to share with us your less successful sartorial experiments. Thanks!
Best wishes
Marcel Basthos
Will,
Maybe it's just the photo, but I don't think it looks bad at all. Think of it as your own sprezzatura! :)
On line, Ralph Lauren has grosgrain bow on sale. Paul Stuart has a grosgrain bow, and Amazon is selling one from Jos. Banks. Going back to my father's post-war midnight blue dinner jacket w/grosgrain lapels (which probably cost three figures!), I've thought that satin-finish silk bows were quite appropriate w/grosgrain lapels, and think I still do.
I'm a little confused by your post. If you wanted to bow ties in the exact same material used for your lapels, how is it possible that it wouldn't be available in a wide enough run of fabric? Wouldn't it have to be sufficiently wide enough to be able to use it for the lapels? Or is there a different fabric being used for the lapels?
James, that is a stuff.
Brandeis, look at the photo again. Notice how much brighter the bow tie is than the lapels? Both are grosgrain, which is considerably different from weaver to weaver.
Most men, including me, consider satin to be less sophisticated than grosgrain. Duller is better.
Josh, grosgrain has ridges, like twill. The ridges run horizontally in a lapel, which means the cloth needs to be just four inches wide. A bow tie, however, needs pieces that are ten times that width.
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