Even if the photo were not black and white, and even if it were not watermarked with the name of a once widely circulated magazine that has been more defunct than not since 1972, it would be dated by the lit cigar in what appears to be an office, a practice that has been outlawed in most of the West for some time now.
That aside, the cigar smoker in the photo is a man named Alexander Korda, the Hungarian born producer who almost literally was the British motion picture industry for the last twenty-five years of his life. And other than to illustrate his good taste in Cuban tobacco, as demonstrated by the bowl (bowl!) of cigars atop his desk, the purpose of the photo is to show the not-quite-a-legend-but-considered-to-be-very-well-dressed Mr. Korda wearing a black necktie. Now Korda was known to have gray neckties in his wardrobe, unlike contemporaries such as Aristotle Onassis who was quoted as saying he wore black exclusively so his rivals could not guess his mood, but in wearing that lack of color he joined quite a few well dressed men who limited themselves to black knits and black satin neckties for their city clothes.
The wearing of solid black neckties remains a practice that has not dated at all provided one still wears neckties in the first place. It makes particular sense when a man is wearing black shoes with his suit, as he once did exclusively in England and the United States generally. Black satin has a sheen to it that contrasts with worsted jackets, the black silk knit adds texture to ensembles, and both complement polished black leather on the feet in a quiet sort of way.
All this rambling came about because I chose a black knit for myself yesterday, to wear with burgundy monktraps, and my tan Solaro suit. I had not had it out for a while, but it looked good despite relating to nothing else I had on. A black necktie usually does.
Photo: LIFE
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12 comments:
Ahhhh... Let the debate begin yet again: is it really OK to mix a black tie with shoes that aren't black as well?
Thank will. Wore black grenadine to a meeting at my son's school on Monday. Love that tie and black knit in the spring with a tan suit and a pink shirt.
What about wearing a black knit tie with white pin dots with a blue cotton suit for a summer wedding?
Sounds nice to me.
I am related to "Sandor" as he was onceknown. He was from the elegant side of my family tree, I am from the not-so-elegant side of the family. I can recognize my father in his smile. His side of my family believed my side was rif-raff(and they were mostly right I might add). He died well before I was born but I heard many stories about the Yiddish Hunkie(Hungarian)who made good. LOL.
I have a knit wool black necktie, yes, but I'm saving it for funerals. I'm afraid that wearing it any other time won't be worth the unfortunate effect of washing out what little color I have in my already pale face.
On the other hand, my wife suggested it as the perfect foil for my bold shirts (bright and/or large ginghams). I'm willing to be convinced I should try it; is anyone up for the challenge?
Worn with a shirt and jacket that are compatible it is unlikely to wash you out, or so I find and black is not my 'color' either.
Love black knit ties because the texture relieves the "blackness" somewhat. Otherwise I prefer the black with some tiny pin dot or other miniscule pattern but there's no doubt they can look very good. And pace Horatio the black knit looks great with bold pink pattern shirts. Korda was a fascinating character. His nephew Michael Korda the writer and publisher produced a nice memoir of Alexander and his brothers all of whom worked for Alex in the film business. Korda was one of those emigres like Leslie Howard who made themselves more English than the English...on that topic when are we going to see some comment Will on the shocking subject of trousers at the royal wedding??
Funny you mention it..The local Salvation Army last week provided me with two super black ties. They must have come from the same person..The silk one is 4" wide at the point and labeled only 'hand made in Korea and lined with white silk. A little haphazardly made but I wore it to school and the kids freaked.. "Mr. Craig, did somebody die"? The other is a 'Rooster' wool knit, flat bottom and the first I have ever seen in black. You have to have 'swagg' these days.
Joe,
I didn't say that black and pink don't go together; I said that black and my skin tone don't go together. Black goes nicely with both bright and pale blue-toned pinks, but not with salmon or peach-toned pinks.
Having said that, I think I can pull off that black knit tie with my bold shirts, including a lovely pink gingham. I'll try it out this summer, and if I like it, will look for a black knit in silk.
I love the idea, Will. I am severely lacking in black ties. I do have a question though: Do black ties with subtle designs (like a subtle black grey/paisley pattern on a very black background tie) fall under the umbrella of the Black Necktie. Thank you, in advance
Sean, not in the sense in which I wrote the post, no.
I owned a black textured paisley silk by Kiton for several years. Beautifully made tie. I never wore it. It was just too much.
Start with satin, grenadine and knits. Add white pindots if you must have some pattern.
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