time to buy some new ties

I hate my ties.

The new job at Block requires a collared shirt and tie each day, a first for me, and I was digging through my tie selection tonight trying to find something I could use for Tuesday and Thursday, this week’s workdays. Needless, to say, I found something but was disappointed overall.

The last time I had to wear ties regularly was in high school (I was on a traveling academic team) and I still have most of the ties I had back then. Apparently times have changed a lot or maybe my tastes because I thought just about all of then were ugly. I immediately threw out three of the more heinous ones and now I’m considering getting rid of the rest and starting over.

Maybe not everything. I have a couple of Peanuts novelty ties that you can’t get anymore that I love and will keep. There is also an “eye-chart” tie that I bought in college that I love, because of the irony of a visually-impaired person wearing it if nothing else.

I also have four newer ties that I’ll keep: a colorful old Structure model I bought in Richmond about ten years ago at Regency Square, a rust-colored tie I bought to wear with a rust-colored shirt to church a few years ago (the “full Regis” was very hot in ’99) and a pair of designer ties (Dolce & Gabbana and Ermengildo Zegna) I bought at Value City for something like 90% off.

But the rest will eventually have to go. I don’t know when I’ll have time and money enough to put thought into replacing them, but once I get a couple of paychecks under my belt and some time, the ‘90s ties are going to the Goodwill.