If It's Hip, It's Here (Archives): hip ties

Blake Bradford is a new line of handmade silk panel ties on which individual words are printed. The black or white ties have adjectives such as 'complicated', 'elusive', 'rude', 'mysterious', 'dynamic' and 'dangerous' that represent the brand’s core values of individuality, creativity and philanthropy.

The Blake Bradford philosophy is to break free of the attachment to physical things and focus on experiences, ideas and companionship with others. The emphasis is no longer on the articles of clothing a person wears, but on the people themselves.

The process of making a Blake Bradford woven silk panel tie is as unique and striking as the ties themselves. Traditional neckties are made using a pattern that repeats itself on the loom, but a Blake Bradford requires much more attention.

Each and every Blake Bradford panel tie is handmade in Brooklyn, using the exact location of the design as a guide. Even the slightest error in cutting or folding the woven silk would alter the design’s location and appearance of the tie.

Designer Geoffrey Blake conceived of the Blake Bradford woven silk panel tie as a way to identify and/or express oneself in traditionally conservative environments. The choice is yours: button your jacket to conceal your identity, or transform your environment.

Much of the text in this post has been reprinted from the Blake Bradford web site with their permission.

Shop for them here

It's pretty darn traditional to get dad a tie, cufflinks or collar stays for Father's Day. But not these ones! The following are products from companies and designers who've taken the traditional and turned it into fashionable and hip without sacrificing design, quality or materials. In addition to the images, there are links to purchase.

Collar stays by Collar Ink are fun tattoo inspired designs (dragon, flaming skulls, tribal) on functional collar stays. Adorably packaged and reasonably priced, they come in either plastic or metal (plastic collar stays are $12.65 for 7 pairs and the metal collar stays are $16.95 a pair):

Shop Collar Ink here.

TIES:
Hip and nicely made ties. These are far from 'novelty ties'. With beautiful graphic and modern designs on fine fabrics, any of these ties would be a great gift for your stylish forebearer.

Cyberoptix tie labs are modern and stunning silk ties in tons (and I mean tons) of hip designs. And for an additional fee, any from their huge selection can come in this beautiful wood box:

With everything from guns and skulls to plants, animals and water towers, Bethany Shorb's line of silk ties will blow you away.
Shop Cyberoptix Tie Lab here.

Josh Bach Ties, Boxers and Pens

A little preppier and slightly less edgy than Cyberoptix, are the beautiful silk ties of Josh Bach. You've seen them in museum stores and fine boutiques. With a large collection (valet trays and boxers, too), you can find any nice tie for dad that illustrates his interest.

In addition to subway maps and baseball stadiums, there's everything from paint by numbers, space invaders, paper airplanes and tons more! Must go see them all.

In addition to ties, Josh bach carries boxers, desk valets and ball point point b=pens that all make great gifts for dad.
Shop Josh Bach here.

UPDATE: Naked and Angry is no longer in business.
Naked and Angry only has 5 ties, but they are beautifully made, 100% silk and ensconced in award-winning packaging.

Soverign Beck

Ryan Sovereign and William Beck, both graduates of The Rhode Island School of Design in Industrial Design & Sculpture respectively, formed Sovereign Beck in 2005, drawing upon both the traditional and the classically abstract ideals of tie design.

Shop Sovereign Beck ties here.

CUFFLINKS

Jan Leslie's Aristocratic Rock n' Roll Cufflink Collection contains everything from skulls, pin up girls (or trucker girls), devils and angels and shark teeth. They are sterling silver and there are many more to look at than simply the ones I've shown you below.

Buy Jan Leslie cufflinks here

Bad Ass Jewelry also has their own version of the "trucker girl" cufflinks in sterling silver with 18k gold accents as well as their sterling silver Colt .45 Peacemaker cufflinks:

Shop Bad Ass Jewelry here.

Does Dad still play with toys? Ravi Ratan's cuff links include everything from skateboards, wii remotes, nintendo and turntables (and a ball and chain to boot):

Ravi Ratan has many many different cufflinks to choose from. You can find over 200 different designs.
Shop Ravi Ratan cufflinks here.

Armrevolution

And of course, the hippest cuff links of them all (and the priciest), Arm Revolution's architectural ones made of japanese stainless steel come in 8 different modern designs: