Neckwear Notes: Las Vegas

My Las Vegas schedule, as some of my colleagues out here know, has been curtailed by a nasty cold. I’ve spent more time in my hotel room than I’d care to. But I managed to make it down to MRket to visit some—alas, not all—of the neckwear manufacturers on my list.

My first stop was Barbara Blank’s booth, where I saw a refreshing spin on the tie tack: knit ties are sold with airplane and car pins (polyester to keep prices down, about $45 retail).

She’s also showing bright solid color linen ties in 2-inch widths for spring, which will retail for between $45 and $55.

Pocket square and bow ties continue to do very well, Barbara says, with 2.5 and 2.25-inch butterflies selling the best. Younger guys are driving this business.

Speaking of bow ties, Greg Shugar, of the online neckwear seller thetiebar.com, is organizing a mass bow tie tying event in Chicago this Sunday to celebrate National Bow Tie Day. The first 500 people who join the effort to set the Guiness-sanctioned record for the most people tying bow ties at once will get a free tie. And, The Tie Bar is donating $15 to Goodwill Chicago for each participant. Greg tells me he’s already got hundreds committed to the event, and is hoping for many more. Visit The Tie Bar for more information.

At the Dion Neckwear booth, Peter Tsihlias showed me some vivid plaids, all $125 retail, made in Canada of Italian silk. These pictured are 8.5cm (3.35 inches), but Dion offers them in narrower widths of 7.5cm (3 inches) and 6.5cm (about 2.5 inches).

Peter tried on this scarf (tubular silk, made in Italy, $225 retail) to show me the French knot, a way to tie a scarf I hadn’t seen before.

Finally, at MMG Neckwear, Dave Klaus showed me these Daniel de Fasson Studio ties, some of which come with a tie bar ($59.50 retail), in greens—a best-selling color.

I was intrigued by these James Campbell placement stripe ties ($69.50 retail). They are self-tipped with better linings and silk for a thicker, more luxurious feel.