Family Ties and Neckties

Family is the most important thing in any person’s life. Think about that for a moment: whether for good or for bad, your family is an integral part of your life. Here at 2tieatie.com, we know that family ties need to be strengthened and nourished. (After all, since we run a family business, we won’t want to mess things up in either category.) How better to do that then with a Father’s Day tie? A birthday tie? Or even a signed tie, an heirloom tie, or a tradition-making family tie?

Here’s what we mean. We once saw the strength of family at the funeral for an amazing grandfather. Tears fell and stories flowed. It was a sad but very sweet experience. Part of the sweetness came when there were objects that the storytelling could be centered on; all of the big things were sorted out in the will, but little things like shoes and ties were basically left to be divided up by the children and grandchildren. Suddenly, grandpa’s ties became family ties and family ties became stories. A tradition began as ties went from waiting in the wardrobe to share and share alike. Now every member of that family has a tie close by to remind them of grandpa and his great life.

Family ties don’t just have to be started at funerals, though. Like we said, Father’s Day makes for a great time to get Dad a great tie. Many clothing stores offer embroidering services. Getting an embroidered tie makes your standard department store purchase mean more than a couple of dollars out of your bank account. Consider embroidering family sayings or even something simple as “I love you” on either the front or on the back. Putting a family touch on a necktie makes it mean something.

We knew a group of friends, all working the same job, who used their ties as parting gifts. Whenever time came for a job transfer, ties were traded without regard for price. Friendship met its very essence in these ties. Usually, these guys would sign each other’s ties on the back after they had traded. A few kind words with a sharpie, and voila! Friendship in ink and silk. We’ll admit that signing a tie like that does no wonders for the worth of your tie but that is not the point. Ties between friends and family ties, when it comes to neckties, are for memories and for fun. If you want your Italian silk tie to eventually garner you some resale value, don’t sign it. But that polyester paisley you got from grandpa? That’s the tie to get scribbled with a John Hancock.

The fun of family ties is that while neckties are such a simple article of clothing, giving them significance lends an air of importance to their cloth and stitches. Neckwear need not be confined to whatever formal tie gets worn to business meetings and social functions. There are plenty of opportunities for a more relaxed attitude that still calls for a tie. Wearing a family tie at such a function not only makes a great conversation starter, it shows how much you value your family and their love for you. So when it comes to having to get all dressed up for some sort of gathering, temper your fashion with some good family fun. Don’t let the knot around your neck make you stuffy. Strengthen your family ties and let your ties live a little.