the $64 question

[dr greg]

I know what this is, who else does.

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I found it in the shed, totally forgot I had it, the cord will have to be replaced, but it'll be going to work as soon as my new suit comes back from the invisible menders

 

[Happy Stroller]

Yes, it may be a good idea to replace that worn-out cord with a silken one, so that this new neck tie will look grander on your new fangled suit.

 

[Mr. 'H']

No, what is it?

 

[Solid Citizen]

HUH

A Light Saber from Star Wars?

SC lol

PS May the black plastic handle be with you!

 

[dr greg]

I'm shocked

C'mon guys I thought this forum of all places would know....
it's a TIE IRON, with a bakelite handle, and having just replaced the cord, it works magnificently.
I suppose one could use the excuse that it's the sort of thing one's batman would have in his kit and not ever be actually used by a gentleman, but really, it's an essential wardobe accessory for the serious vintage dresser...

 

[Mr. 'H']

Was there ever a real need for this impliment?

It seems kinda silly!

[huh]

 

[Quigley Brown]

Is it laying on a bear skin rug?

 

[Happy Stroller]

Hi, Dr. Greg

Is it dangerous to slip that $64 thing up one's tie while it is being worn?

So sorry about upsetting you, but I'm not a serious vintage dresser; so kindly excuse my ignornace.

I joined this forum so that my Full Dress, a bespoke set which I hope to acquire in preparation for my eventual funeral, will be as perfect as possible.

But thank you for enlightening us. It is interesting to learn about the availability of this $64 equipment, which makes your personal butler's job so much easier. The "protective mother" (as maids are called in Shanghai) who looks after my laundry stubornly insists on using the simple steamer, however.

BTW, how is it you have a student as your personal butler? Are you a doctor employed at an academy, boarding school or public school? Is that related to how you came about owning such an appropriate equipment? One can imagine all the school ties which need to be properly ironed at the end of every school day.

 

[Quigley Brown]

I've ironed a tie before while I was still wearing it!

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Once again, Happy Stroller proves himself the Fedora Lounge's keenest wit. I read him and weep (tears of laughter) lol


.

 

[Dinerman]

so that's what that is? I found one at an antique store with a label saying "tie stretcher" .Now I know what it was.
Thanks!

 

[dr greg]

the hide

It's actually a cowhide, but to return to the serious matter of tie maintenance, it is designed to iron from the inside so that the problem we've all no doubt experienced of seam marks on the front of the tie from being carelessly ironed, do not appear, or so one's butler told one. And I do suppose that if one wanted to discipline some rotter from the lower fifth, you could brand the young chappie with it. And over to you, Mr Stroller on China Station, can you send out the tiffin, or do they only do that in Injah. Fellow of my acquaintance swore by it in Malaya.

 

[Happy Stroller]

So, they do it too in Malaya? That should be before Malaysian Independence in 1963, more than 4 decades ago. Don't know about now.

But sending out the Tiffin in China? As you know, the living goddesses in the Indian household is the actual one who sends out the Tiffin. In the Yangtze River valley, it is the reverse. Husbands used to serve tea to their wives (unless they have more than one; then it's the other way around) before washing their dainty feet in the morning, as you may have surmised after reading too much Chinese novels, such as The Golden Lotus. I suppose Chinese men in Shanghai might have also sent out the Tiffin in the good ol' days under perfect socialism when hidden unemployment was the rule. Unfortunately, after the Great Door was opened to foreign investments in the early 1980s, the economic repercussion of allowing so many Hong Kong, Taiwanese and other Overseas Chinese men to invade the Mainland has lead to an absence of domestic goddesses for their poorer Mainland cousins. Nowadsys, Shanghainese ladies prefer to skip breakfast tea, pop into their authorative black/gray striped pants a.s.a.p., rush to board the subway trains and join their office companions at sidewalk bistros for brunch before shopping together for the latest designer suits at the various boutiques located nearby their place of work.

The side benefit is that more and more opportunities have opened up for Chinese men to dress up in black and white complete with black bow-ties, while working at those same bistros; fortunately, at locations different from the ones patronised by their better halves.

So, my dear Sir, well-dressed Chinese gentleman do not send out the Tiffin. The orders are delivered by underdressed Chinese boys of much lesser status.

Excuse me, Dr. Greg, I do have to get back to my newspaper to check on the latest changes in stock prices, while sitting on a park bench in my fake seersucker patten suit. They keep rising up everyday (I mean the stock prices, not my suit pants' waistband or trouser cuffs). If current trends persist, by next Summer, I wonder whether skirt levels will exist.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Happy Stroller, you're my hero. (I'll probably live to regret it, too.)

.

 

[carebear]

C'mon guys I thought this forum of all places would know....
it's a TIE IRON, with a bakelite handle, and having just replaced the cord, it works magnificently.

It doesn't look like a very sturdy tire iron. What's the lanyard for, dark nights?[huh]

(oh, Dr. Greg, might want to get your vision checked, you misspelled a word in there... lol )

 

[Tomasso]

Dr. Greg, might want to get your vision checked, you misspelled a word in there... lol

Carebear, I see that you're now bustin' people for spelling, as well as grammar. (BTW, you're encroaching on MC's turf)