We all know it is traditional to wear green on St. Patrick's Day. This year however, I decided to forgo the green for instead a vintage Irish Heraldic Ben Silver necktie. A wonderful follower picked this tie up in a lot recently. He already had another one and so he kindly sent this one my way. What year is it from? I am not sure. It is vintage, I just don't know from exactly what time.
Paired with the tie is a blue OCBD from J. Press, chinos, white socks, oxblood loafers and a cream cardigan. This cardigan is a perfect March, almost spring, cardigan. I can't wear this in winter. It's too light, it is not right for winter. I can wear it in true spring but it is most appreciated now, in March, at the very beginning of things warming up. It's a little sign of lightness, and warmth. It's casual, comfortable, perfect if you have to run outside when it is in the low 50s.
I used to own more cardigans, they just burned out and I never fully replaced them. I really need more. I love them. They are so incredibly useful and versatile. You don't make a mess of your hair when you put them on. You can close them if it is chillier, you can open them if a bit warmer. They look just great with a tie as well. Sometimes wearing a tie with a sweater can feel a bit too up-tight, for lack of a better word. You can totally do it. You can pull it off. But sometimes, for a lot of guys, it feels too prim and proper, which I understand.
I also understand how a lot of guys shy away from the cardigan. For many it feels like an old man, old grandpa, geezer, dorky. Other than that, they love it! (ha) In truth though, I get it. I get this response. I do think that it can have that feeling and I do think that for some guys it may be hard to escape that. I think also, though no fault of their own, for the young guy who is still dating, it may not be the right choice. It may be true that in the dating world of 2022, it may read as dorky, and for the young guy, it may not be right. It's not his fault, it's not the cardigan's fault, it just seems that it may be the case, and it's too bad but we can't really do anything about it. It isn't really a good hill to die on.
I however am not young or in the dating game. I am married and have kids. My wife is trapped with me and so I am free to wear this cream cardigan. (ha) Actually, my wife has always liked cardigans and even when we were young, she didn't have a prejudice against older-reading clothes. There is this hilarious video from the early 2000s in which Tucker Carlson is teaching a young guy how to tie a bowtie and Tucker tells the young guy that he shouldn't wear a bowtie until he is married because if he starts wearing one before he is married he will end up with 40 cats and no wife. He says he married the one girl in America who liked bowties even before they were married. I have to correct Tucker and say there is one other girl as well, she is my wife. She has always liked bowties, and even though I don't wear them too often, I have always known she likes them and even in youth I never felt as though I shouldn't wear them out of fear of looking "dorky".
I love this tie from Ben Silver. I am wearing it because of St. Patrick's Day but it most certainly is not exclusive to this day. I will wear this tie year round. I love the size of the emblems, it is a great length and width, the colors are all fantastic. Simple, classic, understated yet with interest. Ben Silver makes some of the best ties and this is no exception.