#challis

Poszetka is a small Polish company that has been operating since 2010, selling primarily ties and pocket squares, but also shirts and leather goods. I’ve been a customer of theirs for a couple of years, and have had a lot of use out of an unusual grenadine silk black bow tie which, not having the sheen of a satin silk, also holds a knot much better.

I recently had the opportunity to sample some of the new range of untipped wool ties, and picked out two wool challis prints and a classic shepherd’s check made from Vitale Barberis Canonico wool suiting. (These ties were provided for review without charge.)

The designs strike a good balance between being interesting and being unusual to the extent that you wouldn’t wear them. The colours are intense enough to work casually, but the surface is chalky rather than shiny, giving them a fairly subtle appearance. Formal ties are far easier to come by—every major retailer can make a decent stab at a silk twill—but these fit nicely in that crossover space: casual enough to work with odd jackets (and tie-optional environments, as so many places are now) but reserved enough to work with suits outside of the most formal settings.

The construction is solid. Handrolling on the tips is consistent, although not as tight as it could be. There is a thin piece of wool interlining in the body of the tie, enough to guarantee a knot with some substance, without disrupting the natural drape. You might plausibly want a longer tie than this, but it’s also the standard length of Drake’s and other major makers, 140cm. The 8cm width is a good balance for most people, looking neither old-fashioned or skimpy.

For people in Britain and America, it might be tempting to see Poszetka as a kind of Polish Drakes. They are small boutiques aimed at enthusiasts, focus on similar items, and have a similar aesthetic, with subtle use of colour and an emphasis on casual tailoring and accessories, but this is to miss the interest they have in their own locality and heritage, Silesian and Polish. The product ranges are also different: Poszetka doesn’t offer suits, but sells a handful of shirts and some attractive looking leather accessories.

Value is obviously in the eye of the beholder, especially when we’re talking about a largely decorative item. Nevertheless it’s worth noting that the ties featured are between €54 (for the VBC wool) and €72 (for the challis), making them between two thirds and half the price of other specialist retailers. There may be some reasons to demur: on the purple tie, you might notice that the printed medallion is not quite perfectly inked, and that the blade could have been cut slightly higher on the cloth in order to better line up the design with the tie edge. Hand-stitching for other makers is sometimes a little neater. But it’s really a personal choice whether these kind of things matter, and whether they matter enough given the price differential.

Regardless of the comparisons between brands, it’s pleasing to see another small family business prospering by focusing on products for the enthusiast, and prioritizing interesting designs and detailed but labour-intensive methods over mass production.

Disclaimer: as stated in the review, I received these ties without charge, although I have been and will continue to be a paying customer too.

Ties Reviewed:

Olive untipped wool challis

Violet untipped wool challis

Prince of Wales untipped wool VBC

See Also:

In review: pique dress shirts