Just became aware today of the unhinged whimsy that are Hermes ties. There are 1000s of them on The Real Real, Poshmark, etc for less than $100 (occasionally more. New will set you back $240). Most are wider, 3-4 in. But (i also learned today) wide ties are back, or if you're not ready for that trend you could surely have a tailor narrow them.
I do not recall ever seeing a person wear anything like this in a movie, TV show, or real life. Are only very rich men wearing them to their high rise offices? New money? Very old money? Status signal for the middle class in the 80's, 90's, early 2000's perhaps? For there to be 1000s used for sale, and very few repeats of pattern would imply decades of many sales. Who? How? From my brief searching this appears to be exclusively an Hermes thing, which is not how i understand fashion to ever have worked. I found a couple vintage Gucci ties that I would call playful featuring clothes pins or stirrups. But very few and nothing illustrative like these and nothing that i would describe as whimsical. Like other Hermes ones i found; a kangaroo throwing a boomerang, a cat chasing a mouse, a seal playing with a ball, or a man in old-timey sleepwear jumping over sheep. All men in my life should be preparing to receive this as a gift in the coming year and i do expect you to wear it.
