Fun Neckties
Matt Seinberg

If there is one thing that no man likes to wear, but has to almost every day, is a necktie. Most men are required to wear them at work and on special occasions like weddings, formal parties, sweet sixteen's, bar and bat mitzvahs, or almost anything else that some party giver can think up.

I've gone through many ties since 1980.

I can't begin to think how many neckties I hone gone through in my retail career that started in 1980. Fashion, style and colours have changed, but for me, one thing remains constant; wearing fun ties.

What is a fun necktie?

It's something so out of the ordinary that you have to do a double take to make sure it's what you think it is. Today, for instance, I wore one of my favourite fun ties, the original Star Trek command crew! I got quite a few comments on it and one fellow even wanted to trade trivia with me. To tell the truth, I really wasn't in the mood, since I have been dealing with back-pain, for a week and just standing up was a chore.

A former employee came that gave me that necktie as a Christmas gift in December 2000. That was the first fun tie I ever had. Since then I've collected quite a few of them.

A four-tie collection for twenty dollars.

I now have another original Star Trek tie that has Kirk, Spock and McCoy on it, along with a couple of “Deep Space Nine” and “Next Generation” ties. I got a collection of four from e-Bay for $20 a year or so ago, boy was that steal!

AS I like Star Wars as well, I have a tie that is a replica of the original movie poster with all the main characters on it. I also have a space battle tie that always gets strange looks.

Another interesting collection is from "Save the Children," an organization that donates money to children's charities for every tie sold. I have several of them, including one depicting a school bus. That's one of my favourites.

By far my favorite collection is by the late, great Jerry Garcia. Since new collections are coming out all the time, I often joked about a dead man kept coming up with all these creative ideas.

Jerry Ties are loud and colourful.

These Jerry ties, as I all them, are quite loud and colourful. Every time I wear one particular tie, a fellow at work always looks at it and says he wants to smoke a joint. Sure, go home and do it.

These ties come in so many different designs and colors it can make your head spin, almost as if you did smoke a joint. Since I go through ties like water, I won't pay more than ten dollars for a tie. Some get so dirty that they aren't worth cleaning or they are so old that they are out of fashion.

I'll go once to twice a year to Century 21 Department Stores and pick out a few loud and colourful Jerry ties, adding them to the collection.

The question is, what ties do I get rid of to make room for the new ones?