Vintage ties: Geometric and space age

One massive project should be largely on the books next week and things should return a bit more to normal around here for me. To keep some sort of new content going, though, let me present the third in a series of posts that feature some of my more interesting vintage ties (click here for hand-painted or here for the novelty numbers).

I haven't counted my tie collection lately, but I do know that it's almost completely out of control. I have a small rack with arms to hold 36 ties, and there are a minimum of 3 times on each arm, with more draped across the top and some rolled up on my dresser. It's madness, and I need to figure out some better storage, although color-scanning everything in one glance is still fairly easy.

At any rate, this is a group (and again, there are many more in this grouping, these are just my particular favorites) of geometric and / or space age inspired designs. At this point, it probably goes without saying that these were all thrift store or garage sale finds and the most that was paid for any individual tie was $4 (with most clocking it at $2 or less).

Although this one has a swirl damask, dark red and navy cubist shapes rule the day.

If I had to guess where my love of the blue/brown color pairing came from, it would probably trace back to azure spring skies and plowed fields ready for being planted. This tie brings them both together and looks great with a blue and white striped oxford and any number of configurations that go with it.

Flesh-colored ties are a hard egg to crack in terms of working them into a wardrobe and this is no different. Still, I can't deny my love for the design.

Bright red offset with some some blue and white swirls that flare with ribbon ends. Another odd combination in the design, but this one works with so many outfits.

I lovingly refer to this one as my, "Old-school blackjack dealer tie" and I think the title fits. Crisp red and black diamonds in a larger diamond pattern with a dark green tip and diamond damask. Worn with caution.

This would probably be a fairly conservative tie without the two blue swoops, but they're also what give it a real dynamic feel. Another tie that goes with a lot of different combinations, this is one of the ties that led to me starting the collection I have now.

Found at the same time as the previous tie, this Eames-era esque design was sort of an early inspiration and still one of my favorites.

Super simple design that just works and works. The two circles with red just pop and the tie in general is a classic.

Objects I Love: Panasonic R-70 transistor radio

Truth be told, I listen to the radio only a fraction of the percentage that I used to. I have an insanely large collection of music, and instead of taking my chances with what I suspect is largely crap on the airways, I pull something off my shelf (or out of my digital library) that I know I will enjoy. Is that elitist? Perhaps.

And yet, there are a couple things that I really enjoy listening to the radio. There's something soothing to me about waking on a weekend morning and hearing at least part of "Car Talk," and there are days when I come home from work and spend an hour in the kitchen working on a meal where I flip back and forth between sports talk radio and "Fresh Air" with Teri Gross.

I'm getting really circuitous here, but the other thing I absolutely adore listening to on a radio is baseball games (particularly college baseball). There's something about the numbers, the names, and particularly the cadence of it all that really appeals to me. There are the long periods of near dead air sometimes punctuated by rapid bursts of action and the ocassional low-scoring pitching duels that unfold with ever-increasing tension. I have my team that I follow, and this is where the cutest damn chunk of plastic and wires in the world enters the stage. Please let me introduce the Panasonic R-70 transistor radio (aka "The Panapet").

The coolest vintage radio ever? Probably

I discovered my first Panapet at a thrift store about 3 years ago. I'd never seen anything like it before and knew that for the $3.99 price, it would be mine whether it worked or not. I got it home and replaced the 9-volt battery and it crackled to life. I spun through the AM dial and realized that sadly, there wasn't much worth listening to. Not much to listen to, that is, except baseball...



In less than a month, it will be college baseball season, and my army (which now numbers 4, in 3 of the 5 total colors available) of Panapets will be ready to inform me of every inning of the season and provide a chattery backdrop as the days get a little bit longer and the temperature gets a little bit warmer.

From a design standpoint, I don't think that this particular device has been rivaled until recent times, if at all. It's got an Eames era, space age flair that just works in the five color combination that it were released in (blue, green, red, white, and yellow). In addition to the dual dials for volume and tuning (which look like eyes), the split body (which opens to reveal the transistor guts and 9-volt connection, along with a solid battery housing cage) is highlighted by a clear, rotating band display, a perforated speaker opening, a mono earphone jack and a built-in keychain. Yes, you saw/read that correctly, a keychain. It was the 70s version of the iPod, but much more colorful and playful.



Fortunately, they were also very popular, and if you can't find one at a thrift store, flea market, or junk store, they're abundant on ebay as well.