Thursday, October 23, 2008

The Ties Between Fashion and Stationery

One of the aspects of blogging I enjoy most is getting to interact with a wide range of people with whom I never would have come into contact without the blogosphere. There is a certain affinity not just among bloggers, but among those who blog and those who follow blogs. I do both.

I had one of those "out-of-the-blue" encounters recently with Stuart Hotchkiss, who started his neckwear business - Capital Ties - in 2005. Based in Washington, DC, as you might imagine, Stuart has rolled out the "Nick Hotchkiss" collection of ties in honor of his great uncle, Elmore "Nick" Hotchkiss Jr. (1883-1947).

Nick Hotchkiss was a member of an old Southern family and long prominent in business and social interests in Richmond, VA. He was a former president both of the Commonwealth Club and the Country Club of Virginia and had for some years been secretary of The Richmond German. He was was also a close friend of golf legend Robert Tyre "Bobby" Jones and was invited by Mr. Jones to become a charter member of Augusta National Golf Club on May 16, 1932.

Upon perusing the Nick Hotchkiss Collection, it dawned on me that, in this instance as with many others over time, there is a very close relationship between fine fashion and fine stationery.


































1 comment:

Tim Ferris said...

Interesting. I'd never thought of the design connection there. You also have the guys at Vineyard Vines out on Martha's Vineyard and Beau Ties up in Vermont, and they're cranking out new designs constantly. New England may be the new hotbed of design. You also may be the only people who still wear ties and use good stationery. I have to ponder that for a while.