Can A Guy Own Too Many Ties?

Imelda Marcos Had Over 3,000 Pairs of Shoes?

Novelty Neckties - I Just Cannot Stop!

I have a thing for ties, not just ties - it is novelty ties like Marvel Comics Super Heroes Spiderman neckties, or Van Gogh Art neckties - Starry Night and really wild fashion neckties. When is it a compulsion and not just a desire to have a sufficient collection and is there difference? How many ties are too many?

Apparently I am not alone.  I searched Google after I published this one - you gotta check out the photo of this guy's wife - it's priceless - her husband has 771 ties, neatly rolled, in copy-paper box lids. luckily, they have large closets Her husband and I are "birds of a feather" He's lucky he has such a nice wife that puts up with his tie issues. I envy him, not for his ties - I have plenty of my own.

How many ties should a guy own?  How many ties do you own? - you are welcome to leave a comment below or take our survey on a Flickr discussion we started 

I absolutely love wearing ties and do not consider it a bad thing to have so many. I certainly do not harm anyone in anyway by collecting them. It is not like I have storage containers full of neckties like Imelda Marcus had filled with shoes. The wife of late Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos made the “list of the greediest people of all time” in Newsweek Magazine a couple of years ago. I will admit she was a bit over board, but women do have a thing for shoes, don’t they. I remember calculating how many shoes she had purchased and how many weeks an adult could live on the average - wearing a new pair of shoes every week, she came up short on weeks. So, she had a surplus – is that a bad thing. Some people collect guns – they are dangerous, or dolls – they are not dangerous or Playboy Magazines – they may or may not be dangerous. I collect ties; I also make a living selling them. So, this is not just a silly hobby, it is a profession. There is nothing wrong with trying to make an honest buck is there?

Sure, I own a lot of ties; my personal collection that is. Now for the Internet Store Nice Tie Store but that’s another story – over 100,000 to date in stock. But those are for sale and they do not count. My personal stash of novelty ties - is what I am talking about. It’s quite a selection of unique fashion ties and the fun stuff like, the Wolverine, Silver Surfer, Spy vs. Spy in silk by Ralph Marlin and so on. For fashion I own many Portofino and Martin Wong ties, and collector item neckwear; Electric - Rush Limbaugh neckties. I have never counted them however estimates range at 400 – 500 neckties that are absolutely tie guy gems. Factoring in the “being fashionably correctness” values I believe I am just about right on the inventory. There are 364 days in a year and an extra day every 4 years so if I wore the same tie within a year to a place I have been to and anyone realized it I would be at very least completely embarrassed. After all, I do have a reputation to maintain. I always wanted to be the best at everything, so collecting ties in such a serious way became natural for me. Sadly enough, often, I would feel remorse at times selling a tie – like it was too nice to let it go especially if it was the last one. I have many regrets that is for sure.

Too Sexie Ties - Irvine Spectrum

I always think about ties, how their made, how to tie ‘em, and most important thing; how to sell ‘em. One thing is for sure, I possibly may have really taken too many home. Some I have never worn and there are some that I have two of by mistake. My walls are covered with neckties and they are even double and triple hanging. Even the coat rack is covered with ties. When I wake up it is the first thing I see, hundreds and hundreds of cool neckties. And when I sleep, well I’ll be honest I don’t sleep with any, however, I do dream about them. I will admit, I have slept with a few still tied around my neck, but then again, I had my shoes on, the suit, and the rest of the trimmings too.

Too Sexie Ties Novelty Necktie Collection - Irvine Spectrum

Have I always been a nut, for ties?  I’ve always loved ties - mostly, however there was a brief time that I did not like ties very much. 

Explaining this is quite simple; I must have been hung in a prior life, and could not stand to have anything tight around my neck. I was young and immature then. When I became a sophisticated man who appreciated the finer things in life; like a great bottle of wine and the company of a beautiful woman, I completely fell in love with ties.  It was as if I had a special power – a boost of self esteem when I wore ties.  So I admit it, I had a hate for ties which is hard to imagine as now I’m so fascinated by neckties now that it is actually out of control at times.  You might say that I am obsessed with ties.  I am planning to make a will soon giving everything I own, the necktie collection, the classical music CD collection and the DVD collection too to my son however he may not have the ties unless he will wear them.  If he does not agree to this then the tie collection is out if the deal and a moderator will find a museum for them. 

I guess it has become a problem. My friends think I should talk to someone about it. “So what if I am a bit eccentric and collect ties, I really don’t think it is such a big deal – is it.”

The famous, not - the infamous necktie salesman, Jeffrey Hunter - Nice Tie Store, formally Too Sexie Ties, the Irvine Spectrum Center.

Imelda R. Marcos (born Imelda Remedios Visitacion Romualdez on July 2, 1929) is currently a politician in the Philippines and was wife of 10th Philippine President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos. Upon the ascension of her husband to political power, she held various positions to the government until 1986.  She was a controversial first lady who $5-million shopping sprees to New York and Rome, reportedly owned the world’s largest collections of gems fine art by Botticelli, and Michelangelo, purchased more than 3,000 pairs of shoes.”  The former first lady was also known for holding extravagant parties for foreign dignitaries during the reign of her husband.

Read more Imelda Marcos Wikipedia - the Internet's Encyclopedia

Read more: Newsweek's Greediest People of All Time

A discussion I started on

How Many Ties Do You Own



Another forum that explores the question How many ties should a guy own

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