I Don’t Give A Duck

Lately I have feeling more confident about the way that I dress. I have my New Year’s Resolution to thank for a lot of that. I have been wearing a jacket and tie twice a week for almost a year now. What used to be foreign to me is now very familiar. One of the biggest changes is my attitude towards emblematic, club, or critter ties… whatever you want to call them. You know, ties covered in heraldic shields, upland game, and favorite prep pastimes.  I didn’t think that I would be able to pull off one of these ties until I was well into my 40’s, but now I just don’t give a duck. Not a single flying duck!

I have accumulated a few duck emblematic ties even though I am not sure quite why I am drawn to them. The only hunting that I have done is at the grocery store or at my most rugged the famers market, and never for duck. However, I have grown quite fond of them. My best guess is that I have read the OPH (Official Preppy Handbook) one too many times. In celebration of my new found confidence I thought that I should share my little collection of ties, but first I leave you with a few words from the OPH on this very subject.

 Straight from the OPH – THE DUCK MOTIF

The duck is the most beloved of all totems. The duck suggests  hunting,  water,  Maine – all the things worth thinking about. The basic duck is the mallard. The most common view of the duck is silhouette, although the duck in flight runs a close second. Three-dimensional decoys are nearly as popular and may appear as lamp bases, planters, doorstops, candlesticks, and paper weights.  Ducks themselves – real ducks – may be of little interest. It is the representation of the duck that counts. And the less the object has to do with ducks, the more it cries out for duck adornment. Ducks are stenciled, engraved, embroidered. Embossed, debossed, appliqued, mounted, and otherwise emblazoned on wood, brass, fabric, leather. silver, glass, crystal – anything.

 

Duck Tie 1Duck Ties 2Duck Ties 3Duck Ties 4Duck Ties 5

oxford cloth button down
Jerrod Swanton is a simple man interested in simple, classic, and traditional style.

7 Comments on "I Don’t Give A Duck"

  1. Erik says:

    “…not a single flying duck!”

    I see what you did there.

    I like emblematic ties as they help me break up my striped tie obsession and seem to look especially nice with university striped shirts. I have a wine colored tie with pheasants on it and a navy tie with hound dogs on it. I recommend checking out The Tie Bar and going to the “conversational ties” section. They often have some neat choices at an awesome $15 a tie.

  2. Sarah says:

    First off all – you are so freaking funny! This is great. Also I love how you are feeling good about how you dress. You should feel good and confident every time you leave the house, I think it shows and it is something that other people, particularly women can see. It is something other people might not necessarily attribute to confidence, but they will subconsciously feel there is an air about you that attracts them… unable.to.resist. Take care J!

  3. Aaron D says:

    Nice collection of ducks! Just add in the bean “duck” boots and you have New England written all over you.

    Here’s my submission:

    From the days when Orvis sold ties!
    http://img34.imageshack.us/img34/3416/54bm.jpg

  4. RP says:

    I was just checking up on your blog and absolute love the title of this post 🙂 Hope you’re well!

  5. oxford cloth button down says:

    Erik – I agree with just about everything you said!

    Sarah – Thank you kindly, and you are freakin’ funny too!

    RP – Thanks for checking up on me. You know that you are always welcome around here 🙂

    Aaron – Nice addition!

  6. hardline_42 says:

    I, too, share an uncanny affinity for ducks (though I do, and have waterfowl hunted for many years). The mallard is, in fact, the quintessential trad duck. It’s not completely drab and colorless like the black duck (black isn’t trad, anyway) but it’s certainly not so ostentatious and elaborate as the wood duck (all those colors would be ok if they were on the duck’s pants, though). Just a brilliant, yet tasteful, shock of iridescent hunter green on its head and neck, a simple white band below that (pearls? perhaps a white turtleneck?) and a flash of brilliant blue when it takes to flight. To wear a duck motif is to wield its elegant, understated power and intrinsic beauty like a silk totem. Also, they’re freakin’ delicious.

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