Ben Silver Regimental Ties...

[Zemke Fan]

Some of my favorites:

If I buy the one on the bottom left, do you think anyone is going to ask me if I practice at the Royal Dental Hospital?

 

[StanleyVanBuren]

These are great. I would wear any of these.

 

[Flitcraft]

They do make excellent ties. I've worn them for years.

 

[scotrace]

Zemke, I would think that they would HAVE to turn up on the secondary market in your neck of the woods.

 

[PADDY]

A slight concern.

You KNEW this was coming.

My concern is over anyone wearing a regimental tie that they are not entitled to wear. This is 'certainly' over any British Service's ties or emblems. You've got to earn them. I know, I'm raining on folk's parades here, and I really don't like to.[huh]

There are some lovely Regt. ties out there, but if you didn't serve with that service, corps or regt. or you haven't been given an honory entitlement to wear it (ie: you weren't in the Regt. but you have a close connection to it or done work for it and been given the Regimental 'ok' to wear it), then personally, I wouldn't.

And the 'real corker' would be (as you've just touched on) is when you do wear one and someone from that Regt comes up to you and starts asking you about it (which will happen, guaranteed! It's a big club after all).

I wouldn't wear an Old School tie or University tie either, that I wasn't entitled to wear.

There is a 'get out clause' of course. As so many high street stores now sell Regt. inspired ties (especially household Div ones and nice ones like the Princess of Wale's) it's hard to tell what is real and what isn't these days (other than obvious ones like Airborne and SAS..etc).

 

[Vladimir Berkov]

I think the big difference is British vs. American. I would not wear a British regimental or school tie in England or any Commonwealth country. I would (and do) wear them in the US or anywhere else.

For one thing, the US-made regimentals are often inaccurate, not least in that the stripes go the opposite direction. Second, if you like striped ties the odds are that any pattern you use will already have been used by some school, club or regiment at some point in time. Also, the odds of anybody in the US 1.) Noticing and 2.) Caring that I wear such a tie are slim indeed. The only response I have ever gotten to a tie based on its association with a school/club/regiment is people saying "Hey, that's a Harry Potter tie!" Which in point of fact, the tie was not. (different stripe pattern, although similar colors)

 

[Zemke Fan]

Hey, I even knew who it was coming FROM...

You KNEW this was coming...

You are right about the connection in the United Kingdom with the regiments, but I have to wonder how much of a concern that is here in the USA. I certainly wouldn't wear one of these in the U.K. (or any Commonwealth nation), but I really DON'T think anyone I would run into here in the USA would recognize these as anything BUT great looking ties.

Of course, a lot of this has to do with context. I wouldn't wear my WWII uniforms ANYWHERE in public, except at events like the Reading WWII weekend where there are HUNDREDS of other guys wearing them or to an event that clearly approves vintage costumes/uniforms. And, as I said, I certainly wouldn't wear these ties in the U.K., Canada, Australia, etc. where someone could draw the wrong conclusion. So, I hear you, dear friend, but I'm still not detered. (The PRICE at $80/tie... now that's another matter.)

EDIT: I was writing before I noticed VB's post with similar sentiments.

 

[Zemke Fan]

One more thing...

Paddy: Are these stripes running in the correct UK direction, or are they reversed over here as Brooks Brothers does?

 

[Tomasso]

the US-made regimentals are often inaccurate, not least in that the stripes go the opposite direction.

This would seem to be enough to avoid encroachment of any proprietary pattern.

 

[Will]

The pictured Ben Silver ties have the stripes left hand high by the breast pocket, which is the usual orientation of British regimentals (there are some exceptions). The American bastardizations (can I say that here?) are right hand high.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

The American bastardizations (can I say that here?)

Too late: you already did.

.