Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, April 8, 1990                   TAG: 9004041276
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: E-7   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: ROSE-MARIE TURK LOS ANGELES TIMES
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

THAT SPECIAL TIE COSTS MORE, BUT IT'S WORTH IT

At $65, the hand-screened, hand-sewn silk tie cost more than any of Corwin's previous ties, but he says it was worth it. Not only does it draw constant comments, it weaned him from his old habit of letting girlfriends choose $25- to $30-ho-hum styles and turned him into an eager buyer on the lookout for ties with clout.

According to a 1989 survey conducted for British-based Tie Rack (which specializes in $15-to $35-neckwear and has 42 stores in the United States), the average American male spends $15 for a tie.

But the "average" fashion hound nationwide spends closer to $50, with many of them willing to splurge $100 or more for that special little something.

As Corwin quickly learned, shopping for neckwear in 1990 is an adventure in an amazing land of expressive, often expensive, colorful expanses (most ties now tend to be 3 1/2 to 4 inches wide) covered with everything from artistic abstracts and whimsical dots to '40s flora and fauna, frolicking women and trompe l'oeil interiors.

The market has exploded with the most exciting designs and patterns anyone can remember, thanks to two camps: clothing designers, such as Giorgio Armani, who added ties (virtually all of them silk, worn summer and winter) to their repertoires; and the witty, innovative neckwear specialists such as Tie Rack, Modules, Format, Paul Smith, Howard Behar and Brian Bubb.

On the receiving end are men more interested than ever in shopping for their own clothes. As that clothing grows more costly, they have learned a few tricks from women.

New ties work wonders on older clothes and stretch a wardrobe: Change the tie (and the shirt) and a man can wear the same suit day after day if he has to.

Best of all, they allow a man to express his individuality and rise above the maddening concept of the blue, black, gray and white corporate world.

The creme de la creme of today's ties do far more than conceal shirt buttons and catch crumbs. They're fun but not frivolous, gutsy but not garish. And they're not about to be phased into obsolescence. The no-tie look might work at night. But for daytime, and for most men, a tie remains the most important accessory.

"For me, it's the icing on the cake. The only choices I have when I get up in the morning are the suit and the tie. The rest is always a white shirt, dark socks and dark shoes," explains Daniel Riganati, an East Coast executive who owns 30 ties and normally pays $25 to $30 "for a decent tie."

But typical of the trend, Riganati's most recent purchase - a Fendi suggested by a saleswoman in Dallas - cost $50.

"I didn't like it at first, but then it grew on me," he says. "People love it. It looks like a lava lamp. It's very primitive, very Fred Flintstone."

Loren Miles, president of Miles Communications Group in Los Angeles, says he will go as high as $140 or $150 for his ties.

But his personal average "is usually $80 to $125. I've definitely graduated," concedes the 34-year-old executive. "I started out paying $15 to $20." Six years ago he got into the expensive clothing habit, which necessitated changes: "When you wear an Armani suit, you don't wear a cheap tie with it."

Sales are a great way to beat the high cost of ties. So is shrewd shopping in discount and thrift stores.

John Mather, Esquire magazine's fashion editor, suggests one more route: "Our readers are buying better but less. Instead of four or five ties, they're buying just two that they love."

"If you look at a tie as such a small piece of fabric compared to other articles you wear, it does seem to be a great expense," muses well-dressed costume designer Michael Kaplan .

In defense of expensive ties ("a $50 tie holds the knot better than a cheaper one") Kaplan notes: "I think a tie determines the whole mood of what you're wearing. You can have on the most beautiful suit, but if you put on an unattractive or cheap tie or one that doesn't go with it, you can ruin the whole look." On the other hand, combine a basic suit with a great tie, he says, "and you can create the whole look."