Dubious ties

Much as Lord Bassington-Bassington admires people who are perfectly and traditionally dressed, His Lordship cannot quite pull this off himself. The explanation says a lot about the quirks - some would perhaps call them flaws - in His Lordship's character. For even if Lord Bassington-Bassington was raised on European high culture, there is no denying that His Lordship's tastes tend towards what can be called the subcultural.

This is probably the legacy of a youth (mis)spent skulking around the darker corners of the music culture and the fringes of radical politics. A youth that His Lordship should probably have left far behind, but, as any reader of these Chronicles will notice, that has not happened.

Lord Bassington-Bassington favours a style of dress that has been disparagingly described as "conservative" or "burgeoise" (His Lordship takes this as compliments) or, as one of His Lordhip's old friends once put it, "you're so straight you're twisted". While there are elements of truth in this, it is not the whole story either. For in His Lordship's outfits there is usually a dissonant note somewhere. It's often obvious in His Lordship's taste for footwear that is too polished, too pointy or too high (or a bit "wrong" in some other respect). It can also be seen in his choice of neckwear.

So since it's Wednesday, it feels appropriate to take a look at Lord Bassington-Bassington's collection of bow ties.

This little collection of strange bows comes from sources such as New and Lingwood and Favourbrook. The bow in the back is a Shriner tie – a nod to Lord Bassington-Bassington's interest in Freemasonry, as well as to the conspiracy nuts who claim that the staff here at the Chronicles are part of some Masonic-pharmaceutical conspiracy. The Shriners' Islamically inspired imagery also has the potential to annoy Islamophobes, which His Lordship considers a nice bonus. Fun, sure. But is it tasteful? That is another matter entirely.

Luckily, Lord Bassington-Bassington is also in possession of a few bows that are less subcultural. Though some of those, too, tend toward the overstated. To use an understatment.

As Lord Bassington-Bassington puts it, "One hopes one doesn't look too ridiculous".