Rahul Khanna: Ties that bind

If you’re someone with a collection of ties that can’t be formals, here are some ideas of what you can do with them

Tie it right

How to best utilise your tie collection

I have a thing for collecting quirky ties. But I don’t know where to wear them to—they aren’t apt for formal office events or regular corporate meetings.

—Akash, Mumbai

I’m all for owning whatever brings you joy but, as a minimalist, one of my pet peeves is the act of collecting for the sake of collecting. A tie’s raison d’être is—to be worn. And if the ones you’ve collected are too OTT for that, then you are just being cruel by sentencing them to languish, neglected in a cupboard.

If you’re too knotted up in sentimentality and not yet ready to cut the emotional ties to your ties, how about these options:

• Incorporate them into your off-duty looks. A successful marriage of classic and casual is possible, although this could end up being impractical given the Indian climate, and if your leisure activities are of the athletic variety (a tie on a cross country bicycle ride, dangling over spinning wheels, is simply an accidental strangulation waiting to happen).

•Speaking of which, if you have four-legged family members, repurpose ties into stylish leashes.

At the end of the day, these are all temporary fixes to a larger issue. IMHO, all roads lead to the donation bin so that your marginalized neckties can finally fulfill their destinies. Then, invest in a selection of high-quality, classic accessories to replace them. Because, whether it’s haberdashery or humans, quirky and frivolous can be amusing, but, ultimately, the ones that deserve a place in your life are the ones that you can unquestionably count on to see you through any situation.

Rahul Khanna is a “boutique actor”, whose sartorial statements and good looks often send hearts aflutter. He goes by @mrkhanna on Instagram

From HT Brunch, July 2, 2022

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