Tie One On
Okay, that was a bad pun, especially for a post about ties. Let’s pretend that didn’t happen and move right along…
This past weekend, Josh and I had a chance to sit down with Nick Newbold and chat with him about his line of Prep & Pauper ties over a few Guinness (Guinesses? What exactly would the plural be?). Josh and I each took some notes which now look like a jumble of nonsense to me. (Josh is the legit reporter, not me. I am not used to having to keep track of things that I have written.) But I think I’ll be able to wing it.
After looking at what Nick hath wrought — by checking out the Prep & Pauper website and the tie designs — Nick turned out to be both exactly what you’d expect and totally not what you’d expect.
Though once voted best dressed at school, Nick does not consider himself part of the fashion elite. However, he does pay attention to what he wears and has an affinity for Hermes and Brooks Brother ties. He says he’s found a great source for them on the internet (which I won’t give away).
Nick’s lived in Philly, D.C. and New York, and it might catch you a little off guard to hear Nick referencing hardcore music one minute (Bad Brains and Cro-Mags…shows where he says he stood out just a little as he was the only guy wearing a pink shirt), and the next minute he’s discussing the minutiae of having his pattern printed on different gauges of silk and how he had to hunt for a tie-smith to print patterns.
Nick is quite the journeyman: he’s worked in public relations and he’s done construction. He even spent a little time with New Line Cinemas. A little while back, he left New York to return to his hometown of Philly. He frequently finds himself visiting the city these days since his tie contractor is located here, as are a bunch of his friends. Now a marathon runner (he did NYC in about 3:30, but felt like he should have done better) he says he carried around the “Prep & Pauper” phrase in his head for a while and, once he decided he was going to start making ties, immediately knew what he was going to call the company.
Although you won’t find the Prep & Pauper label in any stores (well, except for the one in Japan…and I think he mentioned another one in Philadelphia) you should definitely check out the website.
Nick’s ties are seemingly reminiscent of those made by Vineyard Vines, but they are ideologically the exact opposite. Nick’s most recent tie pattern is something of a Vines parody: it’s a whale, but it’s the whale in skeletal form. These ties are a subtle way to tell corporate America to go fuck itself.
With four ties currently out and more to come (and he hinted that some other products might be joining the ties) you can see a progression from his first tie Corporate Take Down to the most recent Wailer and they are just getting nicer. The Wailer is a heavier gauge silk and has a slightly slimmer build to it (but by no means a skinny tie). Each tie has a little tale on the tag it comes with:
Why are we wailing? Because life is anything but endless summer for working heroes. As much as we like to dream about being on vacation instead of sitting desk-side stressing over deadlines in a windowless office, we know the hard reality. P&P brings you the Wailer Tie for those endless days when your great escape seems far away and the remains of summer are nothing more than fond memories.
Exactly what I need this week. The skull and cross bones on The Corporate Take-Down ties are for folks who “anticipate a tough day ahead.”
I recently gave a test-run of the Whaler tie at an engagement party. It held up well and though I beat it up pretty well (wearing a bag with the strap crossing over the tie, sitting down, etc.), it was good as new a little while after I hung it up: no permanent creases or marks as one might observe on a cheaper tie. To hear Nick talk about obsessing over materials and workmanship, it’s clear he cares deeply about making a quality product.
Nick designs all the ties himself using Adobe illustrator (which he taught himself, and apparently taught himself pretty well). He credits the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Committee with helping him get publicity, but once you get a package from Nick you can see why people like him and his products. The tie came in a simple brown box with the Prep& Pauper logo stamped onto it in a few places. Inside the box was a brown paper package that Nick had stitched together (as he does for all of the packages) with a raised Prep & Pauper logo and closed with linen tape.
The ties themselves, while close to what you see on the website, are much more vibrant in the flesh (in the silk?). The contrasting hues really pop and you get a bit more detail; cleverly, the eyes and nose in the skull pattern are P&Ps.
You should definitely keep an eye out for more stuff from Prep & Pauper, and if you place an order say “Hi” from American Madness. Nick likes to speak to customers when he can. His desire for the personal touch is the main reason he’s been a bit wary of over-commercializing his products, which is why they aren’t being sold in too many stores. If Nick refuses to sell out, hopefully the mountain will come to Mohammad.
Oh, and Nick gave one of the best answers ever to one of the questions we asked him:
AM: What question do you wish people would ask you?
NN: “Would you like to move into my $2 million apartment?”
(Oh, also if you head over to the website, make sure and check out the Press section on the site. It is pretty nifty.)
December 27th, 2007 at
nick’s great, so are his ties. I just gave them as christmas gift to my very stylish yankee dad and my southern brother in law— they went over well with both men!