The Paisley Rule

why you should never have too much

Paisley is a weird pattern. It’s very famous and very overplayed. It’s fun and abstract and unique… until you have a ton of it, and then it’s not unique anymore. Or until you start looking at other patterns, abstract and concrete, and then you ask, “why are twelve of my fifteen ties paisley?” They should not be. Also, you should have more than fifteen ties, you should have at least four hundred, but that’s another article.

Here’s my rule for paisley. If it’s not incredible, then it’s trash. If you have more than three pieces, you have to sell the piece you need the least. Only the three best pieces of paisley you can possibly own are viable. Anything less is just not good enough to wear.

my closet’s pole position paisley, an ancient madder tie from Rubinacci. This is the closest I’ve come to capturing these colors on camera.