Maybe you thought I was exaggerating when I said the winner of our Ugly Tie Contest would win more than a dozen new ties. Photos and descriptions of each of the prize ties are after the jump.A reminder: You’ve got a little more than a week to enter to win them: You need a photo of yourself and the worst tie you’ve got. Click here for all the info. And to see the entries so far, click here.First up, three "high-roller" ties. From left: (1) Usually I have to go through manufacturers to wrangle prizes, but the staff at Neiman Marcus in Scottsdale offered this Ermenegildo Zegna tie, $155, of their own volition. (Thanks, Lisa and Katie!) Too bad the web isn’t more interactive, because you should feel how soft and smooth it is. This style is only available in-store, but click here to see other Zegna ties sold on the NM web site. (2) Online retailer Bird Dog Bay let me pick which one of its ties I thought would make a perfect summer tie — and what better than one with "summer" in its name and floating seed pods in its pattern? Summer Wind tie in violet, $75. (3) I think Ike Behar’s grid tie is a year-round classic: conservative but not boring. It’d work well with either a navy suit or a brown corduroy blazer. $85 at At Ease, Scottsdale Fashion Square.

Nautica sent us six — SIX! — ties from its spring/summer collection. (My favorite, I have to admit, might be the most staid of the six — the banker’s blue one at top middle. The one to its right is a close second, though.) Each is $39.50 at Dillard’s. Palm Beach-based Belisi let me pick one tie — the Arabian Starburst at left — and also included the Palm Beach Palace style, center, too. Each of their patterns, $43, is also available in pocket squares, something that makes me want to become a lot more natty. If only it weren’t so hot right now, a blazer and pocket square would be my new uniform. Instead, I’ll settle for adding designer and founder Peter Belisi to my MySpace page. The Kenneth Cole Reaction tie, right, makes a fine addition to the brown family. It’s $39.50 at stores like Macy’s and Dillard’s, or find other Kenneth Cole Reaction ties here. And now some with a little whimsy! Our photographer loved the Vicky Davis flip tie (below left) in the Dog House pattern — Scotties on the front, tiny houses on the back — and was sad to learn that Davis had died in September 2006. Now her designs are only available on Web sites like Absolute Ties. … will they become collector’s items? What better symbol of Tommy Bahama lifestyle than a palm tree (below right)? How about dozens of them? If you can’t get away to the islands, you can wear a piece of them. Find the tie for $89.50 at the Tommy Bahama emporium at Kierland Commons, the outdoor shopping center that straddles the Phoenix/Scottsdale line.

Posted in: Contests |

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.