My Grandfather’s Tie Clip

This is my grandfather’s tie clip. It was rediscovered by my mother after years of collecting dust in a drawer in my father’s dresser. When she found it I realized that my father, who as a South Texas rancher doesn’t wear a tie all that often, hadn’t laid claim to it as part of his daily wear.

I would.

My grandfather was a corporate attorney in Mountain Brook for years. Before that, he had served his country, the way many men did in his day, in the Army. A man of my grandfather’s background had a particular way of doing things. He slicked his hair back, even on the weekends. He wore his loafers with no socks, but never to the office. And he wore a tie around his neck. And even more specifically, he wore a tie clip to keep the tie from flopping around in the wind.

It is no statement on my father at all, but I like this type of intentionality in something as seemingly unimportant as the way you keep your tie in place.

It has been said by many people, and I am surely not the first, that as men we often are in search of our grandfather’s style more than our dads. While I am sure that varies slightly depending on the age of the man and the generation he represents, but it is true for me.

-WHM