So, I have been back numerous times since, most often perusing their fantastically textured ties, their summery bow ties, the start of them getting some clothing and their wallets, phone cases, business card holders and more.
We were going to meet, James, a fellow manager at Herbs, there. We were one of the first people there as I had the NCAA Tournament to watch (ie-that UConn vs. Arizona post) so we didn't want to go late and stay all night. We wandered through looked at the goods and waited a bit for James to get there as he was fashionably late.
Once he arrived we walked through the new space with him and looked at their Altea Milano ties, Pierrepont Hicks neckwear, Corgi socks, Fred Perry polos, a great collection of vintage tie bars and cufflinks and books, notebooks and accessories that a gentleman would admire. We also stopped on the ID Design side, a furniture space for design and looked at vases, modern furniture and accessories.
Meanwhile, I found a Pierrepont Hicks bow tie and Katy found a tiny ring holder with the "at" @ symbol on it to put her rings in while she's getting ready. We people watched and finally got in line to get going to make our way to watch the UConn tournament game.
James and I said we were going to go and "dress to the 9's." And I tried.
Katy went very nautical in her striped long sleeve crew neck shirt with a navy blazer styled with the arms rolled up and a nautical anchor necklace on.
I wore my new Clark's Desert boots with my more vintage Levi's from J. Crew last fall. I had on a charcoal belt on from Club Monaco a light blue oxford from Ralph Lauren and a Pierrepont Hicks tie casually fastened around my neck. It was a cool night so I layered with a DKNY charcoal blazer and a heavier DKNY navy blazer with vertical stripes giving it some differentiation from all of the solids I had on.
Ok, back to the story. We were "dressing to the 9's." I wanted to be trendy, fashionable, textured and layered since it was cold and I wanted to wear an oxford and a Pierrepont Hicks tie. So yeah, we were on our way out but the guy who rang me up noticed my tie and said "you should meet the creators of your tie." And around the corner comes Mac. It was perfect timing. He might have overheard but he looked right at me and said something to the effect of "I designed that tie" or "that's my tie." I shook his hand and he suggested we should meet his wife, Katherine.
Well we wandered to the other side of the dividing wall, patiently waited for a few minutes and talked with the creators of Pierrepont Hicks, Mac and Kat! It was a very fun conversation about the ties, how I wore it, how it was fun to see how 'real' people wore their products, their growing up in Minnesota and New York City and Katy and I growing up in Connecticut and California. We talked about business and how I went to Space519 in Chicago at Christmas to get my dad a Pierrepont Hicks tie but they didn't have one! They were engaging and interesting, have two young girls at home and seemed to really enjoy talking to us. We got on the subject of twitter and that we followed both the brand and Katherine herself; it was a fun 2011 connection partially through social media as I knew they'd be there at some point due to me and Katy following Katherine on twitter.
He kindly and very business like gave me his business card and encouraged me to buy ties right from him!
Oh, this is the bowtie I bought that night. And this is one I want, Nautical bow.
And I will.
I'm sure for me and Dad.
