Time to play dress-up!!!

Getting the bigger two boys ready for bed is, more often than not, a seemingly random set of events that, at best, results in the boys making it to their beds, properly clothed, cleaned and teeth in good order. Oddly enough, mimicking the dog's activities on any given evening usually produces the best bedtime results for the children.

At any rate, I was expecting to travel next week for work and was going to start selecting clothes and, for once, being properly packed, well in advance of arriving at the airport, as opposed to needing to rush to the nearest department store before a meeting and procure new socks or a belt or whatever it is I failed to bring. The process tonight was a dry run which involved my suitcase while matching shirts, suits and neckties. I typically wear a suit to work but...

The boys were not terribly familiar with neckties and therefore immediately pounced on them.

1. What were they for?

   My initial answer was..."uh...nothing useful" which they didn't care for and pestered me until I came out with something more believable. I tried "useless fashion accessories that get trapped in factory equipment" but stopped myself before allowing the gory details to come to light. That said, I had to look it up myself:
   
   "Croatian soldiers served in many European armies since the seventeenth century. So in the French army in the 17th century, during the reign of Louis XIII, there was a cavalry composed exclusively of the Croats, called Royal - Cravate, which existed in the period of 1664-1789. These soldiers gave the world something that is today unavoidable in fashion: the tie, called la cravate by the French and by the Germans die Krawatte - the expression was coined from the Croatian name, and mentioned for the first time in 1651."

2. How do they work?

   Two ways and two ways only: the classic Windsor knot and the Shelby, so long as it has a proper dimple or "la sorchetta". Anything else begs to be laughed at. So there!
   

3. Does Mama wear one?

   We're not at the point in your short little life where we talk about Mama's and Dada's dress-up games.

4. Does Clara have one?

   Yes, but we call it a leash, mon petit choux. Otherwise she would be ridiculed by the other neighborhood dogs like poor, poor Max.

Anyway, Colin and Liam had great fun (Liam more than Colin, interestingly enough) having neckties before bed and claiming that they could now come to work with me. Liam now has his own tie (yellow, of course) but Colin seems wary of the whole idea and couldn't even be convinced to wrap a noose...ooops, sorry...necktie...around his trusty monkey doll.

Maybe he understands more of the world than I do?


And seriously, the pink/salmon shirt/tie combo may look a bit off but it really goes well with a dark brown suit ;)