A fool for spring foulard neckties

Ferragamo's Baby Tiger pattern for Spring Summer 2012

Light, airy, and full of whimsy, the silk print or foulard tie with tiny geometric shapes or figures is the perfect piece to enliven a suit in the spring.

And dismiss thoughts that a silk print is less worthy than a woven tie. Yes, a woven is hefty and it will bellow luxuriousness especially when paired with a thick, plutocratic knot. But it is heavy like a great overcoat.

The finely printed tie, made by human hand or at least mechanized screen rather than the spew of an inkjet, can inspire singing in the rain, a shuffle and a tap, a game of catch. It can wave in a warm breeze and sway like a budding willow branch.

Choose a simple four-in-hand knot and a young man's pointed or Eton collar, you pick, for a change.

Hermes horses, Ferragamo horsebits, Liberty florals, Drakes muted madders are hardly jokes or novelties but wearing one would certainly be original.

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