The Two-Tone Tie

The Orange and Yellow Two-toned Tie

I first developed a sense of fashion on my mission to Tokyo, Japan.  It seemed that all of the Japanese businessmen had the latest and greatest fashion.

I felt that in order to better relate with those I was trying to teach, and for them to better accept me as their teacher, I needed to up my fashion.  I didn't have much money, but I was able to buy two cheap (yet fashionable) pairs of slacks,  a few cheap dress shirts, and several nice ties.

At that time in Tokyo, two-toned ties were the big fad.  The blade of the necktie would be one color, the tail another.  Those were the kind of ties I bought.

Most ties have what's called a "keeper loop": an extra piece of fabric that is sewn onto the backside of the blade of the necktie.  When the tail of the necktie is placed through the keeper loop after knotting, it helps to keep the tail out of sight.

Well, I never used the keeper loop.  I didn't want to keep the tail hidden.  I wanted people to see the tail of my ties, to notice they were a different color from the blade, to know that I had two-tone ties and that I was fashionable.

I will never forget the lesson Sister Wada, my mission president's wife (affectionately known as the "mission mom") taught me with regards to one of those ties.



I wore one of those ties--one with an orange blade and a yellow tail--to a Zone Leader Conference.  We met in the mission home for this conference.

I remember every detail so vividly.  I was putting on my shoes in the genkan (entryway) as I was preparing to leave.  Sister Wada approached me.  She genuinely and motherly took the tail of my necktie and gently tucked it into the keeper loop.

"This goes in here, Elder Orton," she said sweetly.

I immediately protested.  "I don't put it in there on purpose.  I want people to see that it's two colors."

She smiled, like one would smile at a silly explanation from a school boy.  But there was love and knowing in that smile.

"For males, the silk is only on the inside of the kimono, where no one can see, except for a tiny bit which is visible around the trim.  The silk is covered with intricate hand-stitched and hand-dyed designs and patterns, and only the owner himself knows it's true beauty.  Only those who have an eye for fine silk notice what little can be seen along the edges.

"So, the most beautiful things don't need to be displayed, we just know inside ourselves that they are there, and they are only noticed by those who are looking for them."

I still have that tie.  In fact, it is my favorite tie, because of the lesson that is tied to it.  Since that time, I always tucked the tails of my ties into the keeper loop.  I had learned that those who were looking would notice the subtlety of the "beauty" of that fashion.

The same is true of people as well.  Beauty is on the inside.  It does not need to be displayed.  If people are looking for it, they will see it.