Back to the Naughty '40s

Jasja Boelhouwer, aka Cad Van Swankster, runs a stall in Alfie's Antiques Market specialising in vintage 1940s and 1950s menswear. His customers (some of them musicians in swing revival bands) can choose themes such as Art Deco, Wild West, Hawaii and pin-up girls.

“I have customers who only want ties with aviation motifs or advertising,&#8221 ; he says. “Plain ones are almost impossible to find.”

Perhaps the epitome of the brash 1940s tie is the nude pin-up print, which appears on the front of the tie or hidden “peek-a-boo& #8221;-style on the reverse. In a modern context, they are quaint period pieces, yet in their heyday these politically insensitive, semi-pornographic items were the preserve of society's underbelly. Wider than wide and totally in-your-face, these were worn by pimps and racketeers, who made damn sure their girls' assets were on show. “Any tie with a pin-up girl on it pushes its value into the hundreds,” says Boelhouwer.

Another rarity from the 1940s tie rack are prints signed by Salvador Dal', an artist with few hang-ups about using his name for commercial purposes, who designed film sets for Hollywood and even launched his own fragrance.

During the post-war period, the Spanish surrealist licensed his name to a number of tie manufacturers and his creations such as “Gypsy Mandolin” and “Flame

more: news.ft.com/cms/s/6e3c096a-ed4c-11d8-a587-00000e25 (101)

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