The fashionable Willie Brown and his fashionable ties
Commenter “huxley” has a question:
When I met him, Willie [Brown, of San Francisco] was wearing a gold tie collar pin bar something which attaches at the collar and beneath the tie so the knot juts forward.
Is there a standard name for this accessory? The web is not much help.
I could picture it in my mind. I thought I knew what huxley meant. But what on earth was it called? I hadn’t a clue.
But the internet actually is a lot of help. I tried Googling a bunch of things like “men’s jewelry for tie.” But that search kept leading me to tie bars and tie tacks. But I finally hit pay dirt with the very creative (although incorrect; there’s no chain involved) “chain for necktie that makes knot jut forward.”
Which brought me to (drum roll please): the collar pin! And the collar bar! Huxley had it (“collar pin bar something”) and didn’t even know it. There’s also a collar clip.
This guy will solemnly explain it all for you:
As you can see, collar pins had a big heyday in the 1920s and 1930s, as well as a bit of a revival in the 1950s and 1960s. Willie Brown is now 84 years old, having been born in 1935, which means that in his very formative very young years a lot of elegant men still were wearing collar pins, and when he was a young man they were doing it as well.
I think they look mighty sharp, if a man has the inclination to wear one, and the presence to pull it off.
Willie Brown apparently has the inclination—although, try as I might, I could not find a photo of him that clearly shows a collar pin. And Brown most definitely has the panache. In fact, he has long been quite renowned for his style and sartorial elegance.
From a 2010 blog post written by none other than—of all people—Roger Stone, we have this [I corrected some typos]:
From his hand-crafted Brioni suits to his extensive collection of hats, the former California Assembly Speaker could be the best dressed man in America. While most men should avoid brown as a suiting color (Philadelphia brahmin Biddle was once asked why he had over 200 identical bespoke blue suits . “Because brown [the hue, not the person] looks like shit” he replied) Willie Brown pulls it off in both double-breasted and three-piece vested models. As mayor Brown sometimes changed clothes as many as four times a day for his various public ceremonies. A master of color-co-ordination, Brown’s shoes, suit, shirt, necktie and chapeau always complement each other.
And lastly, here is Brown and Sonya Molodetskaya, the girlfriend he’s been with for quite a while:
[Russian refugee] Sonya Molodetskaya was 30 years old when she first met Willie Brown at the restaurant Ana Mandara at Fisherman’s Wharf in 2002. She admitted to San Francisco Magazine that she was engaged to another man at the time, but that night, she was out with friends.
Brown was with Carolyn Carpeneti, the mother of his youngest daughter, at the time. (Their daughter, Sydney, was born in 2001). One of Molodetskaya’s friends knew Brown, and he asked for an introduction.
Molodetskaya and Brown have been together ever since. She told Haute Living in 2018 that she and Brown speak on the phone 5 or 6 times each day…
Molodetskaya has long acknowledged that she did not think Brown was exclusive with her. In 2013, she told San Francisco Magazine, “He was always a playboy. So did he change for me? I don’t think so.”
That San Francisco Magazine interview is from 2013, and it paints a portrait of Molodetskaya that makes you realize why she and Brown are together. She’s pretty audacious herself, has a sense of humor, and is quite the fashion plate. There’s something very forthright about her:
Neither Molodetskaya nor Brown cooks—they typically eat out seven nights a week. Her favorite restaurant is Kokkari; he gravitates to North Beach Restaurant, Waterbar, and Quince. Brown, she says, is “basically going blind” with retinitis pigmentosa, so she reads him the menu. Because his hearing isn’t what it used to be, she reads loudly. What do they talk about? Usually not politics. From the beginning, “he knew I knew nothing about politics. He knew I wasn’t rich, that there was nothing he could get out of me. But he still found subjects of interest to talk to me about. You would think it was just to get me in bed, but 10 years later, it’s still the story.”
That’s quite a track record for a man who writes firmly in his memoir, “I convey to women who are in relationships with me, ‘Because we go out, because we date, because we sleep together, that doesn’t mean there’s supposed to be anything permanent. Do not expect it. Do not demand it.’” In his column, Brown always refers to Molodetskaya coolly as “my friend” or “my lady friend.”
Nevertheless, Wilkes Bashford, Willie’s droll best friend and clothier, says that that’s just Brown talking big…adding that you have only to look at the longevity of the Molodetskaya–Brown pairing to see that there are genuine feelings between them. “C’mon, 10 years tells the story, doesn’t it? They have as much fun now as before. They’ve maintained the excitement and allure. When it really gets down to it, they respect each other.”…
When I approach [Brown] and tell him that I’m working on an article about Molodetskaya, he shrieks in mock disdain: “You are?! Why?” Brown doesn’t like to be upstaged. I ask him for the secret of their longevity. “Ten years ago! Ten years ago!” he repeats, as if he can’t believe it. “I fear the Russian Mafia,” he says, his eyes twinkling mischievously. “She’s a fun lady. She’s really funny.”
And he was attracted to Molodetskaya at Ana Mandara…“Instantly,” he interjects. “Instantly!”
“Instantly what?” Molodetskaya calls over her shoulder from the jewelry counter, where she’s been eavesdropping. “Instantly fall in love with me?”
“No, never!” Brown says. “Attracted, yes. Love, no.”
“I guess our stories are different,” Molodetskaya replies, belting out a belly laugh that carries across the room.
And here she is:
And here they are (although alas, no collar pin):
Willie was born for San Francisco even though he was actually born in Texas and very poor.
All I need to know about him is that he gave us Kamala.
An aside – the gentleman from “Gentleman’s Gazette”, who explained all one needs to know about collar accessories, has many interesting blog posts about haberdashery and etiquette. I stumbled upon his website/blog a few weeks ago and wasted an hour or two watching his clues about table etiquette.
Definitely an upgrade from Kamala, probably in looks but especially in manner.
“She’s a fun lady. She’s really funny.” No substitute for that!
There is another type of collar pin that relies on one end being screwed on. Think of a dumbbell where one side can be screwed on and off. That was more popular in the 80s. Now it belongs with another relic of the 80s, the YPT – yellow power tie.
Willie is still married to Blanche.
Had screw pin with the chain in the 80s.. button suspenders, white collar and cuffs with colored shirt. stood 6’2″. long red hair near waist about 200 i think… and the last of the people who seem to know how to tie a double windsor knot with dimple… no watch, no jewelry, pocket watch from my grandfather (elgin)… moisanite earring…
Swing dancing windows on the world… lindy hopp… jitterbug… dressing to the 9s
swing 46? ella lounge? sophias?
ah well… still waters run deep..
neo: Thanks for running that down!
The CBS New article featuring Brown’s advice on clothes was pleasant and sensible, though it made me look up “ecru” again.
It was an “of course!” moment to learn one of Brown’s best friends is Wilkes Bashford himself. Bashford runs an eponymous, expensive clothing store off Union Square in SF.
The pictures of Brown and Molodetskaya support what I was trying to say about Brown and Harris — it didn’t have to be a purely sex for power transaction.
There is another type of collar pin that relies on one end being screwed on. Think of a dumbbell where one side can be screwed on and off.
Andy: That was what I saw him wearing.
Andy and huxley:
The video deals with that type of collar pin as well, towards the end. It’s called a collar bar, and he starts talking about it at around 3:38 and finishes at 5:21.
Literal Russian collusion. Also, if you’re a powerful Democrat, they will let you…
Hey, more power to Willie.
He is very intelligent and thoughtful. Don’t agree with his politics but he is someone to listen too.
The middle class values – faithfulness to one’s spouse, thrift, tolerance – are all disappearing in this country, just like the middle class.
This post will most likely become one of my favorites. It makes me wonder how dress has evolved, especially the standard of everyday dress today in the West (which has gown way, way down in my personal opinion).
My recollection is that Ross Perot was a collar pin/collar bar guy.
San Francisco, and much of the SF Bay Area, has been run like a Principality for as long as I can remember (and I predate Silicon Valley by a god bunch of moons…). Brown, the Burton brothers, Diane, Nancy, …
I long for the establishment of sane, non-cult-of-personality government here (but only for 5 minutes each week. No point in dwelling on drug dreams.)
Brown and ties. I’d read he only wears a tie once. Probably in Herb Caen’s column.
Here’s a sample of Willie at work in 2008 re: Obama/Rev. Wright:
Willie Brown … had some hindsight advice for Barack Obama, on how the Democratic presidential frontrunner might have finessed the firestorm over his controversial pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright.
“If it was me, I’d have bought him a ticket to Rwanda,” said Brown. “Then I’d invite him back for the inauguration.”
https://www.independent.com/news/2008/may/08/interview-willie-brown/
We are damn lucky Kamala Harris doesn’t have Brown’s charm, wit or instincts.
Hey, more power to Willie.
He is very intelligent and thoughtful. Don’t agree with his politics but he is someone to listen too.
Agree totally. Willie is a charmer and the smartest Democrat in California.
Andy:
“Think of a dumbbell where one side can be screwed on and off.”
That’s no way to talk about Molodetskaya.
throw in a pez nez…
Neo, you are now my goto pundit on all things fashion, among other topics OF COURSE. What do you think about the outfit worn by the junior senator from AZ on the Senate floor?
outfit
As for me, I wouldn’t kick her out of bed for eating crackers but not an elegant look.
The tie pin immediately brought this to mind:
“Time to turn back and descend the stair,
With a bald spot in the middle of my hair —
(They will say: “How his hair is growing thin!”)
My morning coat, my collar mounting firmly to the chin,
My necktie rich and modest, but asserted by a simple pin —
(They will say: “But how his arms and legs are thin!”)”
Makes clear the notion of the tie being “asserted.” While Prufrock slightly predates the 1920s, I suspect we have identified the meaning of the “simple pin.”
I moved out of San Francisco down the Peninsula the week Brown was elected mayor and felt like I was getting out just in time. It says something, not good, that he now sounds like the voice of sanity there comparatively at least.
Certainly there is something of the charming rogue in Brown not unlike Bill Clinton. And without gushing too much I would say that despite the numerous political dealings he has been involved in he is more forthright and less mendacious than Clinton. As Lynn says he is always someone to listen to.
Bob:
Be careful what you wish for:
https://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/11/kyrsten-sinema-becomes-first-openly-bisexual-member-of-congress/
No sense or fashion sense.
Om, re first openly bisexual, I confess all the sexual permutations leave me confused. How is that different to Sen. Tammy Baldwin being the “first openly gay” person elected to senate??
href = “https://www.cnn.com/2012/11/07/politics/wisconsin-tammy-baldwin-senate/index.html”
I am not an expert on this but my understanding is that female (XY) homosexuality is a lot more flexible than male (XX) homosexuality and it is common for females to be switch hitters.
Michel Legrand, three-time Oscar winner and composer of such classic film songs as “The Windmills of Your Mind,” “I Will Wait for You,” “You Must Believe in Spring” and “What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?,” along with the groundbreaking musical score for “The Umbrellas of Cherbourg,” has died. He was 86
Bob:
The first openly “what ever” to be “where ever” in wooly knee length boots. Could have been worse, picture her in a Catwoman outfit on the floor of the Senate.
You forget that science and biology has nothing to do with, oops. Trust Science! 🙂
Bob:
I’ve never heard it’s common for females to be switch hitters. By “switch hitters,” do you mean bisexual?
Bob:
I think she figures if you’ve got it, flaunt it. Many of the young women in Congress have a similar attitude, although maybe not quite as extreme. One of the reasons they were elected—although certainly not the only reason—was their looks. It seems to be a Thing to elect pretty young women these days.
I don’t really fault them for it. Politicians use whatever tools are at their fingertips. She’s using what she has, and I guess it works.
Time will tell if Ms Sinema is as intelligent as Ms Cortez, although Ms Sinema has more experience having represented AZ. If you have to elect a loon it might as well be an attractive loon?
Hand-crafted Brioni suits on a mere public servant, huh?