‘Fit to Be Tied: Vintage Ties of the Forties & Early Fifties.’

Author: By Rod Dyer and Ron Spark; with a brief but sincere introduction by actor and well-known tie-wearer Harry Anderson.

Info: Abbeville Press, 1987, $21.95, 96 pages, hardcover.

Happily, fabulous photographs and illustrations outnumber text in this clever homage to neck art from a time when cars were wide and so were ties.

For example, on fish ties: “You can bait a few of your coworkers with these catchy ties.” And, “Many a man felt that an exotic bird on the chest was better than two dog ties in the closet.”

Take another cue from the chapters: “The Tie-Rless Collector,” “Celebri-Ties and Tie-Coons,” “Eternal Veri-Ties,” “The American Tie-In,” “Taking Liber-Ties,” “Adver-Ties-Ing” and “Tie-Died: The Forties Go Underground.”

Actually, many of these ties are funky enough to be modern-day creations, so take note. Remember the primary rule of fashion: What goes around, comes around.