Jock, I agree with you about regimental ties. Though I have several, they do not travel with me to Europe or the UK. However, I wonder about that most fundamental of striped ties, the Guards' red and blue stripe. People who are snooty about their ties point out that ties made in the UK ( hence better) are made with the stripes pointing over the wearer's left shoulder while US made ( hence not really regimental) are usually made with the stripes pointing over the wearer's right shoulder. If an officer in the Guards were to spot an obvious non-Guards member wearing an American-style red and blue tie, would he be bothered?

Interestingly, Ernest Hemingway wrote about people wearing Guards' ties (and not belonging) in the 1930s. He had a character barely avoid a fist fight over it, I believe.

As I admit above, I have ties whose stripes denote assorted UK colleges, clubs and units to which I do not belong. I believe I am separated by hundreds ( if not thousands) of miles from those who do belong and I am certainly not trying to steal their prestige. I would go out of my way to avoid that, but here in North America, there exists little risk that I would be mistaken for an Old Etonian or even the saddest former batsman for the Marylebone Cricket Club. What say you?