I'm kind of intrigued by the use of "sewmanship," too.  Are they making a claim that men sewed the ties (which seems unlikely), or that the ties were sewed so well that they're up to some sort of masculine standard?  Does really good stitching make something masculine??  Funny. 

What year was this?

Wow, those are ugly ties. I realize that's a petty thing to take from this but... wow, those are ugly ties!

"Ties that tell her it's a man's world: a world with compact discs, strange insects, interplanetary conflict, and cats with invisible bodies."

A woman with makeup, lipstick, prepared hair, and earrings... in a robe and slippers... on her knees... serving breakfast in bed to a man who, similarly inexplicably, is wearing his english-cuff shirt and INTENSELY UGLY TIE. She looks at his tie (ostensibly thinking he needs his eyes checked), he looks "over his kingdom". Symbolism abound.

Also, Gwen:
> I am more than happy to cede the “power-packed patterns” on those ties to the world of men.
The only men who I think would accept these "power-packed patterns" probably work in waste reclamation.

What the hell is with the tie in the middle? Are those chopsticks passing through the colour blindness test things?

Vintage sexism... if only it were totally a thing of the past.

But, as for the ties, I collect ties for fiber arts projects. I can't tell you how much I'm now lusting after these... especially the greenish one in the center!

There is so much to say here about gender roles and "hegemonic masculinity" and the like, as well as the general phenomenon of sexism in advertising. However, I'm sure many other readers are far more expert in these topics and can do a much better analysis that I can. 

All I can really do is ask why the hell is he wearing a tie in bed? Seriously, did he go to bed in that tie or wake up, put the tie on and then come back to bed wearing it? You should not be wearing ties in bed. That's about all I have to say. 

I wonder how many wives bought the Christmas tie for their husbands!

". . . that tell her it's a man's world . . . and make her so happy it is

Riiiight. A tie is gonna make a woman so happy to be a second-class human.

What does it do---iron itself AND the rest of the laundry, give her excellent oral sex while the husband is asleep, hypnotize the kids into behaving, cook dinner, and buy her pearls and diamonds out the wazoo so that the only surviving characteristic of it being a man's world is that she doesn't need to get a job to live the high life?

Didn't women typically go shopping and buy ties for their husbands? Would make this really ironic if that was largely true.

Most interesting to me is how he's totally not even looking at her. Seriously, trace his line of sight with your finger - he's looking directly at the blank space above her head. She, meanwhile, seems to be positioning that tray so as to best cause/avoid a sudden groin-stabbing.

Is this due to the illustrator not giving a darn or some sort of silent, possibly subconscious social satire? A mystery, alas, for the ages.

Van Huesen . . .
is the best possible shirt . . .
. . . is the best possible shirt . . .
. . . . . .is the best possible shirt . . .
that we could ever give Dad, all of us pitching in,
and that I could ever snatch from Canal Street bins, years later!
NEVER doubt a Van Huesen . . . . .
(ellipses with excessive spacing work here so well; 
ask MadMen)

Tommy, Mom, and I, would shop late for sales.  I wish we could look at these pictures and be there again . . .
WE WERE ALL STRONG PROPONENTS OF THE ERA --
focus on the real issues,
not the cumzines gone-bye ! ! !

(still no ERA, huh, trash monitors?)

It's poignant that some poor working stiff thinks a grim necktie makes him more desirable. The ad agency 'mad men' are laughing behind their hands. Irony wasn't invented last week.

Van Heusen makes low quality men's wear anyways, why would they make good advertising?

This is disgusting beyond words.

Lord help her if she gets you some crappy girly tie for Christmas. She'll be wearing that breakfast tray if she does. Be warned.

For those have recently undergone a humo(u)r bypass that was entirely sarcastic. 
Nobody in their right mind would want one of those ties.

I don't know which is more unlikely, my wife getting dolled up and bringing me breakfast in bed, or me wearing a white shirt and tie with my pajamas in anticipation of said breakfast.  I suspect any wife who saw that ad required a good stiff drink to get her laughter under control.

I do know that if anyone buys me one of those ties for Christmas, I'm buying a shotgun on Boxing Day so I can take the tie outside and put it out of its misery.

Who to hell wears a shirt and tie to bed? Bizarre even for 1951.

I know if I was married to somebody who got up, shaved, brylcreamed, put on a shirt and tie, and then got back into bed to await breakfast, I too would be submissive and non-confrontational. Until the people with the straight jacket showed up. 

Funny how ties like this are now relegated to goofy retro theme-parties and trust-fund hipsters who've graduated from pork-pie hats.

All of you commenting on the absurdity of being well dressed in bed... your missing the point: Its all in the power of the tie. For all you know, that tie is like some miracle from Peter Popoff. All you gotta do is put it on and free money comes to your house. Furthermore, your wife will do everything and will be replaced on a monthly basis with a more exotic form...

$2.00!

I know this thread is dead but I wanted to point out the woman's expression isn't one of smiling happiness like you might expect to see. In fact, we're not really sure WHAT her expression is - maybe fear?

I wonder if the advertisers did that on purpose. "Show her it's a man's world and watch her cower in fear!"

That can't be real - why on earth is he dressed in bed, and why is she kneeling???

I hate the ad, but would kill for one of those ties... I loooove those ties :)

I have to present about this ad any idea what I can say about equality and how to change the ad so there is No sexism

gAY

gayy

lol the comment section is seething

YOU CAN BE YOUR OWN HERO. YOU ARE SPECIAL, YOU'RE UNIQUE AND THATS WHAT MATTERS! YOURE NOT A FREAK, YOURE NOT A WEIRDO. DONT THINK ABOUT WHAT OTHER PEOPLE SAY BEHIND YOUR BACK. BECAUSE JUST AS LONG AS YOU BELOVE IN YOURSELF, YOU CAN BE YOUR OWN HERO. YOU GO GURL 💅💅💅💅💅