Bit lost on ties
I've never owned any ties and don't really know how to tie one either. But since I've recently picked up a worsted wool navy suit (picture attached), I think I have to fix that gap in my wardrobe. I've also got a more casual suit (second picture). I've read some stuff about neckwear but I'm overwhelmed by the sheer variety of options and the jargon. I don't know what material or patterns I should get or even how to determine my size. Any input appreciated, thank you very much.
18 Replies
Just start with solid colors, silk, cotton, linen, or wool. Primarily silk. Regimental or repp stripes usually look great, or small dots or critters. Can't go wrong with navy
Also almost always tie a four in hand knot
that part at least I already know ^^
so a solid navy silk tie would be a good first option?
Yes! It will go with everything
You could also get a knit navy tie to add some texture
Half Windsor gang
Yeah the hard part is finding a non-shiny silk tie. Shiny silk ties trend to look juvenile/cheap imo
this kind of texture maybe?
Looks good to me
If you have cash to splash Drake's is a great option
I'm happy to splash once I figure out what I like/what suits me, for now I wanna keep it a bit budget
this one is from Parsley
idk if that's okay quality or trash
Im not familiar, but 100% silk should be fine regardless
I have a tie from Polo that I really love, they go on sale sometimes as well or you could check eBay
I prefer grenadine. But you want to find a tie width that match your lapel
Get something texture, not shiny
Thrift one or two first, dont buy if you aint into tie. The cost between new and used is too great
yeah, guess I'll see if they have any textured navy ties near me
I also don't have any pocket squares but for that I think I can just get white linen
Yup one white linen is good enough. Make sure the size is good else it would sink back into your pocket
Dang I'm on my phone and don't have my copy-paste ready
I'll add it later today.
If you do solid color ties, you want visual texture, actual texture, or small pattern. Pure solid navy with only the fine ribs of silk weave doing anything is not as good as pure solid navy in a grenadine, faux grenadine, self herringbone, or with pois/pindots or small repeating pattern. Best patterns are usually on a diagonal grid.
Ties do not match lapel width per se. Ties and lapel widths match your body to some extent. Ties tend to work best in a much narrower range than lapels.
However a classic tie and a classic lapel are often the same 3.25-3.75 width so they do match sort of incidentally.
But certainly if you wanted a Neapolitan style suit with 4.5" lapels your tie would probably still be 3.25-3.75 not 4.5" wide usually. Not that you can't wear a wide tie, you can, but it's a distraction to think too much about that now haha
Anyways. Conservative ties are largely dark solid color, with above described texture/pattern. Regimental ties are less formal, and very common. Then you get into less formal ties with all manner of paisley and other patterns. For weddings, the very conservative/classic option is the wedding tie. For your first tie, conservative is a winner because nobody will ever be offended about it, it'll work for business, weddings, other social events, both happy and sad.
lovely, thank you very much :)
White linen square is a winner 99.8% of the time
Otherwise large patterns. People really like the kent wang one. Personally I like some others more. But it's not really important, just get the plain white linen one and then if you want another, reassess.