Tie Me Up, Tie Me Down





Narrow ties are great, with the right outfit of course. They look silly with double breasted suits, and sillier if you are styling a 70′s sport coat from your dad’s closet. There have always been narrow ties, even at the height of 70s excess, and I have a couple I’ve kept for years. (The advantage in keeping old ties is that one day they will be truly unique, an you will never appear in the same (or similar) tie as someone else at a party, or at work.) Ties allow us to express individuality, although I tend to draw the line at ties that scream “look at me!”

So stripes in unusual colors, plain solids, woven patterns, and yes, the occasional Hermes tie, should happily coexist in any closet. Choosing a tie from a lesser-known maker, or from a designer that doesn’t produce a pattern by the millions, is preferable as far as I’m concerned since I like my tie to have few brothers roaming the planet, or to be an only child if at all possible. A Matsuda tie from the eighties is one of my favorites, but I get also complimented on my Michele Savoia tie that I believe to be one of a kind. And if a favorite tie is simply too wide to be ever worn under any circumstances (say, if it exceeds 3.5 inches), Tie Crafters in NY will size it down professionally to whatever width you like, breathing new life into your closet for less than the cost of couple of beers.

Labels: Fashion, Homme, Style     permalink

6 thoughts on “Tie Me Up, Tie Me Down

  1. Good Afternoon,

    I really love the blue on the rep tie. I was wondering what your take is on neckties that are just three inches wide. Could they work with double breasted, as well as with single breasted jackets?

    Respectfully,

    G. Mangiapane

  2. Let me say first I enjoy your site here very much.
    With that out of the way let me also say I have been looking for a tie just like the navy polka dotted one pictured. Can you point me in the right direction or are we looking at your personal collection?

    Thanks in advance.

    • Thanks very much. The tie is from my personal collection, and is an old one. But navy polka dot ties are reasonably easy to find–I would check some of the familiar sources, such as J.Crew, Brooks Brothers, J. Press, etc.. Otherwise, for a vintage tie, I would look on eBay.

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