Quintessential Knit Ties: Comprehensive Discussion & Appreciation

Bespoke DJP · Feb 11, 2016

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MrTRC said:
I have three shibumis - the zigzag silk knits - which are essentially rebranded sozzis/sorleys ( i might be wrong) and the stated measurements are also on the generous side.

The Knottery i believe makes silk-knits in larger widths and i had old RLPL and Tom Fords which were sized around 8.5cm ( i sold them).

RE: Subject matter of the thread, i restate that i see what you are going for and the parameters that pertains to this. I know it is not easy and Good Luck.

Dear @MrTRC

Thank you again for your contribution and your comments.

Allow me to re-describe how I see the scope of this Thread and therefore in which way it may differentiate itself from other Threads.

Let's say that you or another fellow SFer has a knit tie that I would really want to buy one just like that. Is a WAYWRN picture giving me - or someone else for that matter - any piece of information, beside the maker and the visual IRL aesthetic result? I would say no. What any gentleman would like to know, apart from "look at my new tie" or "I received these ties today" comments coupled with a picture? Perhaps something like the 8 points of my presentation and a brief commentary of how the tie really is.

Only by sharing this information would someone be able, first to decide whether this tie is for him or no, and second to get the source (retailer) that he should look at. I believe that this is a quite complete presentation which produces a real benefit to all us SFers, more or less what you would expect (information wise) from a friend of yours say in NY, NY who has access to a tie and you don't!

I know that this requires more time and effort, but my basic presumption is that a Forum must have not only an entairtaining, but mostly an informative character.

I thank you again, and really want to read your next comments.

Best

Dimitris

Bespoke DJP · Feb 11, 2016

Shibumi-Berlin with no doubt offers re-branded Sozzi ties. The overwhelming majority of zigzag ones are made at 7.5cm and I think one or two at 6.5cm of width, which is the standard width for Sozzi knit ties.

They also offer for this winter a very interesting cashmere 30% - wool 70% make-up, unfortunately at 6.5cm of width; it's the birdseye line in safe but nice color combinations.

I am just looking forward to the next retailer to offer these and further fall / winter ones at 7cm of width. Jason (@Henry Carter) you are always welcome to step in here; ideas and comments please!

Cheers

Dimitris

BTW, @MrTRC thank you for mentioning The Knottery shop, which was news to me; that is the spirit and exactly my point!

Claghorn · Feb 12, 2016

Pictures

Henry Carter · Feb 12, 2016

Dear Dimitris,

Thanks for the invite. As I'm no longer an affiliate vendor I probably don't have much to add for now other than to mention that the zig zag knit ties that many of us carry aren't actually woven by sozzi in house but contracted out to a manufacturer. Sozzi do co-brand them for wholesale clients but it's also possible to go direct to the source and specify width/length.

As to my personal preferences for knit ties then they are without a doubt always square ends and 7cm wide.

Bespoke DJP · Feb 13, 2016

Dear @Claghorn

Thank you very much for posting such beautiful pictures; I feel really honored!

You know by now, that I would HAVE to ask you details like provenance, material, size, etc; as an indicative list you may - given of course your time availability - follow something like my 8 points in my previous Sozzi presentation.

The tie in your first picture is fantastic! I am looking forward to your kind input especially for this one!

Again, I thank you very much.

Best

Dimitris

Bespoke DJP · Feb 13, 2016

Henry Carter said:
Dear Dimitris,

Thanks for the invite. As I'm no longer an affiliate vendor I probably don't have much to add for now other than to mention that the zig zag knit ties that many of us carry aren't actually woven by sozzi in house but contracted out to a manufacturer. Sozzi do co-brand them for wholesale clients but it's also possible to go direct to the source and specify width/length.

As to my personal preferences for knit ties then they are without a doubt always square ends and 7cm wide.

Dear Jason,

Thank you very much for your reply, it's been a while.

How can I forget that you are no longer an AV in SF, as I was among the other gentlemen who gave you the farewell? This was not, therefore, a commercial invitation, but merely an invite - as you rightfully said - to a Thread dedicated to the discussion and appreciation of knit ties. We also share the same preference for square-end knits at 7cm of width! I would appreciate if during a future interesting discussion, we would have the opportunity to have your experienced opinion.

I remember that you discussed the Sozzi zigzag issue in one of our e-mails, yet do you know if this applies to the other lines as well? Having in mind, especially the cashmere - wool line, I am waiting with anticipation for your information, should you have one.

Best

Dimitris

Bespoke DJP · Feb 19, 2016

Bespoke DJP said:
...

Finally, we may pinpoint offerings that appear on the web or in brick-and-mortar shops for the benefit of everyone.

Dear Gentlemen Hi,

Based on the above, I believe that a fine buying opportunity that has been found needs to be presented here for any gent who would be interested in.

It is a Sozzi-made Tone-To-Tone 100% Silk knit tie in Charcoal (Sozzi Color Code: V2) made for Viola Milano, that at this moment it can be found in their outlet section of their site having a reduced price:

Cheers

Dimitris

MrTRC · Feb 19, 2016

There might be a reason those are on sale: i mean a charcoal tie is of limited use. A two-tone one would be of even more limited use ( in my case, zero).

Bespoke DJP · Feb 20, 2016

Dear @MrTRC Hi,

Thank you for posting. Although I partially agree with you, it is one of the aims of this Thread to highlight sales opportunities available to all gentlemen.

As far as charcoal is concerned - though slightly off topic - I own one Pal Zileri wool tie in charcoal which can be nicely assorted with all grey flannel suits (from light grey to charcoal) and even pinstripe or chalkstripe ones in the said shades of grey. IMHO, the key to success is the shirt which has to be plain solid in pale colors, the best of which being sky blue.

A silk charcoal knit tie cannot be that perfectly matched with winter attire, however I believe that it has the advantage to offer a twist to plain spring-summer suits as long as other elements (like the shirt) remain less "pronounced". This also applies to Tone-To-Tone ones, although here I believe that some color offerings may have their place in the fall-winter wardrobe as well. The image of the Forest Green Tone-To-Tone which was found on the web is a testament to this:

I believe that there are a lot of gentlemen who, having solid knit ties in a special place in their collection, flirt the idea of acquiring some horizontal ones, being afraid at the same time of "proper" color combinations. Perhaps, Tone-To-Tone knit ties are (or should I say were) here to "bridge" this gap, offering a mid-way solution; in a way being a stepping stone to a "true" horizontal stripe knit tie, which BTW is perhaps one of the most interesting ties!

Now a small critique; I cannot recall if Tone-To-Tone line was launched before or after the zigzag one, a favorite to all of us and a line which enjoys great success. To the best of my knowledge, VM offered the following six colors:

1. Rust: a successful color, following the current fad on this shade
2. Navy: a staple color, again with no problems in its acceptance
3. Forest Green: perhaps the most handsome offering in this make-up

The following three colors enjoyed less success in gentlemen's choices, consequently they all found themselves in the outlet section of the VM site:
4. (Dark) Brown: another staple color, yet with less acceptance this time; now sold out
5. Cream: an interesting under certain conditions summer proposition; now sold out
6. Charcoal: a difficult, challenging color, needing careful combination choices

Finally, the tie in question is offered at €55.00, an attractive price, way less than the original €95.00, which is considered steep by a lot of gentlemen.

Best

Dimitris

DavidLane · Feb 20, 2016

Bespoke DJP said:
Dear @MrTRC Hi,

Thank you for posting. Although I partially agree with you, it is one of the aims of this Thread to highlight sales opportunities available to all gentlemen.

As far as charcoal is concerned - though slightly off topic - I own one Pal Zileri wool tie in charcoal which can be nicely assorted with all grey flannel suits (from light grey to charcoal) and even pinstripe or chalkstripe ones in the said shades of grey. IMHO, the key to success is the shirt which has to be plain solid in pale colors, the best of which being sky blue.

A silk charcoal knit tie cannot be that perfectly matched with winter attire, however I believe that it has the advantage to offer a twist to plain spring-summer suits as long as other elements (like the shirt) remain less "pronounced". This also applies to Tone-To-Tone ones, although here I believe that some color offerings may have their place in the fall-winter wardrobe as well. The image of the Forest Green Tone-To-Tone which was found on the web is a testament to this:

I believe that there are a lot of gentlemen who, having solid knit ties in a special place in their collection, flirt the idea of acquiring some horizontal ones, being afraid at the same time of "proper" color combinations. Perhaps, Tone-To-Tone knit ties are (or should I say were) here to "bridge" this gap, offering a mid-way solution; in a way being a stepping stone to a "true" horizontal stripe knit tie, which BTW is perhaps one of the most interesting ties!

Now a small critique; I cannot recall if Tone-To-Tone line was launched before or after the zigzag one, a favorite to all of us and a line which enjoys great success. To the best of my knowledge, VM offered the following six colors:

1. Rust: a successful color, following the current fad on this shade
2. Navy: a staple color, again with no problems in its acceptance
3. Forest Green: perhaps the most handsome offering in this make-up

The following three colors enjoyed less success in gentlemen's choices, consequently they all found themselves in the outlet section of the VM site:
4. (Dark) Brown: another staple color, yet with less acceptance this time; now sold out
5. Cream: an interesting under certain conditions summer proposition; now sold out
6. Charcoal: a difficult, challenging color, needing careful combination choices

Finally, the tie in question is offered at €55.00, an attractive price, way less than the original €95.00, which is considered steep by a lot of gentlemen.

Best

Dimitris

@Bespoke DJP This is all wonderful, but what is your purpose? Are you hocking ties or trying to create a discussion? I am a big fan of knit ties myself, but your writing seems to always lead back to some source for knit ties you have.

If you are trying to sell ties that's all fine and well, but the title of your thread suggests a discussion, which seems to be a lead in to some sort of a disguised sales pitch.

DL-

radicaldog · Feb 20, 2016

Copy-pasting an old post of mine,

It seems to me that there are four different kinds of silk knits:

1 - Almost flat and light, a sort of piquet weave. These are sold by cheaper retailers such as TM Lewin, and I consider them too ugly to wear.
2 - Crunchy and airy: I have some of these by Borsalino, Les Copains and Polo. I really like them.
3 - Crunchy and loose: this is the Howard Yount variety. Many other brands sell these. They're not bad at all and I wear them happily.
4 - Crunchy and tightly woven: this is the Drakes variety. I consider them a better version of (3) and slightly more formal than (2) and really like them.

I wear 2, 3 and 4 (and the odd jersey weave), but 4 give me that little extra satisfaction when I tie them. I don't claim that this in any way reflects an objective superiority of those ties.

MrTRC · Feb 20, 2016

Hmmm...@DavidLane , i don't infer that at all - a sales pitch/ shilling et al!. It is interesting how people glean different things from the same set of data. Admittedly, recalling the several colour ways of the ties of a vendor is a bit odd. Do we have a knit tie anorak here? A A sartorial rain man? cri de la soie wonk? Something less chanrming?

Anyhow, Dear @Bespoke DJP , tie could be viewed as an attractive price. Viola Milano is rated highly by members of our community so it could viewed as thus but i still question the use of such a tie.

I guess i like knit ties:

Claghorn · Feb 20, 2016

I'd be very happy with 2,3,4,5,8,10, Mr.TRC

---

The tie in my first picture is orange cashmere from Sozzi via NMWA

Bespoke DJP · Feb 20, 2016

DavidLane said:
@Bespoke DJP
This is all wonderful, but what is your purpose? Are you hocking ties or trying to create a discussion? I am a big fan of knit ties myself, but your writing seems to always lead back to some source for knit ties you have.

If you are trying to sell ties that's all fine and well, but the title of your thread suggests a discussion, which seems to be a lead in to some sort of a disguised sales pitch.

DL-

Dear @DavidLane Hi,

Thank you for your contribution, I welcome comments even of this nature.

You may refer to my post #14, especially the final phrase. Even post #16 to get an idea. I would suggest you to read the other posts as well. No selling here; not even preparing a future clientele! Only an objective presentation - as detailed as can be - of knit ties along with a critique wherever this is possible from an amateur in the clothing sector.

I fully understand that some fellow members are somehow affiliated to vendors, but this is NOT the case here! Sorry if I disappoint you. This independence allows me - and I have an open invitation to all fellow SFers - to discuss on knit ties. I think I had my piece on an horizontal bought by NMWA, and lately on the VM Tone-To-Tone as an overall line.

FYI, my knit ties are all Sozzi, bought by Sozzi directly, Henry Carter, NMWA in this time order.

I hope that by reading this, and by re-visiting the Thread you will re-consider.

Cheers

Dimitris

Gus · Feb 20, 2016

Here is one of my favorite knit ties in a heather brown and blue color that is very versatile. It has a nice, silky feel. I think the subtle heather makes the tie more visually interesting and since I'm often wearing some navy or tan/brown it coordinates nicely.

Another one of my favorite ties which also happens to be a silky knit is this purple with white. It really coordinates nicely with a white shirt and navy jacket.

When in doubt be safe and wear a solid but when you are confident with colors a subtle mix offers much more. Both ties are by Luciano Barbera from the olive colored label era.

Quintessential Knit Ties: Comprehensive Discussion & Appreciation

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