2.5" ties

[LoganS]

I started wearing suits everyday about a year ago after graduating college and at the moment I bought about 15 ties from the tie bar. Well in the past few days I've been looking into getting better ties and I have came across a lot of the good and quality brands that are recommended on here but I have noticed I'm having difficulty finding 2.5" ties, especially on ebay. Do a lot of brands stick to the classic sizes of 3"-3.5" or am I missing something?

 

[jcmeyer]

Solution: stop looking for 2.5" ties. Buy the 3" - 3.5"s.

I say that with no context about your size, your current jackets, or the look you're trying to achieve, but skinny ties become increasingly less useful the more you go down the road of "classic menswear" as it's defined here on Styleforum - hence why those quality brands don't have them. You can get away with skinny knits, but if you wear suits and sport coats, I would take this opportunity to start building your collection of 3"+ ties.

 

[AriG]

Ofc it depends on size, I'm 125lbs at 5 11, if I wear a 3.5inch tie, you can't see my shirt anymore (or my body for that matter haha). So, for me, 2.5 is fine, I find myself tilting toward 2.75" often though.

 

[LoganS]

Solution: stop looking for 2.5" ties. Buy the 3" - 3.5"s.

I say that with no context about your size, your current jackets, or the look you're trying to achieve, but skinny ties become increasingly less useful the more you go down the road of "classic menswear" as it's defined here on Styleforum - hence why those quality brands don't have them. You can get away with skinny knits, but if you wear suits and sport coats, I would take this opportunity to start building your collection of 3"+ ties.

I knew I should have posted that but idk why I didn't.

I'm 5' 11.5"
220lbs
My shoulders are 52.5"
34" waist (this will become much smaller as I have a high body fat % right now).
and each quad is 25 or 26"

So I'm a wide guy but I got my suits custom made and one has a 2.5" lapel and the other ones have a 2.75" lapel (they are still a few weeks from being done).

For some reason I just like the look of 2.5 and 2.75" (90% of what I have is 2.75") ties better on me. So are they any good tie brands that make them in those sizes?

 

[Academic2]

You might have to go custom if you want both quality and skinny, for the reasons jcmeyer has indicated. Try Sam Hober if that's of interest to you.

Cheers,

Ac

 

[LoganS]

You might have to go custom if you want both quality and skinny, for the reasons jcmeyer has indicated. Try Sam Hober if that's of interest to you.

Cheers,

Ac

they also make custom made ties? I have never came across that before.

Edit: yup apperently they do. So what does this mean?
Quote: Sorry I don't know much about tie construction.

 

[Academic2]

Try on this thread, which is devoted to Hober:

http://www.styleforum.net/t/245529/a-sam-and-david-hober-tie-appreciation-thread

Cheers,

Ac

 

[TOstyle]

The Tie Bar collection waxes and wanes, so give it a shot next season.

It is all about proportion, but I'm 6'1" 180 lbs and I've really grown to like the 2-2.5" ties. I think they look cleaner on me, and the 3-3.5" look way too chunky and old-man-ish.

So if you like the style, you're probably on to it. Billy Reid typically has some really nice ties (you can get for the $50-70 range on sale in the the narrower width. Tie Bar is also great when they have good selection, but as noted their stock comes and goes.

 

[Ianiceman]



they also make custom made ties? I have never came across that before.

Edit: yup apperently they do. So what does this mean?
Sorry I don't know much about tie construction.

The way I unserstand that, a seven fold tie is made by folding the silk in on itself seven times to achieve the shape and body, so there is no cotton or wool inner lining which is common to most ties. It's a point of construction that gets some clothing enthusiasts salivating, like having jackets fully canvassed, but just as with fully canvassed jackets, if the colour, cloth and fit (size) aren't what you want then no amount of fine construction can make up for that.

The tipping bit is to do with how the reverse of the point at the bottom of the fat blade is finished. Sometimes the same cloth as the tie is used, and sometimes it's just hemmed on itself. Both of these require more careful construction than just covering it all up with a piece of polyester and a sewing machine, so are again signs of extra steps taken in construction.

(I stand to be corrected by those more knowledgable but you get the gist I'm sure).

You also seem to me to be very broad to be wearing ties and lapels of only 2.5 inches. It's probably a look that will make you seem very dated in a few years, so if you plan on spending a lot of money on some quality ties like Hobers I would suggest you opt for something a little less fashion forward and little more conservative in style. That way you'll get a lot more mileage out of them. All IMO of course. Good luck.

 

[LoganS]

The way I unserstand that, a seven fold tie is made by folding the silk in on itself seven times to achieve the shape and body, so there is no cotton or wool inner lining which is common to most ties. It's a point of construction that gets some clothing enthusiasts salivating, like having jackets fully canvassed, but just as with fully canvassed jackets, if the colour, cloth and fit (size) aren't what you want then no amount of fine construction can make up for that.

The tipping bit is to do with how the reverse of the point at the bottom of the fat blade is finished. Sometimes the same cloth as the tie is used, and sometimes it's just hemmed on itself. Both of these require more careful construction than just covering it all up with a piece of polyester and a sewing machine, so are again signs of extra steps taken in construction.

(I stand to be corrected by those more knowledgable but you get the gist I'm sure).

You also seem to me to be very broad to be wearing ties and lapels of only 2.5 inches. It's probably a look that will make you seem very dated in a few years, so if you plan on spending a lot of money on some quality ties like Hobers I would suggest you opt for something a little less fashion forward and little more conservative in style. That way you'll get a lot more mileage out of them. All IMO of course. Good luck.

Thank you for taking the time to explain this bud! My suits are floating canvassed but they'll probably be replaced in 18 months because my upper body and legs growing and my waist shrinking (body building and suits don't get well with one another).

So I'm thinking my next sets of suits will be with 3" lapels. But I need inputs on this. I have two tailors...one does everything hand stitched and the other one uses a sewing machine. All my current suits are being made by the second tailor. Would it be a bad idea if I bought a 7 fold tie and took it to them and then they could make ties for me based on the fabrics I chose? I don't know if tie making takes a special sets of skills or not. Since they make everything for me I would end up either paying less per tie and I would get to chose whatever design I wanted.

 

[Ianiceman]

My advice would be to concur with the above poster and if you want bespoke ties go to David Hober. He is a top pro, revered by the SF veterans and not without good reason. He has access to a ridiculous variety of fabrics and colours, and I understand that.he doesn't actually stock the ties, just the fabrics, so he can make your ties up as long and as wide as you like. Take a look at his website and take advantage of his personal service, I'd be very surprised if you're not impressed.

 

[SS 376]

Thank you for taking the time to explain this bud! My suits are floating canvassed but they'll probably be replaced in 18 months because my upper body and legs growing and my waist shrinking (body building and suits don't get well with one another).

So I'm thinking my next sets of suits will be with 3" lapels. But I need inputs on this. I have two tailors...one does everything hand stitched and the other one uses a sewing machine. All my current suits are being made by the second tailor. Would it be a bad idea if I bought a 7 fold tie and took it to them and then they could make ties for me based on the fabrics I chose? I don't know if tie making takes a special sets of skills or not. Since they make everything for me I would end up either paying less per tie and I would get to chose whatever design I wanted.

This seems unnecessary considering the plethora of choices you have from makers such as Drake’s, Sam Hober, E.G. Capelli, Marinella, and so forth.

I’ll also underscore what others have said about the 2.5” width. Putting aside whether a 2.5” tie is hyper-trendy, that width might not work best with the kind of suits that have a lasting appeal. I have similar proportions to you--6’0”, 185 lbs.--and a 2.5” is too narrow in part because of my dimensions and because my suiting has standard to somewhat generous lapels, which make a 2.5” tie seem more like a silk rope than a tie. More so than tie width, I would make sure your suits are tailored properly, because when I think “old man,” I think of ill-fitting suits that have huge padding in the shoulders, sleeves that are too long, pants that are bunching up at the bottom, collars that don’t lay properly, etc.