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Good ties at a fair price

qwe111

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Hi,
I am a student and just starting to build my classic wardrobe. I am about to buy my first decent suit in navy from Suitsupply.
What brands (that are available in Europe) would you recommend? I am trying to spend less than 50€/$60 per piece.
What's your opinion on Charles Tyrwhitt ties?
They look decent and are on sale right now.

I found a few that I like - which ones would you recommend?

https://www.ctshirts.com/de/italien...ies-luxury-ties#cgid=ties-luxury-ties&start=1
https://www.ctshirts.com/de/klassis...mmelblau/TIC0879GSK.html?pf=pdp_colour_swatch
https://www.ctshirts.com/de/klassis...ine--und-himmelblau/TIC0879NSK.html?cgid=ties
https://www.ctshirts.com/de/klassis...-in-royal-und-weiss/TIC0880AWT.html?cgid=ties
https://www.ctshirts.com/de/klassis...faux-uni-marineblau/TIC0860NAV.html?cgid=ties
https://www.ctshirts.com/de/klassis...faux-uni-himmelblau/TIC0860SKY.html?cgid=ties
https://www.ctshirts.com/de/klassis...nigsblau/TIC0878RYL.html?pf=pdp_colour_swatch
 

Ich_Dien

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CT ties are nothing spectacular really...you'd be best looking on the classifieds here.

(also none of your links work for non-germans)
 

Andy57

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Go with Sam Hober or HNWhite. Both make very high quality ties, both are available online. Both are more than your price range, but not egregiously so. Buy two or three well-made, classic ties that will serve you well for years, rather than cheaper stuff that will look like a piece of string after a few wearings. Get a black or navy grenadine, a silk navy stripe, and a silk burgundy neat tie and you will be set for quite a while.

Or search the forum for threads that address what basic ties to obtain if you are starting out.
 

coldsalmon

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Speaking as a semi-noob, ties were tough for me. You could say that I wasted hundreds of dollars buying sub-par ties cheaply, but I like to think of it as a learning experience. Buying some crappy ties will clue you in to why good ties are expensive.

My choice for learning was tieroom.com, which has pretty darn good woven silk ties for $29 each, and $24 of you buy 3 or more. They are a step up from thetiebar.com, and they are from Sweden, which is good for you if you are in the EU. I wrote them up years ago here: https://www.styleforum.net/threads/tie-room-review-notch-neckties.387586/

I will post an update soon about their cotton and linen ties, which I did not like as much.

What is absent from these discount tie websites is a selection of tasteful printed silk ties. Non-shiny silk prints are the only ties that get any respect on SF (except if you are @upr_crust who knows how to wear shinier woven silk ties). After trying a bunch of cheap, shiny, woven ties, I can see why the matte printed silk ties are preferred (they look better to me). Tieroom.com has some wool prints for $69, which I can only assume is the cheapest possible price, but for that much money you might as well order from Hober.

I still have a few ties from tieroom.com and even thetiebar.com in my rotation. But for every one of those ties, I bought two or three clunkers that I discarded. However, I would not counsel you to avoid these discount tie sites; just the opposite! Make all of your mistakes there, and make them cheaply. Learn why cheap ties are cheap, and expensive ties are expensive. Try to duplicate some fits you see here on SF, or elsewhere, using cheap ties, and note what goes wrong. Then, after you develop your own taste, go and buy some fine ties that fix all of the problems you've identified.

Basically, you will make a lot of mistakes and waste a lot of money developing your wardrobe, unless you are born with an expert sense of style. So, make those mistakes cheaply by purchasing a lot of ties in bulk from tieroom.com. Their ties are fine, and some of them are pretty good. They are not great. After you know what colors, length, texture, width, knot, and sheen you prefer, move up to samhober.com, and start looking at clearance items from other retailers.

If you want some good ties for comparison right off the bat, go directly to samhober.com and buy a midnight blue grenadine grossa, 4-fold, made for a four-in-hand knot. Try to duplicate the dimensions of your favorite tie, or if you don't have any idea at all, make it 57 inches long and 8cm wide. Also, buy this tie, which is on clearance: https://www.paulstuart.com/dark-meddallions-silk-tie.html

It says it's black, but it's actually burgundy and amazing. Get it now.
 

upr_crust

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Speaking as a semi-noob, ties were tough for me. You could say that I wasted hundreds of dollars buying sub-par ties cheaply, but I like to think of it as a learning experience. Buying some crappy ties will clue you in to why good ties are expensive.

My choice for learning was tieroom.com, which has pretty darn good woven silk ties for $29 each, and $24 of you buy 3 or more. They are a step up from thetiebar.com, and they are from Sweden, which is good for you if you are in the EU. I wrote them up years ago here: https://www.styleforum.net/threads/tie-room-review-notch-neckties.387586/

I will post an update soon about their cotton and linen ties, which I did not like as much.

What is absent from these discount tie websites is a selection of tasteful printed silk ties. Non-shiny silk prints are the only ties that get any respect on SF (except if you are @upr_crust who knows how to wear shinier woven silk ties). After trying a bunch of cheap, shiny, woven ties, I can see why the matte printed silk ties are preferred (they look better to me). Tieroom.com has some wool prints for $69, which I can only assume is the cheapest possible price, but for that much money you might as well order from Hober.

I still have a few ties from tieroom.com and even thetiebar.com in my rotation. But for every one of those ties, I bought two or three clunkers that I discarded. However, I would not counsel you to avoid these discount tie sites; just the opposite! Make all of your mistakes there, and make them cheaply. Learn why cheap ties are cheap, and expensive ties are expensive. Try to duplicate some fits you see here on SF, or elsewhere, using cheap ties, and note what goes wrong. Then, after you develop your own taste, go and buy some fine ties that fix all of the problems you've identified.

Basically, you will make a lot of mistakes and waste a lot of money developing your wardrobe, unless you are born with an expert sense of style. So, make those mistakes cheaply by purchasing a lot of ties in bulk from tieroom.com. Their ties are fine, and some of them are pretty good. They are not great. After you know what colors, length, texture, width, knot, and sheen you prefer, move up to samhober.com, and start looking at clearance items from other retailers.

If you want some good ties for comparison right off the bat, go directly to samhober.com and buy a midnight blue grenadine grossa, 4-fold, made for a four-in-hand knot. Try to duplicate the dimensions of your favorite tie, or if you don't have any idea at all, make it 57 inches long and 8cm wide. Also, buy this tie, which is on clearance: https://www.paulstuart.com/dark-meddallions-silk-tie.html

It says it's black, but it's actually burgundy and amazing. Get it now.

Oh, dear. Do I have to include a warning when I post a fit wearing a Charvet tie "Don't try this at home"? :)

More seriously, your advice is reasonably sound. I will tell you that, as someone old enough to be your father, buying good ties is a challenge, and buying them at a reasonable price (i.e. on sale) is even more so.

I am a great believer in seeing the merchandise in real life. Photos on the Internet can be deceptive as to what a tie (or anything else, for that matter) really looks like. One can see details of pattern, texture and construction much better in the here and now.

If you're starting out, you should expose yourself to what is out in the marketplace, from the high end to the low, in that order. Expensive ties more often than not have good reason for being expensive (though not always), and it can educate one's eye to see high end goods, before seeing lesser imitations at lower prices.

This is a good season to see what is out in the marketplace, as some of it is on clearance, which is a perfect excuse for a person of lesser means to shop at a store (or, more importantly, browse) above their pay grade.

One of the methods which have helped me buy ties on sale is simple - see the tie in context. If a tie catches your eye, find a shirt (or a number of shirts) and hold it up against it. Seeing how a tie relates to a shirt, in color and pattern, has greatly improved my batting average for purchasing ties on sale without regrets. Some ties look great - alone - but that's not how they're worn.

Also, try not to punish yourself too much over a misjudgment. Sometimes the best lessons are the ones taught by one stubbing one's toe. Just try to make sure that you don't break the bank or your foot learning the lesson.

A good tie, worn with an inexpensive but well-fitting suit, can raise the style quotient for the entire outfit. Good ties and good shoes can give the illusion that everything one is wearing is better than its sources might lead one to believe.
 

coldsalmon

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I am a great believer in seeing the merchandise in real life. Photos on the Internet can be deceptive as to what a tie (or anything else, for that matter) really looks like. One can see details of pattern, texture and construction much better in the here and now.
Excellent advice from the man himself. A good return policy is essential for buying online (this is why I advise against getting custom ties from Hober immediately). If there is anywhere nearby that had a good selection of good ties (not just terrible overpriced ties), spending some time there will be a great education. I probably should have mentioned that I am somewhat of an impatient person regarding my hobbies, and my strategy of experimenting with cheap ties was geared towards my temperament. I also had a lot of fun experimenting with cheap ties. If you are more patient then you could spend some time investigating and skip the bargain basement. Crusty's advice of starting at the top is a great idea, assuming that it is available to you.
Good ties and good shoes can give the illusion that everything one is wearing is better than its sources might lead one to believe.
It took me way too long to learn this. I went with good suits and cheap ties for too long, because I didn't think the ties mattered that much. Now that I have finally started getting some better ties, I can say that they are some of the most pleasing aspects of my wardrobe to wear. I have started to dress centrally around my tie, rather than throwing it on as an afterthought. Not that it always works out perfectly...
 

useless_username

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At OP's price point, a lot of shops will provide a decent tie. For example, many Jermyn Street shirtmakers have huge tie collections at that price or less. Just make sure it's silk and not polyester, and you should be fine. If you want to take a step up, at about 100 Euros you can get to the luxury tie category, which you see a lot on this forum.

I agree with Upr_Crust that seeing a tie in person is important. It's the only way of telling whether one likes it or not. But these days most online retailers have good return policies, so one shouldn't be deterred from online shopping. In fact, a tie is one of the easiest online purchases, because the issue of fit is not relevant (as long as you know the product's dimensions). A custom maker like Hober may not have this option. But I think Hober will send you swatches of cloth, so that's a way to work around the problem.

In my opinion, it would be safest to go with approximately 9 cm / 3.5 inch width for your first tie purchases. At the moment 8 cm is in vogue, that might change in a few years. It's not a huge difference though, just something to be aware of.

Colours and patterns: I naturally gravitate towards certain colours and patterns. When I started buying ties, I often followed my instinct, and lo and behold, I ended up with a tie collection that had a lot of ties in the same colours/patterns. Since then I've made a deliberate effort to diversify. So the lesson is, try to make a conscious effort to buy ties in different colours and patterns. It will serve you much better than a collection of 30 solid red ties (also known as the Donald Trump tie collection).

Lastly, ties are a strange accessory. A good-quality tie, handled carefully, might last you for decades. Or it might be ruined in a split second if one has an unplanned rendezvous with soup, coffee, scissors, or the like. So while it's worth thinking of ties as a long-term investment, one should always be aware that it might all be over sooner than you think. A bit like life itself.
 

GBR

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As you live in Europe, you might also try Patrizio Cappelli for some excellent ties. I agree entirely that Hober ties are excellent but if you are on a constrained budget, better to avoid any import taxes etc for pretty good ties in their own right.
 

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