Quintessential Knit Ties: Comprehensive Discussion & Appreciation

[Bespoke DJP]

David,

You are welcome!

On the topic, you have read by our fellow @emptym that his "crunchy" Charvet knit ties do make a wide knot, proving exactly my point raised in the previous page; I haven't yet the opportunity to check a Charvet knit tie (perhaps next time when visiting Paris), but I reckon that Ascot might be their maker (you can check it!).

Since you do know the lady at the helm of Ascot, the width of that particular portion of the tie which is responsible for the bulkiness of the knot (where the grosgrain is added) is perhaps an issue to be discussed among others.

Mind you that having both silk solids and zig-zig from Sozzi, I can tell you that the said part is slimmer in the latter (2.9cm) in comparison to the former ones (3.2cm), please see below the posted image of two of my own, and this coupled with the lace-like knit of the zig-zag leads - as I wrote above - to a far smaller knot. So, why not on the Ascots?

Best to all,

Dimitris


PS
I very much like seeing ties, as watches and other personal articles passing from the one generation to the next!

PS2
One may think that 3mm difference in width is not a big one, well it is both in absolute terms and in relative ones, because at an existing 2.9cm width, an additional 3mm constitute a more than 10% increase.

 

[Sam Hober]

Dimitris,

"the width of that particular portion of the tie which is responsible for the bulkiness of the knot (where the grosgrain is added) is perhaps an issue to be discussed among others."

Before COVID I stopped talking to knit tie makers as we don't have plans to reset ties and we can't find flat knit silk - so I am sorry but I can't bring up your ideas.

"I very much like seeing ties, as watches and other personal articles passing from the one generation to the next!"

Agree 100% - I wore many of my fathers shirts and jackets growing up as we were the same size. Also as he was in the fashion business he had friends with shirt factories and I remember one time he bought me case of button down shirts.

 

[edinatlanta]

Would anyone happen to know of a source for a green knit tie with cream dots? Oxford Rowe had one for a great price (although the dots may have been white): https://oxfordrowe.com/collections/all-products/products/polka-dot-silk-knit-tie-green
I've been looking for one for a while. Maybe NMWA could order that combo from Sozzi, @gdl203? Or @Kent Wang?

I wear a knit tie most of time when I'm wearing a tie. Here's mine, some of which were my dad's: View attachment 1846670
Top row, l to r: Difou, unknown vintage, Paul Stuart rayon blend (my favorite tie for the slim knot it makes), RL x3, MCM Studio x 3, Land's End, Tie Bar, EG Cappelli, Saks house label, William Crabtree.

Second row: Difou x2, Charvet, Land's End, Charvet (The Charvets have that dense, crunchy knit that people love, but imo the knot is too wide. I should sell them.), J. Crew, Howard Yount, unknown vintage, Woolrich, Howard Yount, Pierre Cardin, and Wembly.

Silk Knit Tie in Hunter/White Dot

Absolutely the most versatile type of tie in our closets, a knit tie looks as great with a sport coat as it does with a suit (and we even like it without a jacket at all.) Very Connery-era Bond. This one is made and hand-finished near Como, just for us, by a maker who's been in the tie business...

shopmashburn.com

 

[emptym]

@emptym that his "crunchy" Charvet knit ties do make a wide knot, proving exactly my point raised in the previous page; I haven't yet the opportunity to check a Charvet knit tie (perhaps next time when visiting Paris), but I reckon that Ascot might be their maker (you can check it!).
...

Mine say they're made in Italy, so not by Ascot, I think. Or do they have a factory in Italy? Other stores carry Charvet knits, or did, so you may not need to wait till Paris. I got these at Nieman Marcus, but that was about 13 years ago.

Btw, shoutout to @brax, from whom I got the very nice Cappelli knit. And to @DutchW, my source for the William Crabtree.

Silk Knit Tie in Hunter/White Dot

Absolutely the most versatile type of tie in our closets, a knit tie looks as great with a sport coat as it does with a suit (and we even like it without a jacket at all.) Very Connery-era Bond. This one is made and hand-finished near Como, just for us, by a maker who's been in the tie business...

shopmashburn.com

Thanks! That is nice, but I'm holding out for cream dots. White ones are fairly common. I'm kind of interested in the ones from this company, which apparently uses recycled plastic for all of their ties. Anyone tried them?:
https://www.otaa.com/collections/knitted-ties/products/ohara-green-polka-dot-knitted-tie

Some company sold a green knit with what they called "champagne" dots. I can't find it anymore, but the price was also pretty "champagne." Speaking of which, I think @brokeandbespoke, or another member with a blog, had a green knit with yellow/gold dots that was sold by Rubinacci.

 

[Bespoke DJP]

Dear @emptym,

Truth to be told, not too many Sozzi knit ties, which are under my radar, are found in the market right now, so, alas I have no pointers for you.

Some years ago, Skoaktiebolaget used to carry the silk forest green, solid w/ yellow dots (so not exactly what you are trying to find), but an indication that it can always be ordered with a different dot color. I have one with the same make-up bought from Greg, the same code is still there, they call it navy w/ grey dots; well, what I received and still have is IRL blue with ivory dots, a quite nice one, but not navy. Sozzi does have two shades of navy, my zig-zag is the dark one ("ink" by some vendors), and the said solid w/ dots, is blue with a warm hue as a matter of fact.

Probably your Charvet knit ties have been made by another maker (that is why I wrote "Ascot might be their maker"), and since I am not living in the US but in Greece, Nieman & the like cannot do the trick for me!

Finally, I must have somewhere some images of older Rubinacci and Attolini knit ties with a Sozzi label, only that the rhombus was cropped/cut by the factory in order not to reveal its provenance (which I detest), hence they were made indeed by Sozzi, but I remember that the Rubinacci ones were extremely slim (circa 5.0cm), consistent perhaps with the flair of Luca!

Best,

Dimitris

 

[duffyfluffy123]

What about tieyourtie knit ties?
Anyone know any information about those?

 

[Bespoke DJP]

What about tieyourtie knit ties?
Anyone know any information about those?

Do you happen to have any images of the said knit ties? Even random, online-found ones.

If yes, please do post them here, and someone may be able to contribute to your enquiry!


Best,

Dimitris

 

[khughes44]

Dear @emptym,

Truth to be told, not too many Sozzi knit ties, which are under my radar, are found in the market right now, so, alas I have no pointers for you.

Some years ago, Skoaktiebolaget used to carry the silk forest green, solid w/ yellow dots (so not exactly what you are trying to find), but an indication that it can always be ordered with a different dot color. I have one with the same make-up bought from Greg, the same code is still there, they call it navy w/ grey dots; well, what I received and still have is IRL blue with ivory dots, a quite nice one, but not navy. Sozzi does have two shades of navy, my zig-zag is the dark one ("ink" by some vendors), and the said solid w/ dots, is blue with a warm hue as a matter of fact.

Probably your Charvet knit ties have been made by another maker (that is why I wrote "Ascot might be their maker"), and since I am not living in the US but in Greece, Nieman & the like cannot do the trick for me!

Finally, I must have somewhere some images of older Rubinacci and Attolini knit ties with a Sozzi label, only that the rhombus was cropped/cut by the factory in order not to reveal its provenance (which I detest), hence they were made indeed by Sozzi, but I remember that the Rubinacci ones were extremely slim (circa 5.0cm), consistent perhaps with the flair of Luca!

Best,

Dimitris

Rubinacci ties were very slim at one time, but they are now probably the widest you’ll find. Here’s a shot of the business end (knotted) of one of them. I’ll measure the width and post later this morning. I really enjoy this tie, but it makes all my others seem too slim by comparison.

 

[Bespoke DJP]

Rubinacci ties were very slim at one time, but they are now probably the widest you’ll find. Here’s a shot of the business end (knotted) of one of them. I’ll measure the width and post later this morning. I really enjoy this tie, but it makes all my others seem too slim by comparison.

Thank you dear Sir!

Should you get in the trouble to measure it (please with precision!), would you be kind enough to take a picture of it - on its own - and post it here?


Best,

Dimitris

 

[Bespoke DJP]

Rubinacci ties were very slim at one time, but they are now probably the widest you’ll find.

Well, I popped into Rubinacci's site after many years and took a look at their knit ties, the non-knit ones varied from indifferent to atrocious, except maybe 1-2.

So, let us be precise, shall we?

Apparently they offer two sorts of widths, the slimmer ones being at 5.5cm and the wider ones (and indeed quite wide) at 8.0cm. Out of 27 knit ties, the first 11 fell in the first category, while the rest 16 in the second, both at the same length (1.49m) and exactly the same - high - price.

Both slim and wider propositions, none of my width-preference, offered knit ties in the following make-ups: solid plain (100% silk) and the most commonly known zig-zag (100% silk). Solid with stripes and a second version of the zig-zag make-up were offered only at the slim version, whereas 100% wool ones were confined in the wide(r) offering.

I think that their 100% wool ones worth a look, although I prefer the Sozzi 70% wool - 30% cashmere once offered by NMWA in a very nice variety.


David, (@Sam Hober) hi! Have you had any recent opportunity to check the ties at the Rubinacci site?


Best,

Dimitris

 

[Sam Hober]

Well, I popped into Rubinacci's site after many years and took a look at their knit ties, the non-knit ones varied from indifferent to atrocious, except maybe 1-2.
So, let us be precise, shall we?
Apparently they offer two sorts of widths, the slimmer ones being at 5.5cm and the wider ones (and indeed quite wide) at 8.0cm. Out of 27 knit ties, the first 11 fell in the first category, while the rest 16 in the second, both at the same length (1.49m) and exactly the same - high - price.
Both slim and wider propositions, none of my width-preference, offered knit ties in the following make-ups: solid plain (100% silk) and the most commonly known zig-zag (100% silk). Solid with stripes and a second version of the zig-zag make-up were offered only at the slim version, whereas 100% wool ones were confined in the wide(r) offering.
I think that their 100% wool ones worth a look, although I prefer the Sozzi 70% wool - 30% cashmere once offered by NMWA in a very nice variety.


David, (@Sam Hober) hi! Had you have any recent opportunity to check the ties at the Rubinacci site?


Best,
Dimitris

Hi Dimitris,

Actually I have never visited their website before - but just now I took a look at their ties - some designs are nice and they have many knit ties.

What confuses me is their high prices for ready made ties.

I think everyone who sells ties makes more money than we do...

But we probably have more fun only making custom made ties so all is well.

I noticed your comments about knit tie widths and I think beauty is in the eye of the beholder. You are a tie enthusiast and know exactly what you want. So you need to keep searching to you find the design and construction that you want.

 

[Bespoke DJP]

But we probably have more fun only making custom made ties so all is well.

I think that the above speaks by itself my dear David!

(In my mother language: "αυτό τα λέει όλα!)


My very best,

Dimitris

 

[khughes44]

The Rubinacci tie is 8cm wide.

 

[edinatlanta]

but @emptym has an interesting proposal for knit tie fans of SF.

 

[duffyfluffy123]

Do you happen to have any images of the said knit ties? Even random, online-found ones.

If yes, please do post them here, and someone may be able to contribute to your enquiry!


Best,

Dimitris

Here, my bad.

Knit Tie, 100% silk, handmade in Italy, square bottom

A knitted tie100% silk handmade in Florence

www.tieyourtieflorence.com

8,5 cm in width