Rate My Ties

[Leverandon]

Hey guys,

I saw another guy on this forum post a similar thread asking the community to rate his ties and found the feedback very interesting. So, I thought I'd do the same thing.

This summer I'll be working at a law firm and I'm trying to select my best ties from the ones that I probably shouldn't be wearing anymore. I'd also like to buy a few more ties to fill in the holes in my collection.

I've posted below the ties that I own, divided into three categories. My "front bench" ties are the ones that I think are the best that I own and suitable for business wear. My "mid bench ties" are my louder ones that I save for wearing to church or parties (most of them seem to be spring/summer pinks). My "back bench" ties are the ones that I've owned since college, don't see much wear, but I haven't brought myself to donate.

Lighting wasn't great in my apartment so for the colors to be accurate in the photos I had to use my camera's flash. This made all the ties appear a bit shinier than they actually are.

Could you guys take a look at them and rate them on a "keep" or "donate" scale? Can think of any particular colors or designs that I should add to my collection?

Front Bench (left-to-right):

1. Thomas Pink, purple
2. J Press, black grenadine
3. Brooks Brothers, navy with white polka dots
4. Turnbull & Asser, blue geometric design
5. Brooks Brothers, red geometric
6. J Press, navy with gold fleur de lis

Mid Bench (left-to-right):

1. TM Lewin, pink
2. Brioni, Pink paisley
3. J Crew, pink with green repp
4. Gieves & Hawkes, red with white zig zags
5. J Press, raw silk rainbow striped

Back Bench (left-to-right):

1. Banana Republic, maroon
2. Banana Republic, light blue
3. J Crew, blue regimental with sailboats
4. J Crew, black with grey repp
5. J Crew, yellow with light blue polkas
6. Banana Republic, red with chevrons
7. unknown make, beige with geometrics

Thanks for the feedback.

(note: I also posted this thread over on AAAC, but I feel like the members are different enough that I might get good advice from both sources).

 

[tgt465]

Front: 8 10 8 7 9 7
Mid: 7 6 7 6 4
Back: 8 6 6 6 5 8 5

 

[Concordia]

I'm not nuts about the fleur de lis, but otherwise the front bench should do you fine in a law firm (bearing in mind that I know nothing about the firm).

In the back bench, the two on the left and the yellow with spots are also not at all bad, especially in the summer. Also the red/chevron if the color won't look awful on you. I tend to avoid really red ties, but that's a decent pattern.

 

[Will C.]

I would only keep the navy with white dots by Brooks Brothers (top pic), the black grenadine tie next to it, and the striped J Crew tie in the middle of the bottom pic.

 

[Ich_Dien]

I would only wear one of those...but that's me.

 

[Klobber]

Keep them all dude. No need to rid any.

Get a range of a ties, there is no method. If that was my collection, I would probably want to add a few solids such as gold, green, navy etc... a few geometrics red / blue / purple etc patterns, a few stripe ties as well, including the seminal classic black / charcoal with nice thick pronounced silver stripes.

Carry on collecting, dont rid anything unless it is in bad condition or too short.

I admit to not liking most your ties, but that fact is not important. It is if you like the ties and how well do they compliment your outfits.

 

[in stitches]

imo

1,3,4

1,2,5

1,2,6

the rest i dont love but im not sure id toss em

 

[Cuttingboard]

Originally Posted by Will C.

I would only keep the navy with white dots by Brooks Brothers (top pic), the black grenadine tie next to it

These are the only two that I like!

 

[JapanAlex01]

Of course, this all depends on your skin-tone, etc/what you wear it with—so bear that in mind, these are what I would rate them for me! Front: only like the black, navy spotted and navy patterned ones. Mid: the pink one (just), the striped pink one and would have liked the rainbow one if it were in madras. Back: the two blues ones and perhaps the yellow one? Sorry, I'm an elitist prick!

 

[larrythelizard]

I only like the blue one with the circles. The rest are pretty "meh". Sorry!

If you're with a law firm, surely you have the means to buy more of ties...

 

[Leverandon]

Thanks guys for the quick replies! It seems that people on here are mostly gravitating toward the simpler patterned ties. I really like seeing the diversity of opinions, though.

@larrythelizard, I WILL be working at a law firm this summer, for the next month I'm still a poor law student. But since I'll soon have the means to make some wardrobe upgrades I'm looking to figure out what I should buy.

@Klobber, thanks for your tips on which kinds of ties to be on the lookout for.

 

[JapanAlex01]

I think it totally depends on your skin-tone, hair colour, etc. I have brown hair, so I wear blues a lot. Striped navy ties/bow ties with white or colour, plain, block blues, some reds, tartans.

I would suggest some navy/red striped ties, block colour knits and some tartan bow ties (although, for work?!).

 

[Leverandon]

Originally Posted by JapanAlex01

I think it totally depends on your skin-tone, hair colour, etc. I have brown hair, so I wear blues a lot. Striped navy ties/bow ties with white or colour, plain, block blues, some reds, tartans.

I would suggest some navy/red striped ties, block colour knits and some tartan bow ties (although, for work?!).

Thanks for the feedback. I hadn't really thought that much about how skin-tone/hair color affect choice of tie. I'm a white guy with fairly medium-tan skin and brown hair on the lighter side.

 

[porcelain monkey]

They're all good enough. Ties are a personal thing. I like some of yours not at all, and some quite a lot, but that is personal. Many people will like the purple grenadine. I have a pretty strong bias against purple ties and would never wear one, but that's my problem not yours. I'm curious about the back bench. Did you choose them just because they are cheaper than the others? If so, I would rethink that. Most of those would go fine with a conservative suit and I'd be shocked of anyone in your office called you out for wearing a J. Crew tie.

 

[Leverandon]

Originally Posted by porcelain monkey

They're all good enough. Ties are a personal thing. I like some of yours not at all, and some quite a lot, but that is personal. Many people will like the purple grenadine. I have a pretty strong bias against purple ties and would never wear one, but that's my problem not yours. I'm curious about the back bench. Did you choose them just because they are cheaper than the others? If so, I would rethink that. Most of those would go fine with a conservative suit and I'd be shocked of anyone in your office called you out for wearing a J. Crew tie.

The Banana Republic ties on the backbench are a bit wider than I'd like (although because of the camera being pulled back from them its harder to tell that) and the J Crew ties make very poor knots. Those are the main reasons that I don't wear them as much. Based on the feedback, however, I'm starting to think that several of them might be serviceable. Its possible that I might just be biased against them based on them being from cheaper manufacturers.