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Wide ties are out?

WRAdvisor

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I have read this in so many threads and it's starting to bother me. I work in a very large financial office and travel all around the world to do business - and that statement couldn't be more false.
GQ and Hollywood wants everyone to believe that "skinny ties" and the "seeksucker" look is dominant when dressing in a suit, but this just isn't true besides very particular industries like Hollywood and The Arts. Almost all of the professional settings in which people wear suits on a daily basis still wear 3.5"-4" silk ties. I would be offended if one of my agents came into work with a 2" square knit tie.
 

amplifiedheat

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I don't like skinny ties either, but leave square-end knit ties out of this. I got mine from my dad, who has been wearing them for thirty years.
 

Sanguis Mortuum

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Surely this depends on your definition of 'wide'. 3.5 inches is not 'wide', it's average.
 

Professor Chaos

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Originally Posted by WRAdvisor
I have read this in so many threads and it's starting to bother me. I work in a very large financial office and travel all around the world to do business - and that statement couldn't be more false.
GQ and Hollywood wants everyone to believe that "skinny ties" and the "seeksucker" look is dominant when dressing in a suit, but this just isn't true besides very particular industries like Hollywood and The Arts. Almost all of the professional settings in which people wear suits on a daily basis still wear 3.5"-4" silk ties. I would be offended if one of my agents came into work with a 2" square knit tie.

While I certainly believe you that, in the business world, "regular" ties are dominant, I urge you to consider that turning to the most conservative fields as a gauge of what's "in" is sort a waste of time. Conservative fields dress conservatively.I think fashion trends affect what your peers will think looks good when you go out on a Friday night much more than what your boss will think is appropriate dress.
 

WRAdvisor

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I wouldn't consider the financial world as being the most conservative setting out there. There is a lot of parity with colors (shirts/ties) and cuts of suits. A lot of people that work in the financial industry are private contractors (1099s) and aren't totally held to conservativism. I've seen some wild colors come through my office door, and for the most part, the individual pulled the look off.
 

WhateverYouLike

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Originally Posted by WRAdvisor
I wouldn't consider the financial world as being the most conservative setting out there. There is a lot of parity with colors (shirts/ties) and cuts of suits. A lot of people that work in the financial industry are private contractors (1099s) and aren't totally held to conservativism. I've seen some wild colors come through my office door, and for the most part, the individual pulled the look off.
What GQ/Hollywood says is what's cool for going out, not business. Squared knit ties are not meant for the workplace. And I would like to meet the person dumb enough to wear a seersucker suit to a meeting. I also doubt financial people are really up to date with what's "cool".
 

MyOtherLife

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A mans size and frame should better dictate the width of his tie and then his business environment.
Taller & wider men can do the 4 inchers better where the shorter men will do narrower ties better.
A 4" tie on a 5'-2" tall man may look just as wrong as a 3" tie on a 6'-3" tall & thin man.
There is a generous range of height/weight/frames that can easily accomodate almost any width.
I am 6'-0" / 190lbs and extremely lucky to be able to do OTR with little to no alterations.
3.5"-4" ties will always be in my rotataion but so will 3"-3.5" ones just to break up the monotony.
 

Kurtz

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I also doubt financial people are really up to date with what's "cool".[/QUOTE said:
Offended.

But seriously, I work in finance and mostly wear 3'' ties. However, I wear them because I think they look better on my frame, not because I think they're "in." I still think 2.75-3'' is fairly conservative for a tie, if it suits your frame and you're young, IMO. No one has ever made a comment about my tie width--I don't think most people even notice
laugh.gif
 

bearsfan172

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I would certainly say that ultrawide ties are "out" right now. But regular width ties are, and will always be in style. It seems to fluctuate between wider and skinnier ties being more "in" though. Right now there is a big skinny tie craze in the world of fashion. Just take a look at GQ, express, prada, etc... lots of skinny ties. I personally like it, because they suit me better, but wider ties are certainly not illegal
 

WRAdvisor

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I'm a very skinny person, almost 6 ft and 150 lbs, and I think skinny ties look foolish on me. I'm 26 years old as well, so it's not like I'm "too old" to wear what is fashionable. Maybe I haven't found the right skinny tie.
 

voxsartoria

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Originally Posted by WhateverYouLike
And I would like to meet the person dumb enough to wear a seersucker suit to a meeting.

Here I am.

878557220_KTmPZ-X2.jpg



- B
 

Sanguis Mortuum

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Originally Posted by WRAdvisor
I'm a very skinny person, almost 6 ft and 150 lbs, and I think skinny ties look foolish on me. I'm 26 years old as well, so it's not like I'm "too old" to wear what is fashionable. Maybe I haven't found the right skinny tie.

Again, what exactly do you mean by 'skinny ties'? I've found that 3.5" ties look way too wide on me, my ties have to be around 2.75-3" for them to look normal. Anything 2.5" or less though I would consider 'skinny' and too narrow for my taste.
 

Kurtz

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Originally Posted by Sanguis Mortuum
Again, what exactly do you mean by 'skinny ties'? I've found that 3.5" ties look way too wide on me, my ties have to be around 2.75-3" for them to look normal. Anything 2.5" or less though I would consider 'skinny' and too narrow for my taste.

+1

Skinny to me is less than 2.5. To the OP, I think it's just your personal taste that makes you think slim ties look foolish on you (nothing wrong with that). I wear slim fit everything (shirts, pants, jackets) and I think slim ties just keeps everything consistent.
 

OttoSkadelig

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Originally Posted by Man Of Lint
A mans size and frame should better dictate the width of his tie and then his business environment.

++++1

skinny ties would look idiotic on anyone who is reasonably broad and / or stout. which includes many in the business world -- particularly in the latter category.

just as in diet, moderation is key. don't do extremes. they have the unfortunate habit of being either transient or bad for you.

and apply the same principle to just about any piece of clothing you wear. if you blindly follow rules laid down by someone else without understanding the raison d'etre for those rules and also understanding when, where, why and how you can adhere to or bend them, you are a fashion victim, not a beacon of style.
 

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