Wide ties are out?

- Stick to medium width (3.25 - 3.5") ties at all times and you're fine.
- Knit ties have nothing to do with this unless they are undully thin. Regular width knits are totally fine for the office. I work in a very conservative environment and wear knit ties more often than regular ties. The only people that notice A) like clothes anyhow B) have never seen a knit tie and thinks that it is cool.
- Seersucker is totally appropriate for the office as long as the accessories are reserved.

Originally Posted by ld111134

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Watch, skinny ties will be out once Mad Men is cancelled and men grow disenchanted with the Quadrophenia look.

Hell, if it had been pitched to me as the Quadrophenia look, I might have gotten on the bandwagon. Effin' love that album. Movie also good.

Originally Posted by oldog/oldtrix

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So true:
That was not what I meant. Of course men can look good in wider ties. His defense was that because a bunch of people wear wide ties, and have always done so, they are right. I was trying to say that if they knew any better ( and perhaps had a similar appreciation for clothes as most of us here on SF do ) then they wouldn't wear such wide ties.

Originally Posted by landshark

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That was not what I meant. Of course men can look good in wider ties. His defense was that because a bunch of people wear wide ties, and have always done so, they are right. I was trying to say that if they knew any better ( and perhaps had a similar appreciation for clothes as most of us here on SF do ) then they wouldn't wear such wide ties.

Your point is arrogant and ill-informed. If they knew better?

Originally Posted by D Yizz

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In our almost perennial summery weather anything other than your traditional wool (or worse, thick poly) suit is out of the ordinary. It is horrible having to walk 2 blocks to court after parking, sweating like a pig, entering the building and then freezing the hell out because the A/C is at full blast. I wish people here wouldn't have abandoned the cotton and linen suits. (Although I belive this is more a matter of availability.)

Doesn't sound that different from Texas, except that you have better beaches. The seersucker, linen, and poplin suits all get their due in the Texas heat, at least from me and a scant few others. No problem here with knit ties at suitable occasions.

Side note: The wife went to court in GA last summer (as an attorney). She came back telling me that I would feel right at home in the seersucker there. It was in Savannah, so that may make a difference.

With wide lapels (DB suits) and wide shoulders, wide ties are the most obvious choice. In "power" environments (finance, law, politics, etc.), width usually means power. This sounds stupid because it's true (phallic reasons and all). Even if they're slim, you won't see many CEOs wearing short jackets, thin lapels, sausage ties & other Hedi Slimane vulgarizations. Those are designed for youngsters devoid of power who think they're hip ; or worse, for old men aching to look younger.

This is why GQ says "thin lapels, thin ties!", while your boss keeps sporting wide Hermès ties around his fat neck.

Originally Posted by oldog/oldtrix

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Now he tells me. Two days in a row:





WOW! This is PERFECT

I am getting a little tired of this subject. Tie width is a fashion pendulum swing. It was super skinny in the 60's, super wide in the 70's, thinner - but not super skinny - in the 80's, wider - but not super wide - in the 90's - 00's. I am talking about mainstream business fashion here, not what the hipsters (or hippies in the 60's) are wearing - which is generally the opposite of mainstream business.

A tie can last a person a long time, so guess who perpetuates and benefits from this pendulum swing? That's right the tie manufacturers! They are in the business of selling new ties to guys who probably already have a lot of them. If you tried to buy a 3" tie from Brooks Brothers five years ago, you could not find one, now there is a whole line of them along side the 3 3/4". I bought three ties from Drakes this spring that are 8 cm (friggin' metric system), and I'm sure they would have been wider a couple of years ago. I have an Hermes tie from the early 90's that is about 1/2 and inch thinner than ones I bought in 2000.

So what's a guy to do? One of two things: Adapt with the times and change your tie widths every 10 - 15 years, putting the thicker ones away when they look too wide; or pick a width that suits your taste, personal style, and body type and stick with it.

For me 3 inches is the sweet spot - and always has been. It used to be damn near impossible to find ties this width. I had some old ones from the 80's that worked, but I had to buy vintage or scour the hip designers, avoiding the super skinny. A few places carried exactly what I was looking for (certain Ralph Lauren lines and retailers like Sid Mashburn spring to mind), but it was a process. Now it's much easier, as there is a variety.

Only here:

While we have spent the last few days in this thread debating (arguing is too harsh of a word) the nuances of men's fashion that only .0001% of the general public would even notice we've missed the bigger picture. Clearly the fella driving here is getting a wicked *******...why else the **** eating grin on his face. Gentlemen, we've found the ever elusive BangBus!

Originally Posted by OttoSkadelig

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My two cents on the issue:

1. Depends on your working environment. As a teacher I'm free to dress conservatively or more artistically (wider lapels and ties, or skinny) so I'm lucky. Make sure you don't look drastically different than those in your work place. Its the little things that make someone well dressed in their environment, just different enough without being too much so.

2. Skinny ties with skinny lapels, wider ties with wider lapels.

Originally Posted by NewYorkRanger

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2. Skinny ties with skinny lapels, wider ties with wider lapels.




- B

Originally Posted by NewYorkRanger

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While we have spent the last few days in this thread debating (arguing is too harsh of a word) the nuances of men's fashion that only .0001% of the general public would even notice we've missed the bigger picture. Clearly the fella driving here is getting a wicked *******...why else the **** eating grin on his face. Gentlemen, we've found the ever elusive BangBus!

... or "sandwich-mobile"?

Originally Posted by landshark

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I was trying to say that if they knew any better ( and perhaps had a similar appreciation for clothes as most of us here on SF do ) then they wouldn't wear such wide ties.

That's me all over:

Narrow and wide are only relative to a persons whose size is extreme.

A big fatso will look strange with a 2 1/2" wide tie, as will a 6' 10" stringbean with a 4" tie.

What's in fashion is, for me, is irrelevant. I'm only concerned with what puts together the right look for the right situation.

Debating the right width is as silly as debating the right fabric. Silk, wool, linen, cotton, cashmere (ah, wearing my blue striped cashmere kiton today - 3 5/8" btw) or blends are all appropriate just like a variety of widths are.

The only limitations here are if your body is a bad fit for a certain width.

Try telling Karl wide ties are out.

Originally Posted by zeroconspiracy

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Try telling Karl wide ties are out.

better yet, try convincing us that ponytails are in.