Necktie Knots

[Baron Kurtz]

Depends on your height. For short-arses like me, vintage ties work fine for Windsor knots :cheers1: My grandad tied a Windsor (or something very similar) his whole tie-tying life, from the 30s onwards.

I can see how it'd be a problem for taller chaps. Maybe if you're wearing a waistcoat it wouldn't matter too much how short it ended up being.

bk

 

[herringbonekid]

the four-in-hand also gives you a smaller knot bulk which looks more every-day-man-in-the-street-vintage....

fat knots are for footballers.
the windsor knot looks more formal or dressy.

 

[BellyTank]

You need a high waist and a t-i-n-y knot with that fat puppy!

B
T

 

[geo]

fat knots are for footballers

Translation: soccerers.

 

[BellyTank]

Translation: soccerers.

...or Fashion Victims.

B
T

 

[jamespowers]

Vintage ties that I own are shorter. So I can't tie a full windsor, which is my knot of choice. How did people tie them back then?

Chad

Tie a Half Windsor and you will be fine. The knot is smaller and takes up less of the tie. That is my knot of choice. :cheers1:

Regards,

J

 

[Big Joe]

Read the instructions:

http://www.tie-a-tie.net/fourinhand.html

Big Joe

 

[3PieceSuitGuy]

Half windsor....

I agree, a half windsor looks great and if you pull the knot fairly tight then it will give you a bit more length. High waisted pants will help too!

Cheers

Peter

 

[matei]

You see a lot of those big footballer-type knots over here. I don't like them. Some of them are really exaggerated as well - the knot ends up being like 3 inches wide. Often guys who sport the latest in fashion from Next or Topman use them.

Said knots are usually accompanied by a fauxhawk.

I saw them only infrequently in Ireland, and never in the US.

 

[BellyTank]

That's Fashion...

...and We don't like it!

B
T

 

[scotrace]

As posted elsewhere

Those big fat knots make me think of those big fat thick butt-ugly 1970's ties.

 

[jamespowers]

Those big fat knots make me thing of those big fat thick butt-ugly 1970's ties.

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! No, not those. EWWW! :kick:

Regards,

J

 

[adamgottschalk]

Vintage ties that I own are shorter. So I can't tie a full windsor, which is my knot of choice. How did people tie them back then?

Chad

It seems important to stress that "back in the day" guys wore their ties sitting much shorter (originally, my impression is that this had to do with prevalence of 3-pc suits and waistcoats, with which the bottom of the tie isn't seen).

I got a number of vintage ties lately. All of them are "too short" really (I'm talking to get the tie to sit just touching the waistline). But if you try a few times, changing the starting position (how low is the thin side, how low is the wide side) and then trie a few different knots, you can usually get it so the front is sitting properly even if the back is way too short (hide it behind the front).

One of the 1920s ties I got was so short none of the above worked for me. It was lengthened by 6", by adding material at the very back in the middle (where the pieces of the tie are cut "on the bias"), material which will be behind the neck and so not seen. A good tailor shouldn't have any trouble, though it won't be dirt cheap ($15 for my tie). My impression is that to do it right, it's fairly labor intensive.

 

[Briscoeteque]

I don't know about its historical accuracy, but I love the half-windsor, it's not big and bulky, but it still has substance, and my favorite pro, the tie drapes far straighter with no sideways 'twist' that I always seem to get with the four in hand.

With it I get it so that the tip of the tie is just a half inch or so over the pants, just how I like it. Not that I unbutton my jacket standing up anyway.

 

[Mojave Jack]

I usually tie a half windsor, primarily because I can never get a four-in-hand to look good. It always seems to look really crooked. On those ties that are too think (read: cheap), I end up with the huge 1970s looking knots! I usually just chuck those ties and stick to silk ties.

I finally found a zebra stripe tie (ala Casablanca), but it is a bit cheap. Even though it makes a huge knot I still like it. Now all I need is a good linen suit to wear with it!

 

[Feraud]

I usually stick to the four in hand. Depending on the collar style and tie material, I have used Windsor and half Windsor knots. A four in hand style could look "lost" in a shirt with a spread collar. A fat knotted Windsor will take up the space nicely. Narrow collars look (and feel) better with a four in hand or half Windsor. It takes a bit of patience and practice to match the tie with the collar but is worth it.

 

[Pilgrim]

One thing people miss is that the knot in a tie should be proportional to the length of the collar tabs. In the 70's, collars were much longer so hlarger and longer knots looked proportional. Collar lengths have been relatively stable for some years now, but they demand a smaller knot to look tidy and dressy.

I can tie my silk ties to proportional knots easily using a full Windsor, butI have a few knit ties from Land's End that work better with other knots that have fewer layers.

And last night at Nordstrom's Rack in Broomfield, CO, I scored a couple of delightful Tommy Bahama tropical theme ties for $19.95 each. Yummy!

 

[BellyTank]

One thing people miss is that the knot in a tie should be proportional to the length of the collar tabs. In the 70's, collars were much longer so larger and longer knots looked proportional.

Well- in the '30s and '40s, long-point collars and small, small knots were looking good.

B
T

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Precis.

Wit da spread collar, da windsor knot looks good. The angles match. With the long pointed number you're loking at a 4-in-hand to get the right (correct) angles.

Windsor favoured the spread collar for a long time, thereby necessarily favouring the windsor knot to complement the angles.

bk

 

[scotrace]

How to get those really long, thin knots?