Thin ties...any thoughts?

[adamgottschalk]

To my eye, there are some ties which are just too thin (2" and under) and some which are just too wide (4" and up). My preferred wdth is 3.5" or slightly less. I do match tie widths to lapel widths and hat-brim widths (whenever possible). When I wear a hat with a 1 7/8" brim (my widest), I'll wear a slightly wider tie (maybe 4"). When I wear more stingy hats, I'll wear my somewhat narrower ties.

The main reason I like narrower ties is that I've found some really great ties that happen to be on the narrower side. I do appreciate the stingy style of the late 50s/early 60s, but I'm not trying to emulate any style aside from my own (which takes practice). The main reason I prefer narrower to wider is that I associate, for some reason, the wide ties with the fashion of wearing one's tie hanging 3" below the belt, a look I find nearly obscene and in poor taste.

 

[MrBern]

tie or collar?

ok, heres my least favorite expression of the skinny tie look:

Clay Aiken on the talk show circuit

A sleak, super thin tie , but matched w/ a huge floppy collar....yuck.

 

[Senator Jack]

Yes, that is double-plus ungood.

Did the narrow tie ever really disappear though? It seems to have been fairly popular till about '66, till what I've always thought of as Mod Part II. (This would be the Carnaby Street Mod - ex. Michael Caine and Ringo Starr) Then the wider tie started to make a comeback and it was time for the narrow to lose its popularity. Seems, however that the narrow tie was very much part of the pub rock style with its roots in the early 70s (History, please, Salv?) and then when Blondie and Costello release major records, suddenly the narrow tie is back. This, of course, led to the 'New Wave 80's' narrow tie (glittery and showing up on bands like (Good Lord!) Rush, and now, unfortunately, most people associate the narrow tie with that era rather than with the late 50s/early 60s.

Adam is right. Some of them, like the one on Aiken, are ridiculously narrow. I have come across a few 60s models that skinny, but the bulk I've seen are from the 80s. Yecch. I really hated that decade.


Regards,

Senator Jack

 

[jamespowers]

I don't really like thin ties. I wish they would come back though so I could clean up on eBay. I must have hundreds of the darned things. Every time you buy a lot of ties for one cool one you end up with five skinny ones. :eusa_doh:

Regards,

J

 

[Mr Maltby]

i like my ties how i like my hats how i like my lapels--narrow. 1.5-2 inches seems to be the magic combination for me. It, like everything else, is a confidence deal. Whatever you think you look good in, is what you look best in. 80s aside, they get my vote of approval.

 

[MrBern]

piano tie!

there was a joke in Zoolander about the `80s piano tie....
Alicia Keys doesnt seem to mind

But is it something she would wear, or just a gimmick for a photo shoot?

 

[Dinerman]

I wear an inch wide white tie with bowling pins on it when I go bowling

 

[MrBern]

IMF

TomCruise never looked that good.

Have you ever tried to get a tailor to shorten a sleeve to get that perfect amount of shirt cuff to show? Not easy.

 

[Feraud]

Have you ever tried to get a tailor to shorten a sleeve to get that perfect amount of shirt cuff to show? Not easy.

I am currently in the process of "breaking in" a local tailor to suit my needs. I say, "go shorter" on the sleeves and he gives me this look...

 

[Senator Jack]

I don't think you can shorten the cuffs on modern suits because of (yes) the armholes. When you pick your arm up the sleeve would recede to your elbow.

My tailor here knows about the cuffs, Feraud - no look! My problem is with the shirtcuffs - they're usually not long enough. A couple of my vintage shirts are spot on, but after a half-dozen shirts from MyTailor.com, I'm still trying to get the right sleeve length. Obviously, the shirt and sleeve cuffs have to work together for balance.

Perhaps this should be another thread.

Regards,

Senator Jack

 

[Tony in Tarzana]

Bigger guy, skinny tie and lapels:

 

[Baron Kurtz]

I am currently in the process of "breaking in" a local tailor to suit my needs. I say, "go shorter" on the sleeves and he gives me this look...

A long and difficult road lies ahead. I finally have my seamstress whipped into shape re. cuffs on trousers and jackets. (i took in an anatomy book, even, and pointed out the bone in the wrist upon which my jacket cuffs need to rest - this i think was what finally convinced her that i knew what i was talking about.)

As for the thin ties: Not my bag. I don't like 'em, but that's because they don't work on me. I don't like 40s bellywarmers, neiver. I left a whole swathe of 50s skinny ties behind at a thrift store yesterday (i'm talking 50-60 of the blighters) at $1 a piece.

bk

 

[PeeWee]

I like thin...but not too thin. Same with bowties.

 

[MrBern]

Yes, theres only so much you can shorten the jacket sleeves as you might get way too close to the buttons on the cuff. You could always move a button, but usually theres a fake buttonhole there too.
Regardless, a sleeve shouldnt be too long. observed that a man too long sleeves looks liek he's wearing his big brother's suit....

As for shirts, I sometimes buy the next sleeve length up but of course at the same neck size.

At th other end of the spectrum, celebrities are sometimes coached as to what socks are worn for the talk show circuit. Some well dressed moviestars venture onto the ToniteShow, plop onto the couch & selfconsciously cross there legs to look dashing. Not realizing their hairy shins are being displayed by short or droopy socks. I cant recall who made mention of the dilemma. Mightve been SeanConnery chuckling over his wife being mortified at the sight...

I don't think you can shorten the cuffs on modern suits because of (yes) the armholes. When you pick your arm up the sleeve would recede to your elbow.

My tailor here knows about the cuffs, Feraud - no look! My problem is with the shirtcuffs - they're usually not long enough. A couple of my vintage shirts are spot on, but after a half-dozen shirts from MyTailor.com, I'm still trying to get the right sleeve length. Obviously, the shirt and sleeve cuffs have to work together for balance.

Perhaps this should be another thread.

Regards,

Senator Jack

 

[Baron Kurtz]

In theory jacket arms can be shortened indefinitely. Just remove the buttons, unpick the faux-button hole stitching and shorten. To maintain the placket there is a limit to how far you can shorten the arms. if this isn't an issue they can be shortened as much as you want. You will just lose the placket cuff.

bk

 

[TOTTIE]

returning for a moment to the skinny tie topic: my dad (who is actually quite cool, rather than stuck in a time warp... not that there's anything wrong with that) has always worn skinny ties. Why? Because he is an Architect. It seems to be compulsory. He wears them with big baggy Issey Miyake suits.

We have real trouble finding nice ones for him. Knitted ones - ten a penny- but nice ones are harder to get. So, er, if anyone wants to pass some of their surplus skinny ties in my direction....

I got these for him for his birthday, he is v. pleased:

p.s. I think much of the trouble with any tie lies in the SHIRT it appears with. Bad collars... button down collars... that sort of thing.

 

[TOTTIE]

In theory jacket arms can be shortened indefinitely. Just remove the buttons, unpick the faux-button hole stitching and shorten. To maintain the placket there is a limit to how far you can shorten the arms. if this isn't an issue they can be shortened as much as you want. You will just lose the placket cuff.

bk

ahem... a really well made jacket, of course, has REAL buttonholes.

Much more difficult. Last job I did like that, I had to unpick the buttonhole stitching, and DARN the original buttonhole, before taking the cuff up.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

I don't know if the real buttonholes make any difference to how well made it is, but yes, this is a serious limiting factor. I've always found the functioning buttholes rather pointless and overly flashy. There seems to be no point to them, other than an anachronistic one about British army surgeons.

bk

 

[Tomasso]

I don't know if the real buttonholes make any difference to how well made it is, but yes, this is a serious limiting factor.

Working buttonhole are not an indicator of quality of make. They're simply a sartorial affectation, found on jackets of varying quality.


Also, tailors will generally solve the buttonhole issue by shortening the sleeves at the shoulder.

 

[TOTTIE]

Are you talking about Vintage jackets here? I was under the impression that bespoke suits were much more likely to have working buttonholes -- I thought Savile Row tailors in the 1930s (for instance) would always have put working buttonholes on.

No idea about modern suits. It's pretty hard to find anything decent quality these days...

I am prepared to stand corrected, though, if I'm wrong!

p.s. I have a huge dislike for non-functioning additions to clothing - so buttons that don't work upset me! Why are they there? Weird vestigial, useless buttons...

Anyway, I have a suspicion that as a female I shouldn't be in here, so I'll be off in a mo.