Thin ties...any thoughts?

[Jovan]

I like Brad's... but why, oh why does he have to wear them with a notch collar dinner jacket? Every other man in Hollywood and his mother wears a white shirt, black tie, and that.

 

[MrBern]

The Brad pic is the opening post for this thread. He's on the RedCarpet in NYC. Its appropriate for him to be wearing a jacket in this climate.

 

[Jovan]

What I'm saying is that he's wearing a dinner jacket with a black tie. Everyone else does that, and it's a little boring and clich?©d right now.

 

[Jovan]

Review: 319 Men Skinny Tie

[A note: This is a review straight from my blog, Nouveau Vintage, just so you guys aren't confused about the way I'm addressing the reader.]

There are many patterns available, but the one I chose to review was the brown criss-cross in this picture.

Trey Nantz of 319 Men/Charleston Bows has created a line of neck ties geared towards young men. With the relative popularity and success of the AMC original series, Mad Men, it's only natural that they are 2 1/4" wide and in simple, almost throw back patterns. While not guaranteed to make you a professional womaniser straight out of the era -- which is a good thing, because I'd slap you -- they are certainly guaranteed to give your suiting wardrobe a stylish, early '60s retro kick.

Make no mistake, these are well made and not a gimmick item despite the way he is marketing them. While the asking price may be a little more than most department store shoppers are prepared to pay, you are paying for quality materials and workmanship all the way. The tie is "individually cut, sewn and pressed by hand" and the all-silk fabric does not feel cheap at all. It has to be seen to be believed. Getting back to the fabrics, while they aren't EXACTLY what you'd find on the show, they would look at home there. Take a look for yourself.

(Keep in mind that, last I asked, he said they were going rather fast -- so these exact fabrics may not be available. Contact 319 Men for availability and pricing.)

Now, while these are inspired by the '60s, purists may sniff their nose a bit. They are a modern length, about 60", which may be a bit long for some people -- like me. The wide end just barely covers the skinny end when worn, and it dips an inch or two below my belt. I'm 6'1" and a 16 1/2" neck, for context. I think 319 Men could improve it by shortening the tie about 5". There is also a self loop to hold the skinny end in place. While the latter doesn't bother me at all, some vintage clothing enthusiasts see absolutely no need for the device. Lastly, I wish the interlining was just a little less thick.

My overall impression? Not bad at all. Some of the finer points could be ironed out, but if these get young men start dressing better in just the town of Charleston that can only be a good thing as it spread elsewhere.

I look forward to seeing many other such projects from Trey in the future. Don't worry, I will post more pics soon.

-Jovan

 

[Baron Kurtz]

How about a comparison to an actual late 50s/early60s tie? (let's say, side by side shots of this repro and an original you own. Shots of the ties being worn with your new suit, which is the right era for these ties.) The only fabric that jumps out at me as "authentic" is the red one in the bottom photo . . .

As you know (i hope) the interlining, or lack thereof, is what makes a pre-1965 necktie. If they haven't got that right - and it would seem from your review that they haven't - they haven't got a product worth speaking about. It will not tie the correct type of knot. Especially with this particular era. A 1930s repro tie can get away with a bit more interlining. 1960s cannot. That knot needs to be tiny to be anything other than caricature.

bk

 

[Jovan]

Unfortunately, I own none. The closest thing I have is a '40s tie which has a regular width. As I said, I'll have more pictures soon with me wearing it. Re: the interlining, from what I understood, ties from this era only have a thin layer.

Our own CharlestonBows (Trey Nantz) is the one who created this line, so your comments will be helpful to him when he reads this thread. Thanks!

 

[Rufus]

Cheers for the great info and review Jovan!

I was looking for a new tie... I think I've just found my next purchase(s)!

Rufus

 

[Jovan]

Thanks, though I'd wait until CharlestonBows chimes in here and actually I post some pics of me wearing the dang thing (mini-USB cord is missing...) before making a decision.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Unfortunately, I own none.

So what is the frame of reference for the review of the tie offering in question?

I'm not trying to be over-critical, but reviews are only useful if the writer has a frame of reference. Without the ownership of some originals, all you can say is how well they're made . . . nothing about whether they will tie a knot that will evoke the era they're trying to reference. This is a major issue in fashion journalism (not that you're in the fashion journalism category) that deals with "repro" lines of clothing: often you'll see enthusiastic reviews by dilettante writers/fashionistos but the product looks the part but doesn't perform the part.

bk

 

[Jovan]

While the ties I own aren't EXACTLY from from the same time ('50s, '40s), I know how a vintage tie should look and knot, etcetera. You'll see I noted in my review that it is not exact in some aspects, but is a good tie in general. I apologise if my title is misleading (I've now changed it) but I was not trying to say in any degree that it was an exact repro. In any case, I'll say again that your comments are best directed towards our own CharlestonBows, who was nice enough to send me this free of charge to give my thoughts on.

 

[CharlestonBows]

Wow -- thanks Jovan

I appreciate the review Jovan. Thanks.

BK -- thanks for the feedback. Any information you can send my way would be really helpful, and I would appreciate it immensely. Feel free to PM me.

The ties are produced with modern techniques, and are vintage inspired. And while the knots are not quite micro, they can be tied pretty small. They are at $39 now, but will likely retail online for around $35 or less. The demographic is the college age crowd here in Charleston (its not quite Boston, but we have a few schools around town!). They buy ties, but it's gotta be cool. lol

But I'll keep quiet, because I want to hear what you guys have to say. :whistling *lurks*

 

[Tomasso]

It's the knot, stupid.

Nice fabrics, albeit much to skinny for my tastes. Personally, I need to give any prospective necktie a test tie before purchasing. It's interesting how few men actually try on ties before they buy. Maybe that explains all the gents sporting ties with crappy knots.

 

[Feraud]

Nice fabrics, albeit much to skinny for my tastes. Personally, I need to give any prospective necktie a test tie before purchasing. It's interesting how few men actually try on ties before they buy. Maybe that explains all the gents sporting ties with crappy knots.

Good point about trying on the tie.

Most modern ties look bad because they are too long (I know...beating a dead horse) but also they are too thick. As much as I like a Windsor knot I never tie one with a modern tie.
You end up looking like this guy -

Which is oddly enough, not a bad look if you are going for a Victorian look.

 

[Benny Holiday]

You end up looking like this guy -

Isn't Hollywood re-making a re-make of a movie about a tie knot like that which collides with the Earth from outer space and destroys it? lol

I'm a 1940s bellywarmer type of guy myself, but I do think those patterns and colours are very nice.

 

[reetpleat]

I don't agree that there is any need to be able to tie it like a vintage tie. The only requirement is it look good. My one concern is that they seem to be twisting a little like newish ties and some vintage ties do. If that happens, that is a bad thing. If not, great.

I must say, with vintage ties so readily available for cheap, and so plentiful, it seems hard to imagine people paying that much for new. But I know that that is from my perspective. There are of course, people who would never consider or think of buying vintage. So if you can sell em, good on you.

having owned so many bgs and bags of them nd only being able to sell them for cheap a few at a time to shops, I tend to have a certain disdain for them. But from a purely vintage perspective, they are pretty cool and pretty different from new ones which is good to me.

 

[Jovan]

They are much harder to find in some areas, reetpleat. You have to get very lucky.

 

[Jovan]

More pictures...

 

[Feraud]

Isn't Hollywood re-making a re-make of a movie about a tie knot like that which collides with the Earth from outer space and destroys it? lol

That is the one. The knot starts out as a tiny square but a healthy dose of good old fashioned radiation mutates it into something "more horrible than mankind can imagine.."

 

[MrBern]

well those pix are from 2006, so it wasnt boring & cliched then.

One man's boring & cliched is another's classic & stylish.

 

[MrBern]

anyone notice that some of the tie's in the `50s film Guys&Dolls are rather thin?