Thin ties...any thoughts?

[Feraud]

There is usually some wiggle room when it comes to tie or lapel widths.
I hate to see these issues put in so definite a category.

 

[CharlesB]

There is usually some wiggle room when it comes to tie or lapel widths.
I hate to see these issues put in so definite a category.

agreed

 

[MrBern]

`04 not `08

Believe me, that is the least confusing thing on that show...

Im wondering it the thin tie is a mistake or a clue.
Afterall, the show takes place in 2004. Wouldnt that have been a bit out of character for a Professor to wear an 'edgy' thin tie?

consider the tie that Jack wore in the pilot ep

 

[Feraud]

I think the thin tie on whats-his-name is more fashion statement than a clue or hidden message. While I am not sure what professors are wearing today our man from Lost looks more Runway forward than professorial.

 

[Widebrim]

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

Your chronology is pretty much right on, Senator Jack. The narrow lasted til about '66 (look at LP covers from the time), then came back around '80 (I wore many during the early '80s).

 

[Widebrim]

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.

I agree, Adam. I try to match ties with lapel and hat brim widths, also. Most of the ties in my collection appear to date from the mid-50s, averaging about 2 1/2" (a few were my father's). While not as "bold" as late 40s ties, many have great colors and/or geometric patterns. I've come, though, to really dislike the early-60s ultra-thin models, which tend to be solid-colored and lacking any designs.

 

[Caroline]

Can a lady chime in?

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).

I agree with you. Personally I love the knit ties. I was very happy to see a HUGE batch of them at our local Lord & Taylor yesterday. Some of the colors are quite vivid, maybe too vivid for some of you, but a fine selection nonetheless

(by the way my first and last tie was an ultra skinny silver & black one from the 7th grade, 1983...I thought it was the bee's knees...)

 

[Beowulf67]

I have quite a few narrow ties that had belonged to my great uncle. He died in the early 70's and when my great aunt died about 10 years later my brother and I got a lot of his old ties. He was a very sharp dresser and I don't know what era the ties were from. I also got a couple of fedora's from him but they were too small and I couldn't wear them, and after all these years I don't know what happened to them.

My favorite tie that I got was solid black with three billiard balls on it, because he owned a billiard parlor (not a pool hall) from just after WW1 until he retired in the 60's. I still have it and wear it on occasion. It went over big in the 80's when I was in high school and college.

 

[Feraud]

I was at JCrew recently and see they are pushing thin ties. The ties look to be approximatly three inches wide and have a stripe pattern.
It is good to see a pattern rather than the generic looking black ties the hip crowd favors.

 

[Jovan]

They're actually 2.75" according to the website. But I'm just being pedantic.

I do wish companies in general would use less interlining though. Some of these narrow ties being made today are absolutely killed by looking like they're stuffed and mounted for display rather than wear.

 

[Quigley Brown]

I've noticed that Bill Maher (HBO's Real Time w/ Bill Maher) is wearing narrow ties. Are they the next men's fashion 'trend?' [huh]

 

[Jovan]

Aren't they already? EVERYONE is making them now.

 

[MrBern]

I was at JCrew recently and see they are pushing thin ties. The ties look to be approximatly three inches wide and have a stripe pattern.
It is good to see a pattern rather than the generic looking black ties the hip crowd favors.

Ive noticed in H&M, the thin ties (some poly, some silk) go quickly, but the regular ties sit & sit.

Quigley, jsut check the beginning of the thread, celebrities have been spotted wearing thin ties back in `06. The y seem to be a staple of most award shows.

 

[Quigley Brown]

Aren't they already? EVERYONE is making them now.

They are? I guess I haven't been paying attention. I haven't been out to any of the mens shops (i.e. the mall) for quite a while and I certainly don't see anyone wearing them in my little downtown world (except me ).

 

[CharlesB]

A great many of my ties are skinny. Then again im a very slight gentleman so most everything I have would fall under the guise of Slim Fit.

 

[Feraud]

I was surprised to find this 2" wide tie at Daffy's.

 

[CharlesB]

heres some of mine

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[Quigley Brown]

I just came across this very recent article:

http://delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080411/LIFE/804110309/1005

 

[Senator Jack]

Aargh! Why do I read these things?

Now they say the narrow tie is a young man's tie, but in the 70s it was an old man's tie because the generation before wore it. And when that generation wore the narrow tie, the wide tie was an old man's tie, because the generation before wore it. Do writers do any research or fact checking any more?

 

[Tomasso]

Do writers do any research or fact checking any more?

It doesn't appear so.