3 mistakes to avoid when wearing a tie

How to tie your tie well

Gentlemen, there is sadly no way around it: you have to know how to tie your tie. A well-made knot will always distinguish you at first sight from the pack. If we had to recommend one, we would pick the Prince Albert knot, the more versatile one. Refrain from using too complicated knots, as this will only show that you have way too much time in your hands. Remember that for knitted ties, the appropriate knot is a four in hand knot, that you have to tighten throughout the day as the fabric may make it slip a bit. If you still don't know how to tie a tie, we have created illustrated how-to that you can see here. Your knot is also important regarding the length of your tie. A good scale of this is your belt: Too much above it, you will look like you came out of the 50s, too long will make you look incompetent. The edge of your tie should arrive at your belt or slightly above it. A tie too short will ruin your whole outfit. We should not see your shirt through the knot, a sign that it is too loose.

A badly picked tie.

Several factors have to be considered when picking a tie : your morphology, what kind of shirt you're wearing, the type of jacket you want to wear or even the knot that you want to do. First, your morphology will have an impact of the width of the tie that you should pick, as the width should be adapted to your body. If you have muscles like The Rock, a skinny tie is not for you. If you are rather thin, a tie too wide will make you look a bit like a clown. When picking out a tie, you should also think of your jacket and the knot that you want to make : a thin tie won't work with a jacket that have wide lapels, or will a bit ridiculous with a Full Windsor knot for example. It's all about balance. Here at Pochette Square, our handmade ties are 6cm width ; neither too skinny or too wide they will fit most morphologies. Finally, it is also important to know how to pair your tie with the rest of your outfit. You can never go wrong with a dark navy or grey suit and a white shirt, an outfit that will allow most ties. If you want to try more colours or patterns, or if you want to wear your tie with a pocket square, head over to our article on how to do just that.

Take care of your tie.

A tie is your best ally for a great outfit, and you should take care of it as much as possible. How many outfits have we seen ruined because of a wrinkled tie? A tie is the central accessory of your outfit, the detail that will first catch the eye. You have to take care of your tie as soon as you remove it. Untie it by doing the steps of the knot in reverse, you will avoid pulling on the fabric of your tie, which is especially true for cashmere or wool tie. As soon as you take it off, put it on a hanger, the ties will straighten themselves out. Which leads us to our second point, don't wear your tie two consecutive days but let the fabric breathe, your ties will thank you. If your tie is slightly wrinkled, steam will do wonder. You can, for example, hang your ties in your bathroom when taking a hot shower, the steam will loosen and straighten the fabric. If you want to iron your tie, please be careful and never put the iron directly on your tie, but put a towel between the two. For more advice on cleaning and maintenance, please consult our dedicated article.