Even less to say. Necktie is an older Talbott Best of class. I decided to give it a go paired up with my TM Lewin St. James cutaway collar, thinking it would produce a substantial enough four-in-hand to fill the tie space. I’d say the experiment was fairly successful.
Part of the reason it took a while to get this one and the next one up is that there’s really not much to say. Pretty standard stuff. Not that many of the others that I’ve posted are incredibly out of the norm.
This particular necktie is a XMI Platinum. Not a bad tie at all in its day but it is a dated, wide tie. I can’t imagine the knot this one would produce if tied in anything more substantial than the four-in-hand pictured here. The pattern is pretty timeless in its simplicity. I really should look into skinying up some of my older neckwear.
Both left and right images are a four-in-hand knot. The one on the left is how I normally tie my tie. What’s different, you might ask. Simple. With the knot on the left I started with the blade (apron) or wide end on my left. With the one on the right, I started with it on the right. The knot was formed in exactly the same place on the length of the tie but the one on the right is noticeably more asymmetrical. I’m one that likes my knots a little asymmetrical but the one on the right is a little too much.
It’s not the tie itself. I’ve done this with several neckties over the years. Just for grins. So what is it? The bias? I honestly don’t know.
I tried a similar experiment with a Half Windsor knot too:
Here’s the deal – with the Half Windsor I start with the wide end on the right but the way I tie it the blade’s last pass across the front is still from left to right. It’s less noticeable with a Half Windsor knot but there is a bit more asymmetricity there. (Is that a word? Firefox doesn’t think so.) In fact, from now on, if I decide to dimple a Half-Windsor instead of a Four-in-Hand, I will start with the blade on the left instead of the right.
There are two ways to tie a Half Windsor knot, according to totieatie.com: Method 1 and Method2. As I said, I use Method 1 but I used to begin with the wide end on my right. I am a bit left handed for some things and a bit right handed for others. Maybe that’s why I’ve always switched up the beginning side for the blade depending on which knot I was tying. I can find no other name for Method 1 but Method 2 is the more conventional way of tying a Half Windsor. Brooks Brothers site says that’s the way to tie it. Who am I to argue with them?
Anyways, a bonus Sunday post. This was my church getup today. Usually I just recycle my Sunday combination sometime during the week. I decided to try a Sunday post since I will not be knotted up for Memorial Day. My thoughts and prayers with those who have fallen, their families and friends, and those yet in harm’s way.
I’ve read here and there that black and blue combinations are verboten. The the necktie said I could do it so I did. This is another older, fat tie from Jos Bank and has a nifty swirly, flowery vine subtly woven into the design.
I know I’ve mentioned the taper in the blade of ties before. I decided to do a little comparison today. Hence this picture:
Hopefully with that picture, it’s clear what I mean by taper. The bottom tie is about 3/8″ wider than the one on top yet in the area where the each would be knotted, they are approximately the same width. The end result is that each knots very similarly but the top tie is a much more stylish, skinny. Or something.
I started out with strictly yellow flavored neckwear paired with blue gingham shirts. It wasn’t long before I tried a gray and blue stripe, a red, patterned tie and finally a red, striped tie. From my beginning with gingham shirts I have liked them paired with a large paisley necktie. Today I finally paired one with a red, paisley one. The pocket square is also a red paisley but solid colored with the pattern woven into it. Makes me wonder how a similarly fashioned tie would work with this shirt.
dimpledfourinhand 