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Trying different knots on Neckties.

fedoralover

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,006
Location
Great Northwest
Perfect tie for that knot. I like it!

That is actually one of the drawbacks to doing these knots. If you are in a hurry to go somewhere, you probably don't want to mess around trying to find the perfect tie for the right knot. But if you have the time to experiment it actually makes it a little more fun.

People that know me and my style of dress expect it to be different. Just wearing the vintage handpainted tie's will set you apart from the majority already. The unique knot just adds some more flavor to the mix.


Why Be Normal?

fedoralover
 

The Good

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,361
Location
California, USA
Here's another one on a vintage handpainted tie.



fedoralover

The knot and the tie look very good.


Sometimes I use a knot that I call a double wrap four-in-hand, which my Dad taught me (all you do is wrap the wide end around an extra time). I find it useful because at 5'8" with 14 1/2 - 15" collar, most modern ties are way, way too long of me. It's a good alternative to the Windsor when wearing a spread collar. Another one I use from time to time is called the Nicky.

I'm nearly 6'2", and I go with a double four-in-hand knot with modern ties. A regular four-in-hand knot is going to likely leave the back end longer than the front, since I don't wear the front down to the bottom of the belt. Right above the belt, but below the last shirt button before the pants is my preference.
 
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That is actually one of the drawbacks to doing these knots. If you are in a hurry to go somewhere, you probably don't want to mess around trying to find the perfect tie for the right knot. But if you have the time to experiment it actually makes it a little more fun.

People that know me and my style of dress expect it to be different. Just wearing the vintage handpainted tie's will set you apart from the majority already. The unique knot just adds some more flavor to the mix.


Why Be Normal?

fedoralover

Well that one is perfect for the tie. It looks like an unfolding rose bud. :thumb:
 

wquiles

Familiar Face
Messages
72
Location
DFW, TX
Man, I only know one, and I don't even know what is called. I learned it good enough that I can do it without a mirror, many times in the ride down from the elevator to the lobby of the hotel :)
 

Edward

Bartender
Messages
25,074
Location
London, UK
I am, for the most part, a four in hand man myself. I like a small knot. I do keep meaning to find the time to experiment, though. Always worth trying something new - it's not as if it ruins or breaks the tie to try a different knot.

A 3 tiered knot on a Zegna tie. These do take a little more time. But I have gotten lots of "I like that" comments from people. And yes I have gotten the "hmmm, not so sure" comments as well. But lets face it, most of us here dress for our own tastes not someone elses, so that really doesn't bother me.

fedoralover


I've had this effect on some modern ties where I've had to try and make a tie that's too damn long shorter. Usually when this has happened with me it has been down the back and by accident, but I might try seeing what it could be made to look like.

One consideration when using knots of various shapes and sizes is the selection of a complimentary shirt collar.

Mn. I'm not sure which came first, but over here in the UK for at least a decade now 99% of shirts on the RTW market have been the same damn semi-spread collar, clearly intended to be paired with a modern tie with thick lining and consequently a large knot even with a very basic four in hand knot.

Also, some knots just don't look good with some tie patterns. You have to pick which one to use with which tie. I'm getting a kick out of trying some of these. The first pic I posted is a Capsule knot. I've had lots of people ask, "how did you do that?, that's awesome!"

fedoralover

Yes, I think some of the more complicated styles would look best on a plain tie, allowing the knot itself to be the feature rather than a busy pattern.

Yes and then there's the issue of the thickness of the interlining.

Tell me about it.... I have a lovely looking modern tie (came free with some shirts a year or two ago) that I've only worn once because the combination of the very thick lining and the absurd length (I can only assume it's designed to be worn well past the crotch, and I'm 5'10", so it's not like I'm unusually short) mean it gives me a knot the size of my own head with even the most basic four in hand knot.

Those are some interesting knots. I've tried a few of the less-seen varieties myself, and they seem to work best for longer, modern ties.

For my vintage ties, I use a four-in-hand knot, and often the back end is half the length of the front when tied. For my modern ties, as they are considerably longer, and I almost always do a double four-in-hand or a half-windsor knot to use the extra length. The back end would be almost as long as the front. I like wearing modern ties sometimes, with the bigger knots I've mentioned, but vintage ties are in fact less time-consuming to do, with many interesting designs that wouldn't be sold anywhere except for eBay or other auctioneers. With the amount of people disliking the wearing of ties nowadays, less length and less padding on the inside is something for the manufacturers to think about. Some of my lighter vintage ties feel like nothing is around the neck.

I wish they would. I can have my seamstress take the additional length off a tie (I had a load done a year or two ago - some of them had to have as much as six inches removed to be wearable), but it starts to get a bit much to have the lining ripped out too. I keep reminding myself that fashion is cyclical, but it certainly doesn't seem to have moved much in the last decade re hateful, hateful things like low waists and overlong, over-stuffed neckties.

Sometimes I use a knot that I call a double wrap four-in-hand, which my Dad taught me (all you do is wrap the wide end around an extra time). I find it useful because at 5'8" with 14 1/2 - 15" collar, most modern ties are way, way too long of me.

I'm five ten and 16.5" in a shirt, and most modern ties are stupidly too long on me also. I do the same - an extra wrap on the four in hand. It's a bodge with a thicker tie, but it sorta works until I can get around to having the tie shortened.

Here's another one on a vintage handpainted tie.



fedoralover

THat is, as others have noted, the perfect tie for this knot. Very nice indeed.
 

FedOregon

I'll Lock Up
Messages
5,134
Location
Oregon
Bringing up an old thread. I recently reviewed a bunch of tie knots after a guy I know moved back from Brazil and showed up wearing a fairly wild tie knot at church. I didn't want to copy it, as it's just a bit too edgy for my taste, but I took another look at knots I stopped using ever since I taught myself to tie a Windsor.

Dad taught me the Four in Hand, but once I learned the Windsor I dumped it and all the others. So, since about 1972/1973 I've always just used the Windsor knot for every tie I have. This can make for some unduly large knots with some of the ties that use thicker material and lining.

In addition to Alejandro's "Eldridge" knot http://www.ties.com/how-to-tie-a-tie/eldredge , one other thing got me to look again at the Four in Hand, Half Windsor, Simple/Oriental, and other knots. That is, one website I was looking over, which advertised beautiful and relatively expensive silk ties, recommended using a knot other than a tightly knotted Windsor as the knot would be a bit large, and the fibers of the handwoven silk material can more easily pull apart and cause the material to stretch out of whack.

So, for me, even going back to the Four In Hand was quite the bold move fashion-wise. Asymmetry seems to be hip lately. And to think I dumped it for the great, symmetrical lines of the Windsor knot. So broadening my horizons to include the Pratt/Shelby, Simple/Oriental or the Double Windsor has been quite a big deal.

I figure I stand out enough as it is just by wearing a suit and tie with a nice fedora.
 

Tiki Tom

My Mail is Forwarded Here
Messages
3,393
Location
Oahu, North Polynesia
Holy smokes, Batman.
You just opened my eyes to a world that I never even imagined. What!? There is more to reality, god, and the universe than the Windsor knot? I've been wearing ties for going on ...forever. And I have never even seen anything so outrageous. I will have to ponder this new information about the cosmos. Not sure I'm ready to give my wife yet another reason to roll her eyes at me. (But some of those knots are pretty hip-cat crazy! I'm simply trippin'!)
 

FedOregon

I'll Lock Up
Messages
5,134
Location
Oregon
Holy smokes, Batman.
You just opened my eyes to a world that I never even imagined. What!? There is more to reality, god, and the universe than the Windsor knot? I've been wearing ties for going on ...forever. And I have never even seen anything so outrageous. I will have to ponder this new information about the cosmos. Not sure I'm ready to give my wife yet another reason to roll her eyes at me. (But some of those knots are pretty hip-cat crazy! I'm simply trippin'!)
I know, right? When my buddy Alex came back from Brazil and showed up with that mind blowing Eldridge knot I thought, Wow... WHY would you do that? Then I thought, COOL! But I still don't have the nerve built up to try it...
 

drcube01

New in Town
Messages
22
Location
Caseyville, IL
I really dislike the big knots for some reason, but I'm glad others are experimenting. I wore Windsor knots in the Army the few times we had to wear our "Class A" uniform, but lately I've been 100% four-in-hand. Small and asymmetrical is right up my alley right now.

Dude below looks cool (Dr. Strange from the TV show Gotham, by the way), but I don't want to look anything like him. The size of the knot just looks ridiculous to me. I've noticed this particular knot (Eldridge?) seems to be a fad these days. I'm happy ties are still being experimented with though, and not just a wearable museum like, I don't know, tricorn hats?

gotham_s02e12_still.jpg
 

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