It comes to light as a neck warmer and becomes a usual accessory as of the XVII century. Style guides report its evolution also in the cut: initially it was cut straight and was lined with fabric, so it was deteriorating soon and the knot was not easy to keep. Apparently, the New Yorker Jesse Langsdorf was the first to patent a 45° angle, as we know it today. As a status symbol, since the begining of ‘900 middle-class people used to wear it to demonstrate their wealth. The regimental tie, on the other hand, used to identify members of a College or a Club, depending on its colours: for this reason, gentlemen in some Countries should pay attention before wearing it. How wide should a tie be? And what is the right knot? Every elegant gentleman reading this article will agree that the knot depends on the fabric and composition of the tie. With the same knot, a wool tie and a silk one can look different. Four-in-hand, windsor, half-windsor and “trinity”: the web is full of photos and video tutorials of dubious and absurd knots. One thing is sure, the timeless icon Gianni Agnelli used to do a double four-in-hand knot, using just the outer loop. About the size of the knot, schools of thoughts here diverge again: some consider it as a creature that needs to breathe, some others prefer it to be tighter, letting the tie enlarge below it. At least, everyone agrees on the importance of the “dimples”. As for the width, finally, we went from those big frying pans of 15cm in the 80’s to the opposite excess of 5cm ties in the 90’s. Today, fortunately, a good tie is 8 or 8,5cm wide, not more. Lined? Unlined? 3, 5, 7, 12 folds? Sad races to the highest folds are very common also here. A very elegant trend, in the humble opionion of the writer, is to wear and unlined tie, with a light and short canvas inside (not till the bottom), cut “swallow tail” and not straight, with a travetto at 24cm from the end. It is so light, it will look like a foulard!
Written by Fabio Attanasio – author of the blog thebespokedudes.com