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Necktie Knots

The_Edge

One of the Regulars
Messages
224
Location
WA USA
Found this very easy to follow web site on how to tie a neck tie. (For those of us who don't wear them as often and need a refresher coarse every time.)

tie-a-tie.net
 

Halliburton

New in Town
Messages
26
Location
Orange County, CA
Windsor Knot

Fellas,

Being a guy who wants to be In The Know, I'm wonderin' how to tie a Windsor Knot. I can do the regular asymetrical kinda knot I learned in middle school, but how does one knot up a classy Windsor style?

Thanks in advance.
 

Ken

A-List Customer
Messages
308
Location
Scotland, UK
I almost learnt how to tie a windsor know

I remember as a cadet in the RAF on parade one day our flight seargant decided he was going to show us so he ordered the entire group to take off their ties and then went through the windsor step by step. Unfortunatly I was wearing a clip on tie at the time so just tried to keep my head low and pretend to tie it. Ironically I later got complimented by the flight seargeant for a perfect windsor knott. :)

Ken
 

Feraud

Bartender
Messages
17,190
Location
Hardlucksville, NY
The link from bellytank is it. The Windsor makes a nice fat knot. It looks good with spread collars. It take up the extra space very nicely. There is also a half Windsor for a less full knot.
 
I usually tie a half windsor but I am going to add the extra wrap ont he other side and make it a full one from now on. It is really just one more step and a few seconds more. I need a bigger knot for a bigger guy. LOL
Thanks for the instruction link to remind me how to tie it correctly.

Regards to all,

J

P.S. Ken, that flight seargeant is still alive and is going to hunt you down and force you to learn. He is even meaner now with age too. LOL
 

Gershomite

New in Town
Messages
36
I prefer the Shelby/Pratt knot...it is a tad narrower, yet has the symmetry of the Windsor, while leaving a bit more length in the tie.

:)

Gersh
 
To Dimple or not to Dimple?

I despise that dimple that appears under the knot of a tie.
I know not why.

Whenever i tie my tie, i spend about the same amount of time removing the dimple as i do tying the knot. I figure that if i've spent the time tying, say, a nice symmetrical windsor knot, i don't want some surrogate adam's apple butting in under the knot. I think the dimple just looks plain silly. I try to get a nice smooth curve going under the knot, from the chest on one side to the chest on the other.I can almost understand the dimple if it is explained as a sort of "not contrived" feature. But that sounds like the "make the pocket hankie look uncontrived" argument, where we all know it's completely contrived.

And i see that there are machines (not really machines, pieces of moulded plastic) one can purchase that will insert the "perfect" dimple under the knot. Anyone own/use one of these? If so, why?

I'm interested to see if this is a cultural thing - for example, you hardly ever see British politicians with the dimple, almost always with American politicos (Rummy springs to mind as a prime example of the super-dimple).

Sorry if this has come up before.

bk
 

Vladimir Berkov

One Too Many
Messages
1,291
Location
Austin, TX
My tie always has a dimple. The key with tying any tie is not to make it look perfect but always slightly askew in some respect. To me a tie without a dimple looks like the big windor knots you see at the department store where they tie the ties on the shirts to display them on the table.
 

Rigby Reardon

One of the Regulars
Messages
270
Location
Near the QM
I dimple. Just because I think it looks better, no fashion reason. And I try to get it balanced/centered, for the same reason. I just think it looks neater.

Why, was that wrong? I just had it happen accidentally when I was first learning to tie a tie, so I started doing it intentionally. Looked better to me. That's all.
 

3PieceSuitGuy

One of the Regulars
Messages
177
Location
Sydney, NSW, Australia
To Dimple or not to dimple

Not quite sure what the fashion was in the 30's to 40's but these days a well knotted tie should definately have a dimple. In the military they try not to dimple and the best way to do this is to not pull the knot too tight.

The choice is always yours but a dimple in a tie is generally considered to be correct.

Cheers
 

Quigley Brown

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,745
Location
Des Moines, Iowa
jpdesign said:
Everything I have read states that a tie is not properly tied without a dimple. It gives the tie a little extra fullness.

Apparently there's plenty of men out there who go by the book. I'm glad I'm not one. I think only dandys and dandy wannabees stress over such a thing. If I have to re-tie it it's only to get the length right.
 

The Wingnut

One Too Many
Messages
1,711
Location
.
I dimple mine due to the way I tie them, there's no way to avoid it. I use what's known as a Pratt or Shelby knot, which looks like a full Windsor, but doesn't use nearly as much material, and makes a smaller knot...this forces the tie to dimple. I like the knot small, and prefer the cleaner look of the inverted triangle between the collar points. I do fuss with getting the dimple centered, since it looks sloppy if it's off-center.
 

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