the Tie

My necktie game on the inventory side is pretty solid. I’ve been almost obsessed with all the different fabrics, patterns and colours since the start of my journey and I tried to get at least one new a week for a period of time. The somewhat ironic downside being that I never found the time to wear them. I love ties, I don’t find particular trouble styling them nor putting together a decent looking tie knot, yet somehow the polo knit always seems to be closer to grab and put on. I’m not sure where this reluctancy to wear ties comes from but I am adamant to change that. 

While continuing to pursue my tie-wearing goal I’ve noticed that regardless of season there is one tie I keep coming back to. I’ll start off by saying that although there is one particular tie, first and foremost, I’m talking about broad striped ties.

I’m honestly not sure why. They’re definitely not the ones that jumps off the shelf first but with a wear ratio between my broad striped versus pattern ties of 7 to 3, if I had to guess, there’s something particular drawing me to these simple yet stylish gems. And that last part there is most likely the reason. The broad stripes are quite simple pattern wise, somewhat in between solid and stripe, but distinctively stripe, and unarguably stylish.

It draws a little formality from both sides of the spectrum, making it a lot less formal than both regimental stripes and university stripes, and also more playful than solid ties.

It’s hard to explain why, but when I see someone neatly sporting a broad striped tie it gives the impression of a person in the know, someone with that sartorial knowhow, without being peacocky. 

It also wears well with with almost all patterns, seeing as the stripes themselves are too broad to possibly interfere with any stripe or check size you’re likely to have on your shirt. It’s simply the perfect tie!

The tie I alluded to earlier, which seemingly is the winner in my collection, is a necktie from Stefanobigi. The Milan based workshop has been carrying on for generations and is well known to most tie enthusiasts and as such it shouldn’t come as a surprise that they could pull off crafting a tie I am this infatuated by. Although, as I found the tie at Ships in Japan, with their “Stefanobigi Milano SHIPS” label, I am not certain if that has any implications with regards to quality, where and by whom it is made and so on. Regardless, I love the tie. 

The tie has blue and beige stripes running from upper right to lower left with the stripes being about 8cm wide. It measures 145cm, thus a little shorter than most of my other ties, and with a width at 8.5cm it is fairly wide. The fabric is mix of 88% silk and 12% linen and has a lot of texture to it. But why is this tie in particular so versatile you might ask?

First of all, the thickness of the fabric is perfect for a Four-in-hand knot, albeit being a little rigid getting that last tightening of the knot in place. No biggy though. Being my go to knot this obviously makes for a big deal in my book.

Whatever inherent association a textured silk and linen tie might bring, this tie goes well with more or less everything I wear. Casual shirts and dress shirts alike, stripes and checks as mentioned before and as for jackets it gets even better. 

It goes well with wool flannel, worsted wool, with cotton and linen. I wore the tie with my flannel suits throughout the winter and with my heavier cotton mix suits as well, looking great with either. The texture coordinates great with the texture of wool flannel. As for the cotton suits it picks up some of the “roughness” of the cotton while also adding a contrast texture. The nice thing about the the texture and the thickness of the tie, is that it lends itself well to winter fabrics but at the same time immediately picks up a summery vibe due to the silk and linen, when worn with lighter worsted wool. The colourway is the finishing touch but at the same time so much more than that with regards to why this tie is great. The lighter shades makes it perfect for hotter seasons (although, maybe not peak summer), but are muted just enough to work well in winter as well. The beige, being a neutral colour, goes well with just about anything, besides beige that is. On the other hand the lighter shade of blue is obviously perfect for most colour matching, but beyond that, beautiful with greens and browns which happens to be my two favourite colours for suits. 

Now, what’s your favourite tie? Is there such a thing? Feel free to comment.