Q. I'm thinking of the knit ties you recently mentioned when I ask if summer ties are supposed to be the same width as other ties? What is the current exact width rule and what is too thin or too wide to continue to wear?
A. While the summer season influences the fabrics and the colors for neckties, it does not affect the width of the ties that are found in stores. So, to answer your first question, summer ties are the same width as other, more year-round ties.
The answer on current width is not a simple, clear-cut one. It is important to remember when speaking of changes in men's styles -- and even more so when speaking of neckties -- that the words "wider" and "narrower" are measured in subtle quarter-inch changes, not dramatic inch-or-more changes.
In addition, a great deal depends on the type of store you are shopping in. In the more traditional, classic stores that cater to "gentlemen" dressers, the trend for the last few years has been toward somewhat narrower ties. No more big, fat, wide ties. On the other hand, in the fashion-forward "downtown" and club dressing stores, the trend has been toward much narrower ties.
A while back, when neckties were at their widest, they measured as much as four inches and some were even a little wider. Now that ties have been getting noticeably narrower for several years, if you were to wear a four-inch-wide "antique" today, it would mark you as totally fashion clueless.
Today's mainstream ties across the board have settled in at widths that range from 2 3/4 to 3 1/4 inches. These are what most men wear. The trendier dressers favor ties that are narrower by about half an inch. Even so, the truly skinny ties of recent seasons are trending out. Their time seems to have past.
Incidentally, the Rolls Royce of neckties, Hermes, never changes the width of its ties. Despite other manufacturers' variations in width as trends come and go, the elegant Hermes ties are, and have been for years, a constant 3 1/8 inches wide. They never look too wide or too narrow.
Another style constant has to do with the knit ties you asked about. They are always narrower than woven ties. Even though my readers know that I am a big fan of knit ties, in truth, they are such a small percentage of the tie market that they may not matter to most men. But if you do like knits, keep in mind that they are never very wide, even when ties grow wider.
Historically, changes in men's traditional styles move very slowly. But in the most extreme fashion-forward circles, such innovative designers as Tom Ford try to hurry changes along at an accelerated pace. They are always looking for new directions to take. Currently, among these ultra-high-style designers there is a very slight swing of the fashion pendulum in the opposite direction; wider ties are getting ready to make a comeback.
Ford's ties are beginning to get somewhat wider, at a current 3¾ inches wide. I should point out that if you were to mention this to salespeople in most men's clothing stores, they would think you were misinformed, since many of them are still trying to get their old-school customers to change from their too-wide ties to what our eyes have become accustomed to, something narrower.
When buying a tie, keep in mind that width is not the only factor to consider. Today's newest ties have a slightly different look. These days, many of them are brighter and make more of a fashion statement. Even the classics, such as stripes and paisleys, are much bolder and more colorful than they have been. That should make the women who like to buy ties for the men in their lives happy.
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High Profile on 07/23/2017