photo by jayneandd

Ties are a matter of personal preference and taste but they are some basic guidelines to them. After all, you don’t want to look like a total goof trying to impress your boss or some woman, right?

Ties and colour: what should you be aware of?

When you’re looking at ties to wear, you need to be aware of the shirt colour. Always, without fail, wear ties that are darker than your shirt. Make sure the ties’ background colour is not the same as the shirt while making sure that the ties has some colour resemblance to the shirt. Whatever tie you choose to wear, make sure you integrate the suit colour in the same way as the business shirt.

While simple/subdued patterns are favoured for the conservative dress, the terms can be taken in a variety of ways. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, it was popular to have matching necktie colours with the shirt (a look that many people adopted because of TV personalities). It was also popular to wear a dark coloured shirt and light coloured tie; though this was mainly seen at formal occasions such as weddings, anniversaries, graduations, etc. Thank god we have evolved- some fashions are better kept in the past…If you feel like wear a blue shirt with a dark blue tie, this works well too.

Knots and ties – three common knots you can use

When talking about knots in ties, there are three very common names that come up. They are:

• Four-in-hand
• Half-Windsor
• Full-Windsor

These three knots are more fitting to wear with a suit based upon the modern guidelines. Once they’ve been correctly knotted and arranged, the bottom can be extended to any part of your belly. However, the ties thin part does not need to be any longer than the tie’s wide end. However, if the tie is thin, this is tolerable.

A look at ties in the past

During the 1960s, men and women would wear scarves with their suits that were tied into knots either inside the shirt (known as an Ascot) or under the collar, worn like a tie. This style was highly common for people who worked in the art department like musicians and film directors. For corporate executives, it was best to leave any scarves for the winter time or when you’re out with the ladies. However, the style faded during the mid 1970s but in the 1990s, the style was revived (women, for the most part, would wear it). Again, in 2005, the style made a comeback with many famous people wearing them. While scarves were prevalent during the 1960s, business workers preferred ties. Although Matt Preston wouldn’t be caught dead on Masterchef without his favoured cravat- the jury is out on whether this trend will go mainstream….

If you think it’s too hard tying a knot, consider getting an elastic novelty tie and see just how far your life in the career sector gets. Tying a knot isn’t all that hard now, is it?

Technorati Tags: dress code, matching, suits, ties