elmo's neckties - which is the best?

yeah so i have definitely improved upon my collection since this poll -- today i snapped up vintage burberry & a zegna, last week i got a vintage j press, 60s countess mara, & a really gorgeous emilio ricci. never paying more than $4, sometimes as little as $.50. plus all sorts of old brooks bros & plaid wool guys. kinda getting out of hand; might take it to eBay & make a little cash?

i bought 28 ties today.

good lord.

what has happened to me?

that's a lot of ties

this poll is so laughable to me know. there was a time when i owned 27 ties!? ridiculous! that is not nearly enough ties.

now*

pics plz

I agree though I have to exercise extreme self restraint whenever I go to a thrift store

floral b is lovely

i don't own it anymore! it is gone. i have many other florals tho. awesome ones.

am following yr tumblr, elmo, & v much like your ties. i am not especially style conscious but the clear disparity between how appealing woollen ties are, & how just kinda shiny & unappealing i find regular ties, has always baffled me. your collection is exemplary. i know you have some shinies also but they are at the neat end of the shiny tie spectrum.

thanking u, schlump! i totally agree -- there are nice silk ties to be had out there and ymmv but silks like foulard, jacquard, and (ugh) satin are totally off putting to me -- at worst they just come off as shiny & cheap & tacky. i defintely prefer a matte tie to a shiny one, but that's probably because i don't have much use for formal / evening wear in general. i am big on the idea of the casual tie, and casual fabrics by extension.

as for wools, oh man, i picked up two amazing pendleton wool ties today, one black watch plaid and one a grey/navy/red plaid. they are super, super thick, practically blanket-weight. crazy.

which reminds me, i got to a shop in town yesterday and checked out some of the new F/W line from The Hill-Side and it's all pretty great, they have some gnarly striped wool-blend blanket ties and sick discharge prints on cotton. i want to work for that company so goddamn bad.

i defintely prefer a matte tie to a shiny one, but that's probably because i don't have much use for formal / evening wear in general. i am big on the idea of the casual tie, and casual fabrics by extension.

for real! i like wearing a tie because it sorta threads everything else together, & offsets the various deficiencies (consistent in my appearance) elsewhere; so my shoes are a little beat up and my shirt is untucked but a tie almost works as a symbol, i think, of presentation, of communicating that you're trying to be smart. & solid (non-reflective) colour is good, uh huh. i have some 'calzeat' wool ties from scotland that i love. & a long story that it is not worth going into about how my doorman stole my favourite tie.

tie widths is another thing; i always wish mine were slightly narrower than they are (like regular width), but without going all the way & being skinny.

like i guess just skinnier at the top

elmo,

what are your rules about knots? fatty knots for fat ties? four in hands for skinny ones? what do you do if a tie doesn't taper and is all one width? different knots for different materials?

ty!

hey dude! sorry for so late of a reply.

my only rule is, if the knot looks wrong, try a different knot

i generally use only a few different types of knots -- simple, four in hand, 1/2 windsor, sometimes a pratt knot

http://www.tcm.phy.cam.ac.uk/~tmf20/tieknots.shtml

it may be counterintuitive, but for skinny ties I tend to go with a slightly larger knot, so the knot is substantial enough to fill the space between the collar points. conversely, wider ties can handle a simpler, smaller knot, so the knot isn't too big relative to your face.

ties that are made of thicker material, like wool or old polyester ties, tend to look best with a small knot, i think -- if you try for a larger knot it might look more like a weird knobby lump than a proper knot

ah ok that makes sense. haven't learned a pratt knot!

I associate half and full windsors with those godawful wide ties that businesspeople wear - but it makes sense that they are better for skinny ties, you definitely need a more substantive knot.

elmo, after dropping off my goodwill donations the other day, I made both of my kids get out of the car with me. "Daddy wants to see if he can find some cool ties from long ago" I told my son. In my mind, I added "...just like elmo argonaut." Alas, there were only a handful of ties there and they were all pure garbage! "That place smelled," my son said.

It was a disappointing start to my search. I still think I can do this though. Don't want to pay $20 on ebay or whatever.

haha, that's awesome! but yeah, thrift shopping is really hit or miss, i often make a trip to the store without buying any ties or anything at all. i think the thing is to explore as many thrift & charity shops as you can in your local area and go back periodically. i not quite to the point where i know the restocking schedule at the local salvation army but i'm getting there

elmo did you know about the world's international necktie city of the 21st century

http://info.hktdc.com/imn/03090401/fashionacc013.htm

i made a necktie, and it turned out pretty ok! whaddaya know