As the waistcoat disappeared and three button and double breasted jackets were replaced by the two button style, men began to notice that the lower button point on the new coats left their neckties more inclined to swing in the air. Enter the tie bar, that particularly American bit of metal intended to affix the necktie firmly in place (there are also the tie tack and sundry other devices but they all tend to have serious flaws that render them unworthy of consideration).
Now I will admit to having threaded a gold safety pin through a knit tie once upon a time, but generally I think the tie bar too flashy. In this I am not alone, as several hundred million European men seem to be of the same opinion. I do not however place wearing a tie bar into the category of venal dress sins either. That is, so long as the bar is a reasonably plain length of gold worn at a rakish slant. No matter how justifiably proud a man may be of having been a guest at the White House, the Presidential seal is too ornate in my opinion. There are many better ways to display one's patriotism.
Men who absolutely cannot stand to have their neckties moving around do have an alternative to jewelry for securing the necktie and that is to knot the thing so that the rear blade is longer than the front, with said rear tucked into one's trousers. For that matter, there are those who insert the entire bottom of the tie inside the waistband, but I do not recommend the practice as the tie usually works itself into some undesireable attitude and is then held firmly in place.
For myself, I think the the Italians have the right idea in this regard. Most of the ones of my acquaintance just let the necktie swing. And so do I.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Securing the Necktie
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15 comments:
My problem with neck ties is the standard length is too short for my mighty frame.
Children everywhere are told to drink milk and eat vegetables to grow up big and strong- no one ever points out the trouble they will have finding clothes!
Remember those nickle-sized tie clips from the 60's? I use one on the narrow blade, secured to the shirt. The tie is secured; the clip never seen.
This has been a conundrum for me as I'm not much of a, er, swinger. And I find that my flailing tie becomes more of a bib, swooping in to lick up some marinara, or gulp down some flying tears of wine.
So when not safely tucked into a vest or sweater I always ground it with a tie bar. More graceful men may brave the world without one, but if I plan on wearing a tie twice, it's better for me to keep it behind bars.
I recommend TIEALIGN as a solution to this.
You mention that all the sundry devices that have been developed don't really work, but it would be helpful to itemize those you have tried with the reasons for their failure.
I don't recall what it was, but something on ASW made me realize the Italians view the tie as still a bit like a scarf, and so viewed one can actually enjoy it flopping around a bit.
Tie in the waistband as braces are, paraquotheth the darkest bard "neverseen."
Tie bars are hardware, not fashion. So, while I love the functionality of a tie bar, I hate how it ruins an elegant look, so I've started using tie bars in an unorthodox way:
First thread the rear blade through the keeper on the back of the front blade. Then, by inserting the front part of the tie bar *between* the tie blades and downward through the keeper, the tie can be securely clipped to the shirt. Give the tie a bit of an upward lift so it's not hanging like a dead fish and it stays put, with the bar remaining out of site where it belongs.
Tie bars are hardware, not fashion. Treat them as such. :)
I use one of my fiancee's bobby pins to secure the back portion of my tie to my shirt placket. Effective and invisible.
Two words:Haines&Bonner.They make ties with a button hole on the tie loop.
Massimo Bizzochi ties have that buttonhole in the tie keeper and I have a friend that gets Dave Hober from Sam Hober to add it to their ties too
...or you can just keep your jacket buttoned. It tends to keep the tie in place when it's a bit windy outside and when you're leaning over something...like the wash basin.
But I do like the look of a simple tie bar on a sober suit.
Let it swing, if not I know a few chaps who use a hunting pin - strictly pinned to the shirt, with the rear blade thread through it.
It seems rather a worry about very little however; what do you fellows do? Trapeze artists? Serial bowers?
Tie bars are not all bad. I have only a name: Fred Astaire. Indeed the tie bar might be one of several American contributions to style.
Isnt the tie clip also used to keep an arch in the necktie? I have used it for such a purpose... y/n?
Thanks to DB for the Tiealign tip. I ordered a pack. It's amazing nobody came up with this before. (Even though they’re invisible in use, I wish they came in something other than cheap-looking plastic; stiff cloth, perhaps.)
Though it’s no big deal, I think free-swinging ties tend to look sloppy, especially when the short end slips out of the keeper.
Contrary to Will, I consider tie bars a nice bit of sartorial finesse when chosen with care. But nettling issues are (a) coordinating them with a belt buckle or the trim on braces (the latter irritatingly almost always brass), necessitating a large inventory of clasps, and (b) the tendency of them to slide off...especially with thick knits or seven-fold ties. And it’s invariably one’s favorite tie bars that get lost.
I share Jimmy's issue with too-short ties. I simply made the decision twenty years ago to pass on any tie not available in extra-long size. Paul Frederick, Jos. A. Bank, Land's End, and others offer these for an extra five bucks. (I remember when it was $1 extra.)
With over 200 ties, it’s unlikely any clothier will offer anything that will make me break my rule. I’ve bought ties at every imaginable price point and have found virtually zero correlation between cost and my satisfaction with them.
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