Forget sevenfolds, fivefolds, twelvefolds and any of the exotic necktie constructions in the marketplace. Unless he spends his time examining the insides of his neckties, a man cannot tell one from the other. There are really only two kinds of quality neckties in my opinion, and those are the lined and the unlined threefold.
Used as we are to the English way of doing things, the unlined threefold is not as well known as the lined. It is the necktie of Naples, where the heat lends itself to clothing that is lighter in weight. Its delicacy means it must be sewn by hand as the pressure of a sewing machine is more than it can bear. And more folds of silk defeat the purpose.
The second type of necktie is of course, the English style, which adds a wool interlining to the same silks used in unlined ties. The interlining gives the tie some heft and also makes it easier to construct by machine, which can in turn reduce the cost substantially and that is a good thing.
The lined tie is the domain of the folds, as it were. It is true that the earliest ties were simply silk folded over on itself, but false that they had interlinings. Extra folds of silk in a lined necktie are marketing extravagance, adding nothing to the appearance or wearability of the tie. Indeed, they add cost, delighting the silk weavers who sell their stuff by the meter, but those "hand made" ties are sewn by machine, which is why a seven fold tie costs about the same as a hand made unlined threefold (the extra cost of the silk is offset by the reduced cost of the construction).
There are but two principal styles of necktie construction, and the thing they have in common are round folds at the edges. Ties that have been pressed flat and lifeless are the sign of poor quality irrespective of the price of the tie.
For myself, I like both constructions. Interlining lends itself to the heavier woven silks, and that is the domain of the English. Printed silks are lighter, and that is consistent with the unlined style. But three folds of either is enough. Forget about folds.
In the photo, one of my unlined Neapolitan neckties.
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2 comments:
I can only agree with this, and I said so when Mr Crompton asserted the alleged superiority of multiple-fold ties on his blog.
It's something that no-one else can see during wearing. So while the wearer his patting himself on the back for being such a great connoisseur, everyone else just sees 'a tie', perhaps a very nice tie, and assumes it just has a thick interlining. Any claims that they behave or hang better is something people do to convince themselves that the hiked-up price tag was worth it.IMO it ranks about the same as unnecessary fancy suit lining.
I completely agree. The obsession with the number of folds a tie has is largely snobbery on the customer's part and marketing puff on the manufacturer's. If weight is needed (and it generally isn't, or at least not to the extent people imagine), it can be added with a lining.
Oddly, for some reason I thought you had praised multi-fold ties in the past and was all set to call you out on it, but it seems I was wrong and you've always treated them with a healthy dose of scepticism, so I stand corrected.
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