Finally Got My Fix

As other Sam Hober necktie customers know, David and Noina Hober announced that they were going on vacation for a few weeks this past August and that vacation somehow turned into a four month hiatus during which they relocated their tie-making from Denver to rural Thailand.

Now, I am all in favor of the Hobers being able to work whereever they wish, particularly since David has promised that the move means the six week wait for a bespoke Hober necktie will be reduced to three because they'll be able to hire accomplished seamstresses in Thailand. But I'm accustomed to regular necktie fixes and I had placed my order for an Atkinson's striped Irish poplin #46 in July. And then the wait began.

When there was no sign of the Hobers in September I bought a couple of bow ties to help tide me over. In October I bought a wool four in hand so my hands would stop shaking. By November I'd begun hyperventilating whenever I thought about neckties and I thought seriously about taking my business back to Charvet. I was only put off by the logistics - I hadn't looked at silks when I was there this year and Charvet has no web site so I'd be reduced to looking at a few swatches every two weeks. Fortunately, by then there were signs of life on the Hober web site.

Well, it took most of six months but I finally got my fix. A couple days ago a tie-sized box with a collectible Thai postage stamp arrived in the mail and my tie was inside. Perfection as usual, at least since we got the direction of the stripes straightened out. I promptly placed another order, for an orange oxford weave, and hopefully things are returning to normal. After all, I need a regular necktie fix.

Pocketing a Square

There are many ways to pocket a square. The stylist at Robert Talbott chose a deliberately sloppy version of the four points fold for the pocket square in the top photograph. Not that there's anything special about the four points. I like the rolled puff, and a lot of guys stick with the simple tv fold. The important thing is that there should be a square in every breast pocket and the fold is up to the wearer. Below, Ede & Ravenscroft illustrates the conventional way to display four points.


There's no excuse for not understanding the repertoire of available folds as there are illustrated how-tos for virtually every known style of pocketed square in several places on the Web, including the Sam Hober web site. What they don't explain, but I will, is that perfectly executed linen or cotton handkerchief folds require an iron to press the square until it lies flat. But don't iron silk, cashmere or wool squares, which should flop about a bit.

What's in your pocket?

Satin Ties for Evening

David Hober of Sam Hober sent me this photo of a gold herringbone last week and it reminded me of the pleasures of satin neckties for evening. I know that's not necessarily a logical connection. A herringbone is not a satin. But it's bright enough to fill the same function - I wore a close relative of this tie to dinner at Le Gavroche in London not long ago with a navy mohair suit and a white shirt.

A lounge suit with some sheen to the fabric combined with a white shirt and a satin tie are about as formal as you can get without packing black tie, and, at least for that trip, black tie would have required lugging an additional suitcase.

The Hobers expanded their offerings of solid ties in silk failles (grosgrain), royals & satins last month. I prefer my satins in dark red, gold and Pacific blue but the slate, copper and forest green versions might be a bit more off beat. Secondary colors tend to make more interesting neckties. Worth a look.

How to Stripe a Necktie

Since men began wearing neckties, the direction of the stripes on striped versions have traditionally gone from higher on the left to lower on the right, just as a man's coat buttons left over right. The direction is aesthetically pleasing, and complements a man's pocket square and boutonniere on the left side of the jacket.

So it came as a surprise to me to when I found myself in a debate over stripe directions last week with David Hober of Sam Hober (the necktie company). David is a lovely fellow and his wife Noina has been sewing beautifully crafted bespoke neckties for me for at least a year. Fortunately, only a handful of them were striped.

When a recent order of Atkinson's Irish poplin ties arrived, I happened to hang one next to an older tie and did a double take. The stripes were reversed! A further look revealed that, sure enough, every stripe from the Hobers had the stripes running right to left.

Right hand high necktie stripings originated when Brooks Brothers brought the regimental tie to the States during the 1920's. Though some Europeans have accused the company of simply not knowing what it was doing, BroBroClo deliberately reversed the direction of its stripes as a way of placating the English, some of whom might have been tiffed to find an American businessman wearing an old Eton necktie without actually attending the school. Other American tie makers like the Robert Talbott Company did the same. And the practice has continued in this country, whether the ties are regimental or not.

Anglophile that I am, I don't wear British regimental and school ties (with the exception of the colors of the Argyle & Sutherland Highlanders, an active regiment, which I do wear with the stripes reversed). But it never occured to me that perfectly ordinary patterns would follow the same practice. Now that I am paying attention, a glance at the Hober web site shows that nearly all of the stripes are right hand high. If you want a left hand high stripe, you have to specify it.

My debate with David began with my request that he explicitly state the stripe direction on each tie on his web site, so another careless buyer doesn't find himself making the same mistake as I (according to the policies stated on the Hober web site, I could have returned the ties but I did not feel that would be appropriate since they were made to my specifications except for the issue of the direction of the stripes). The Hobers are not people who intentionally mislead customers and I believe their site will have the appropriate information as soon as possible.

Bespoke Neckties

Most men may have little need for bespoke neckties. I wonder how I got along without them. Like anything else that's made for you, a bespoke necktie gives you exactly what you ask for, such as a lined and self-tipped sixfold with a self-keeper, 3 1/2" wide and 55" long, cut to tie a moderate four-in-hand that fits into the tie space on a tab collar dress shirt.

Once it is tied, the widest point on the necktie should intersect the top of your trousers, and the tip should fall at the bottom of your waistband. RTW ties are too long for me because my trousers are cut two inches higher than most men's. Short men who tie small knots and tall men who tie large ones will also have a difficult time with standard length ties. Necktie individualists like Prince Michael of Kent, who favors very large knots, are even less likely to find what they like hanging on the racks at the local haberdashery.

There are many sources for bespoke neckties and well known suppliers include Turnbull & Asser and Bowring & Arundel in London. Currently I am working most often with Charvet in Paris and Sam Hober in Denver.

But for one problem Charvet would be my choice as the premier necktie source in the world, because the variety of silk they offer is, in my opinion, unmatched. The service is friendly and prompt, the price only a bit above their RTW prices and they promptly and competently make what you request. The difficulty is identifying what you want to order without travelling to view the silks in their store on the place Vendome in Paris. They do not yet have a web site.

Simlar to my experience with Charvet, I can find only one thing to complain about regarding David and Noina Hober at Sam Hober in Denver, and that is that they have been making neckties of English silk for a relatively short time and have "only" perhaps 300 from which to choose.


Today brought a package from them with three more neckties, two of them Atkinson's Irish poplin (one of them the Argyle & Sutherland stripes which is one of the great pairings with a navy blazer), as well as two pocket squares made from printed silk. The other necktie pictured is a burgundy grenadine, and therein lies the tale of why I expect the Hobers will become as succssful as they want to in the necktie business.

Six months ago, I emailed David with a request for a couple grenadine necktie colors, which he didn't offer at the time. He asked a couple of questions, verified with other customers that there would be demand for them, and two months later presented his customers with a choice of several dozen colors. He was equally responsive to requests for Atkinson's Irish poplin.


Whether the item in question has been tailored clothing, shoes, shirts or items with as few variables as neckties or braces, bespoke clothing is a rewarding experience, often in completely unexpected ways. Reward yourself this holiday season with a necktie built just for you.