We LOVE people who love ties

We love all our customers, but every once in a while there is one that just makes my day.

I've never heard anyone get so excited about ties. Maybe it was my chuckle that made him feel self-conscious. He laughingly said, "You must think I am such a huge geek: Getting so excited about ties."

Nope. We LOVE people who love ties as much as you do. I wish everyone got this excited about ties... specifically these ties.

How to clean a tie

Even if a tie says that its machine washable, don't do it! The agitation of a washing machine combined with the water will cause the tie to lose its shape. Instead, try wiping the dirt off with a damp cotton cloth and a very small amount of dish washing detergent it's needed.

 

If the tie is made from microfiber or polyester it should clean right up. If the tie is made from silk, only use a damp cloth. The soap will leave a residue behind and it could stain the silk fabric.

A dirty tie can easily be cleaned by following these simple steps.

 

Ties can also be dry cleaned, however the results will not be a tie that looks new again. The tie will  be pressed after dry cleaning and this will cause the tie to look smashed. The seam and loop on the back of the tie will leave an impression on the front of the tie.

 

Instead, after wiping it off with a damp cloth use an iron set on a steam setting to remove any wrinkles. Carefully steam the tie while hovering above it about one quarter of an inch and moving the iron over the surface area of the tie to remove the wrinkles.

 

Finally, if these efforts fail to remove the stains from the tie, try putting it though a washing machine and laying it flat on a towel to dry. It won't look new again, but it may look good enough to save it's life.

"How do I pick out a tie?"

This is a question I have been asked many times.

While there is no concrete answer, I'd like to try and answer that question.  



Ties, ties, ties. Which tie do I choose?

The first thing to consider when you are trying to select a tie to match your suit is what is the occasion that the suit is being worn for? What I mean by that is if I am going to work, to church, a wedding or a funeral, it makes a difference on the type of tie that would be appropriate for that occasion. Wearing a bright fuscha and lime green striped tie at Grandma’s funeral is probably not the right choice.  So, before thinking about what tie matches your suit, you must first think about the occasion.

Ties, like other artful expressions, evoke emotion.  A small pattern on a red tie is unobtrusive.  It’s a conservative tie that isn’t out of style, because frankly it has never been in style. Like a white shirt or wingtip shoes. Conservative ties don’t go out of style and they don’t require a risk to wear them. You won’t look any different than anyone else wearing a suit. You won’t stand out. Sometimes that’s a good thing; Grandma’s funeral is an example of that.

On other occasions you may want to stand out or standing out is the right thing to do for that occasion. A more fashionable, brighter tie is the right choice.  A job interview, a date, a presentation in front of your peers, may all be times when standing out from the crowd may be exactly what you want to do.

After some thought has been put into the occasion that the tie will be worn for the next part of the puzzle is to understand what constitutes a conservative tie and what constitutes a fashion tie.

The quick and easy answer is that a conservative tie is boring. It’s the type of tie that your dad could have worn when he was your age. Red, burgundy, yellow, blue, and black ties with small patterns fit into this category. So do regimental striped ties. Regimental striped ties are ties with simple stripes of equal width. They are woven from colors that you would see in the ribbons on a Marine’s uniform. These ties have been so commonly worn for the last 40 years that they are hardly noticed when worn in a crowd.

Fashion ties are in style. They include bold colors like purple, pink, teal, bright blue, orange, bright green and an array of many other colors. These designs include large patterns like paisleys, flowers, large geometrics, bold uneven and textured striped ties, knitted ties, narrow ties, and wide ties. These patterns are also combined sometimes to create patterns that are unique and eye catching. These are the type of ties that get noticed in a crowd of men that are all wearing suits.

With this understanding, the next phase of the process is selecting the right color and pattern for the suit. First and foremost the rule here is to pick something that you like. In my decades of experience helping people to choose a tie, if I’ve learned one thing it is that people may not know what tie they like, but they sure as hell know what they don’t like. That’s a good place to start.

Generally when matching a tie to the shirt and suit, (or just pants if you’re not wearing a jacket. If you’re not wearing pants, then go put some on) the tie should stand out. It should be the first thing that people notice when they look at the outfit. The tie should catch the eye of those that look. That’s why a conservative tie is best worn with a solid color shirt, or one with very fine thin stripes. A fashion tie can be worn with colored shirts, heavy striped, and heavy textured shirts. The heavier the pattern in the shirt, the larger the pattern should be in the tie. The same is true of the color of the shirt and the tie. The bolder the shirt, the bolder the tie should be. I have seen men who sport conservative ties with bold shirts. They do get noticed. It’s much the same as an ugly painting. It also gets noticed, but not because it’s pleasing to the eye.

There are some general concepts that seem to be consistent among people’s preferences when selecting a tie for color.

First, when coordinating a colored shirt, which by the way is any color other than white or black, the more of the color that the tie has in the design, the closer to that color the tie needs to be. For example if your shirt is burgundy and the tie is a more red than burgundy, it isn’t as appealing to the eye as a grey tie with a little bit of that same burgundy in it, would be. If the shirt is colored, choose a tie with just a hint of the shirt color. Here less is much better than more.

Second when it comes to picking the right color of tie, here are some guidelines that I’ve found to work well. With earth tones suits, (a nice way of saying suits that are the colors of dirt, grass, or weeds) ties that are the same as other natural colors (Like the colors of fire, water, trees, the sky, sunsets, sunrises, etc….) seem to be most popular together. Dark blue, gray and black suits are more versatile and easier to pick a tie for than earth tone suits. With these colors, as long as you stay away from the colors of dirt, you’re going to be safe. As an example, wearing a solid tan tie with a charcoal gray suit may appeal to a few people, but generally people are do not find that a nice looking combination. Selecting a tie becomes complicated when tie designers combine multiple colors into patterns, so if a tie is tan and white and charcoal it may look very nice with a charcoal suit.

A tie can literally bring the color of the suit, the shirt and the shoes together into a handsome outfit when it is has the same elements of color as these components do within its design.

New Designs

Music Symbols Tie

Last year, we were asked to do a "music" tie. We came up with the idea to use a music staff and put a specific song on it. Jen loves music and plays several instruments. She was well aware that anyone who could read music would try to pick out any song on a tie.

We borrowed a song from a movie. Its been a big hit! Jen has had several people in the community orchestra seek her out to tell her they love that tie.

There's a new design coming. We wanted something that was classy and stylish while still being a great gift for music lovers. We patterned this design after a paisley/stripe tie.

We just finished it, and got a picture of the fabric back from China. We are way excited about these ties!