The Minimal Necktie Wardrobe

[Frederic Leighton]

Marinella. Charvet. Drakes. [...]

Btw, when buying a tie, always wear the suit you are buying the tie for. I would buy ties for each individual suit. Ties are often not interchangeable with other suits, even if suits are in similar colors. [...]

Spend spend spend. On the classics. And buy less of everything.

Thank you, uppercase! I will certainly buy in London, hence Drake's or Budd, as David also suggests. Slowly, piece by piece, walking in to the shop with my suit, seeing how happy I am with the tie I've just purchased. Through trial and error, the hard way, I'm learning to avoid buying in bulk and buying from distance.

I must confess rejecting the idea of 1tie-1 suit; it's against all my beliefs, some of which you mention in another discussion (denim and countries with depressed economies). I agree that one pairing might be better than all the others, but if I can't compromise and instead end up using one tie with one suit only, then something must be wrong in the tie, in the suit or in my brain! That's just how I see it.

Dear Federico,
I did my struggle with blue - here is what worked for me: solid midnight blue silk repp (Drake's), solid large knot grenadine in blue and purple (Drake's), solid knit ties in different shades from light blue to black (Drake's, Budd and some others)

Dear David, as you know, I've learned to take your advice without further discussion Despite my unwillingness, I'll add one grenadine to the list. [..shivers of unwillingness..]

When I started wearing business clothes, after unit, I stuck for a couple of years purely to navy blue printed ties with small dots (1 white, 1 red, 1 green). They worked with most anything. [...]

Thank you, Luca! That's also my experience. Pin dots do work with everything, from worsted to tweed, and they work in an excellent way. That's where I feel like starting from, substituting my vintage ones (some are probably 80 years old) with new bespoke orders. The vintage market is the only way I found to have ties of perfect length and of exquisite quality without having to go bespoke. That's how I learnt the little I know about the weight, the structure and the finish that I want for my ties.

[...] My wardrobe is minimal out of necessity and the method I use for installing diversity in it is by ordering solid (mostly grey) suits, then combining these with coloured or patterned shirts and ties (mostly silks). I’d rather have two suits against eight shirts and ties than three suits against four shirts and ties. [...]

If you like your knot to be small than you might benefit from this as well. Also consider a thinner interlining. But be careful with going unlined! I have a couple that are simply impossible to tie properly. And they don’t hang well. I would only skip on the lining again if I were sure the fabric could handle it.

Thank you, T.K.! I really enjoyed reading about how you are putting your wardrobe together. It's a different approach from mine and it gives me an insight of new possibilities and alternatives.

Over the last years, as I was mentioning above, I've been buying vintage ties to try learn as much as possible about materials and construction. It really helped me understand what works for me and what to expect from a good maker.

Most ties from the 1890's to the 1950's have very few folds - often they are a simple foulard folded three or four times, with very light structure inside ending well above the tip. Older ones are eclusively untipped, but a good number from the 1920's and 1930's are tipped with wonderful monochrome silks. No self tipping. The overall weight is always very contained and the length helped me realise where the trouser waist was supposed to be at that time... Also, apart from black, solids didn't really exist! I found 1 solid tie other than black (this was blue, in tropical worsted and dated 1947) among 100 patterned ones.

Alden has written many times before on how the suit should be the "frame" of the picture, with the shirt and tie the centre of interest. It just seems wrong to have an elaborate frame and a dull picture! The approach of the politician is to have a dull frame and a dull picture, in an attempt to appear "common". Hence, dark blue suit, white shirt, shiny solid coloured tie. A simply awful, awful way to dress.

Thank you, Scot, for the useful reminder and enjoyable analysis!

[Scot]

Another style for your consideration is ancient madder. Two or three examples chosen carefully, that is, of varying scale and colour, will go with almost anything. One sees madder so infrequently, which is as good a reason as any to wear it. Budd is the first place to look for it.

[hectorm]

Btw, when buying a tie, always wear the suit you are buying the tie for.
I would buy ties for each individual suit.

I do not suscribe to this piece of advice. At all.
For the last 30 years I have never bought neckwear for a specific suit or ensemble (well...not counting very few cases, or morning and dinner suits).
I buy neckties that I like (in terms of color, pattern or design) and that I feel that will tie a good four-in-hand. Many times I have even bought ties that I did´t like that much because I have learnt that sooner or later they will come alive when put around good company.
Of course, I do agree that my approach would not work that well for a minimal necktie wardrobe.

[aston]

With you on this 100% Hectorm.

If the basic suit colours are going to be shades of grey or blue, with levels of pattern ranging from very, to not very, evident, then tie matching becomes a rather fun activity. I have never imagined buying a tie because it "goes" with something.

BTW, mine consist in fairly equal measure of Hermes and Drakes.

[uppercase]

I disagree with you both.

While I was like minded for 30-40 years, my revelation revealed itself at Budds.

Wanting to buy a tie for a blue suit, there were all the usual choices laid out as usual, all seductive, all compelling. Which to choose?

The salesman wouldn't let me purchase the two I liked: Go to your hotel and bring in the suit you want to wear the tie with.

Of course, you know the moral of this tale. We discarded the two pretty ones and chose what worked for that particular shade and texture of blue suit.

My life changed from that moment.

Since then, I have never bought a tie without wearing the suit for which it was intended.

No more impulse purchases.

Lesson learned. Thank you Budd. Revelations reveal themselves in mysterious ways. Be receptive.

[hectorm]

Tie matching becomes a rather fun activity.

It does indeed. It´s one of my daily little big pleasures.
Buying the right tie at the store for the specific suit and shirt can be efficient in terms of time saving but, tell me, who´s looking for efficiency here.
Also the right tie in color, shade, texture, etc. would be too perfect for my style. That would make me too predictable and I´m afraid people around me could come to know me for that specific match.
I´d rather come up and try different satisfying combinations chosen from within my collection that getting it before hand and hanging the right tie next to the suit. Don´t tell me there isn´t also a definite pleasure/pride in working within the limitations of one´s wardrobe and overcoming them.

[uppercase]

Not to worry hectorm.

Most of us screw it up 90% of the time anyway.

It seems to me that only RTW clothing salesmen get it right most of the time.

They have an innate talent.

[aston]

Uppercase

Sorry we disagree.

For me, the pleasure comes in picking the suit that matches my mood or mode, then the shirt that fits with that mood or mode, then finding the right tie to go with them. The right tie may be the first, fifth or sixth I offer up to the suit/shirt combo. A lot of these choices will be driven by my agenda for the day. Serious? Relaxed? Bankers? Creatives? Restrained? Flamboyant?

Knitted, grenadine, frivolous?

Surely that is where the fun comes?

[Concordia]

Blue suits are dangerous. They won't work at all with a lot of blue ties, not to mention other colors. The more interesting the blue, the more careful you have to be.

Greys are easier to make work with a standard choice, as are fawns, etc.

[uppercase]

Indeed, most of my suits are blue and so, I do inhabit dangerous territory.
I am glad that you understand the care that I must exercise.
It is a distressing situation. And treacherous.

But I do enjoy choosing my ties on the rare occasion I wear them anymore.

And I am glad to report that I have a few that work well with each particular hue of blue although I usually can't remember which ones they are.

I should number them.

[rodes]

A man cannot even live without 20. Twice that number seems moderate for someone who wears a tie every day.

[uppercase]

True.

The good thing about ties is that there's never really any good reason to throw them out no matter how old they are unless you've used them to buff your shoes with. And even then, nobody will really know except you.

I think that we should add some photos here of our favorite ties…any volunteers??

[Screaminmarlon]

Btw, when buying a tie, always wear the suit you are buying the tie for.
I would buy ties for each individual suit.

I do not suscribe to this piece of advice. At all.
For the last 30 years I have never bought neckwear for a specific suit or ensemble (well...not counting very few cases, or morning and dinner suits).
I buy neckties that I like (in terms of color, pattern or design) and that I feel that will tie a good four-in-hand. Many times I have even bought ties that I did´t like that much because I have learnt that sooner or later they will come alive when put around good company.
Of course, I do agree that my approach would not work that well for a minimal necktie wardrobe.

Great advice Hectorm: I try to do the same

[Luca]

Another style for your consideration is ancient madder.

I wholeheartedly subscribe to that. If the examples provided by, for instance, Drake's, are any guide, the type of colours and patterns available in this category are really unbeatable. Especially, I would say, with the "golden age" suiting / jacketing choices many LLoungers aver towards.

[hectorm]

Blue suits are dangerous. They won't work at all with a lot of blue ties, not to mention other colors.

For those not willing to spend time experimenting with different combinations and as a very general rule of thumb, I have seen that bright bronze or copper ties work very decently with blue suits. Also when wearing a blue pinstripe, although a bit boring, a white pindot necktie on lighter blue background is pretty safe.
But even within those boundaries you can go totally wrong...