Black tie musings

[couch]

This composite photo used by Amazon to promote its streaming of Bond movies prompted me to ponder shapes and sizes of black ties and how they relate to face and head shapes, and to shirt exposure, collar spread and length, and size/angle of lapel V. Hardly a perfect sample (Craig is in Tom Ford that doesn't stay on his neck and Dalton and Brosnan's fronts are largely obscured.) And of course the influence of fashion eras can't be eliminated, either from the photos or our own biases. Nevertheless I'm drawing some tentative conclusions. Interesting to test some of the commonly proffered guidelines ('wider than eyes, narrower then ears' etc.). What do members think are most successful matches of tie size, shape, knot, and material (if discernible) among these six? (Leaving aside the confounding factor that some of them had better tie-ensemble combinations than the ones Amazon chose.)

I note in passing that none of the exposed shirts, as far as I can tell, sport black studs. Is that a preference spelled out in the books, or merely costuming choices for the films?

[Concordia]

Moore had an excellent tailor, but the 70s aesthetic often meant that the clothes wound up wearing him. The earlier Conduit cut, by contrast, made it clear who was in charge. Craig's ensemble isn't so well fitted, but it is very well proportioned otherwise.

[Noble Savage]

There's something excessively fussy about the smaller bow ties. While the larger ones speak to a more relaxed attitude, befitting of a convivial black tie mood. Reminds me of this comment:

Charles has a very fine, birdlike, turkey head. He can afford to wear a tiny collar and points. I suspect the collar has a bit of tie space, the old English collars of this type did have. But when the tie is pulled into place and knotted as tightly as Charles does, we don’t see it. I think the very tight small knot, gives off vibes of nervousness, up-tight, anal retentive, arrogant and closed; according to a tailor I know who made him 22 suits, that is pretty much Charles’s personality.

On the flip side, Prince Michael gives off clear vibes of relaxed confidence. He seems a man you’d like to drink a glass with. And having met him, that is pretty much the way he is.

Honore de Balzac wrote an amazing essay called "The Theory of Gait" where he maintained that the entire history and personality of a man can be read in the way he walks and holds himself. I believe you can read a lot about a man in his choice of shirts, collars and tie. Confidence, self assurance, station, weakness, arrogance, will, arriviste neediness, middle class striving, blind conformity, lack of imagination, no sparkle of life...its all there to be read.

So, in summary, the Prince Charles is not a collar and tie I would like to see any of you copy unless that kind of collar works very well for your head and face. And remember to give is just a bit of tie space so the knot has somewhere to go and is not crushed to death by the collar points.

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Although it takes a special magic trick to get your tie like this, it does seem like a good idea: