Y Knot · Real Men Real Style Community

Y Knot

For today’s outfit I chose a fun tie. My Book of Kells tie by Patrick Francis worn with a white poplin shirt, my favorite 1997 MTM Royal blue blazer, tan w blue silk pocket square, black RL linen trousers, black argyle socks, black J Fitzpatrick captoes and 1940s Bulova watch. My tie is very long and so my go to knot, the Prince Albert helps immensely with dialing in the length. But beyond the OOTD I thought I might blather on about the withering use of the ubiquitous tie. For this community this (like my snoozy dissertations about the navy blazer) might be another episode of preaching to the choir so for your sake stop here and look at pics and move on 😉. I completely understand. But for the guy who doesn’t wear a tie frequently but is curious about it, here we go.

For the better part of the past 500 years men have worn some type of adornment around their neck. (In fact one could go all the way back thousands of years to the Egyptians to find men wearing scarves.) but the modern tie can trace its origins back to the very early 17th century. By the 16th century the elite gentleman wore a ruffled collar as adornment (this was a fashion statement that, like so many items of perpetual style, was born out of a piece of mocking neck protection from swords.) During the thirty year war that established the Nation State in Europe (1618-1648) King Louis XIII hired Croatian mercenaries who wore a silk scarf tied around their necks. From the word Croatian came the term Cravat . While the cravat still is worn by a few, the common neck tie we wear today was birthed out of this fashion affectation.

In the 1920s a type of die cut weave on a 45 degree angle gave us the striped tie we know today (see Langford in the attached article)

https://hespokestyle.com/mens-necktie-history-and-evolution/?srsltid=AfmBOoofu_X8M2sT2b5L_cbFpp8C26ZqYuJMQUL-Q1r-3NcUc6h0QTRK

My point is that like many articles of clothing (eg the sportcoat, the trench coat, the Blucher (derby) shoe) that came from military wear- so also came the tie. It’s function was warmth around the neck for soldiers but it make a FASHION statement in the French court which transformed into a STYLE piece for the past 500 years. The past 100 years essentially hasn’t seen a significant change in this essential piece of Classic Timeless Menswear. But why would I term it essential? Well it serves several purposes. The first is the commonly recognized one of elevating the outfit to a more professional (some would say formal) ensemble. The second one is forgotten by many but it helps direct one’s eyes to look at one’s face. A hack for we more “right sized” 😉 guys. And a third and my main focus here is that the necktie blends and harmonizes an entire outfit together. Going all the way back to the French court- a silk necktie (or even wool or cotton) completes an ensemble. The tie is the pocket square on steroids. As the aloha shirt Friday morphed into casual Friday which morphed into business casual summer then business casual became de rigueur daily attire. (Btw. What the {freight} train honestly is business casual these days???) the necktie has seemed to disappear. Part of its usage still has a very negative connotation for some. I still speak to guys my age who are retired and ask me why are you wearing that “neck choker”. Or, they say the day I retired- I gave away, flushed, burned, buried etc all my ties.

Today’s situation is quite different. 90% or more of my peers probably don a necktie less than half a dozen times per year. In all sincerity that was me as well- up until February 2024 when I joined this community. Then I tried something inspired by a former guy in this community named Jeff Coats. I relocated my ties to where I can see them rescuing them from being buried behind my sport coats in my closet- many hung on a nail. 40 years ago I used to be the guy who helped guys understand how the right tie with the right outfit would make them feel confident because they simply looked pretty darn good. It was extremely effective. In my personal case. Ironically since I began wearing ties again a little over a year ago my business volume has doubled. Am I saying my business grew because I wear a tie? Of course not. Things were already rapidly trending upward by way of some drastic structural changes I had made. But clearly when some $20,000,000 of additional assets walks up to me asking for help (I do zero soliciting), I knew something else was up.

Quite simply put. I wear a tie because I choose to. Never because I have to. I haven’t purchased a new tie (irrespective of the four eBay gifts my wife surprised me with recently) in probably 8 years. So Y Knot give it a whirl. If you’re not wearing one frequently or ever.-Book a nice restaurant and get your wife a new cocktail dress and take her (Or significant other-just not at the same time 😳) out.. Wear a tie to a Christmas season party like you may have done 20 years ago. Go to a business meeting (if appropriate) in a tie. Try it three times this Christmas season (to give yourself time to get comfortable with it). I grabbed some torso shots from recent OOTDs. Mainly to show how my present limited wardrobe that still fits from recent weight loss can completely transform by way of various ties used. Knot up fellas.

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