How do you get your ties the right length? I typically make sure the short end comes down to a certain button on my shirt, but since my ties aren’t all the same length, I have to adjust the formula. Is there a better way? How do you do it?
Pronounced "Patter-EE-koh"
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Bingo.
And then you have to remember which ones are longer and which are shorter.
Attila (Pillage Idiot) (dfa1f1) — 2/6/2006 @ 7:53 amForget about it,
Go with the Western Look. Boots, belt buckle, and string tie. Hat too if you can pull it off.
Works for me, but skip anything too much, like a buckskin jacket, and don’t wear spurs with dress trousers.
Black Jack (d8da01) — 2/6/2006 @ 7:55 amThat’s an excellent question. I’m short — about 5’7″ — so I have the extra challenge of dealing with ties that are always just a bit too long on me. If I tie the tie so the point hits my belt, the knot looks funny. So I always have to wear my ties a little long. Makes me look like I’m playing dress-up in Dad’s clothes.
Jeff Harrell (7ec03f) — 2/6/2006 @ 7:56 amI have exactly the opposite problem. I’m 6’2″ and so normal times are too short and “long” ties are too, well, long.
To get the right length out of a “long” tie I follow this plan:
1) Tie it and find length is wrong.
Tom (51c6e5) — 2/6/2006 @ 8:08 am2) Re-tie it.
3) Repeat as necessary (usually 5-6 times, depending how early it is).
4) Tuck the ‘non-business’ end of the tie into my shirt.
Work in a business casual environment.
Angry Clam (fa7fff) — 2/6/2006 @ 8:10 amYou almost have it right, Patterico, but you need to start with the long end in a known position, rather than the short end. I start by draping the tie with the long end where I want it to end up, then pull that side down a few more inches to account for the fabric required to wrap the long end around/over/through to make the knot. Then I realize I did it wrong and start over. If I wore a tie more than four times a year, I might get it right the first time more often.
David Barnett (cb9d30) — 2/6/2006 @ 8:15 amNever really thought about it. I went to a Catholic grade school, high school and college and wore a tie every day except Saturday and can tie it to the exact lenght I want…every time. Must be like learning a language or a sport at a really young age…somehow, you just get it.
PC14 (98b75e) — 2/6/2006 @ 8:25 am#1 choice: Angry Clam’s solution
#2 choice: If unable to accomplish #1, Tom’s solution
If find most ties are too short for me so I most often am stuck with Dave Barnett’s solution.
Or simply tie it too long and cut off the end of the big piece. If you wear cowboy boots with that outfit people will understand. Sorry, Black Jack, couldn’t resist.
Anyone know why airline pilots wear ties?
To keep from getting food on their white shirts.
Harry Arthur (40c0a6) — 2/6/2006 @ 8:27 amIt’s sort of like mixing a Manhattan.
biwah (f5ca22) — 2/6/2006 @ 8:39 amMy original method was the same as yours. My current method is to work for companies that don’t require me to wear ties.
Xrlq (5ffe06) — 2/6/2006 @ 8:39 amLet me get this straight: you work in California, where one has a right to cross-dress at work — and woe betide the employer who balks — yet you have to wear a tie?
Kevin Murphy (6a7945) — 2/6/2006 @ 8:46 amBuy Clip on’s or Velcro and forget it. Too long tuck in in you pants. It’s just a stupid tradition anyway.
scrapiron (9f37aa) — 2/6/2006 @ 8:54 amTry this. Use any number of the tips suggested above then never untie them. Just loosen them enough to get them over your head. Next time you need a tie just slip one on and pull it tight.
This will work as long you don’t get too much food on them during the day.
Stephen Macklin (fc20a6) — 2/6/2006 @ 9:02 amI start w/the long-end 2 or 3 inches past my fingertips as I point my arm straight down. You may prefer a different distance, depending on the kind of knot you use and your hieght, but the principle of basing the length on the long end of the tie works well.
Know why Howard Dean wears a tie? Keeps the foreskin from creeping over his chin.
[Old joke, I know, I know!]
ras (f9de13) — 2/6/2006 @ 9:43 amThe best way to get it the right length is with Viagra.
Justice Frankfurter (2dcd84) — 2/6/2006 @ 9:43 amStep 1 is to discard all ties other than one favored length. After that it is just habit.
Frank (269f8b) — 2/6/2006 @ 9:59 amI hold the long end at my neck in such a way that the point is at the proper location at my belt. I then line up the short end so it is in the proper location in relationship to the fabric loop which holds the short end in place when I am done. There will be slack around my neck which I then give entirely over to the long side. Tie from there. If the short end is too long or too short, it is easily adjusted the next time
quasimodo (edc74e) — 2/6/2006 @ 10:13 amHmm, yes. Perhaps you should consider a career change.
See Dubya (5073f6) — 2/6/2006 @ 10:15 amIf the tie is too long, you can cut a length off off the narrow end, remembering, of course, to sew up the cut. This part of the tie is concealed behind the wide part, anyway, so even if it looks a little rough, nobody’s going to see it. I’ve had the same problem with a couple of ties, and my wife did the above procedure. Looks great (and, no, she’s not available to do your ties).
D. Carter (739771) — 2/6/2006 @ 11:01 amThere’s a diagonal seam in the tie a little more (or less) than halfway. I knot my tie from right to left. If the seam is at the corner of the collar wing on the right, the length is about right and the knot is neither too big or too small.
nk (d5dd10) — 2/6/2006 @ 11:45 amI find the left is always broader, longer and better looking. So I let that lead the way. The right, being a bit thin and anemic, seems more at home hiding while the left leads the way.
Now, about the tie question…
jmaharry (74c3ec) — 2/6/2006 @ 1:16 pmFunny, you must tie your tie backwards compared to me. I keep the big end near my right hand so that I can manipulate it more easily (right handed).
Angry Clam (fa7fff) — 2/6/2006 @ 1:18 pmMeasure the tie before starting to tie it. You can do this simply by letting one end touch the floor while holding the other end at your chest. How high the tie comes up your chest will tell you how much “tail” to leave while tying it.
I’m 6-4, so I use this same technique when buying ties. If they don’t come up to at least my sternum, they’ll be too short to reasonably tie a nice knot.
Nice that you’re finally tackling some critical issues on this blog!
Jal (a90377) — 2/6/2006 @ 2:12 pmRetire, move to the South, wear t-shirts and fish.
Kee (a90377) — 2/6/2006 @ 2:21 pmOne suggestion:
Drape tie around neck.
Adjust, until short end is two inches ABOVE the loop or label on the long side.
Knot tie (I use a half-Windsor, this should also work for a full-Windsor, but works less well w/ a four-in-hand).
Back end should slip into loop/label on back of wider side.
Obviously, YMMV, for exactly where you should start.
Lurking Observer (ea88e8) — 2/6/2006 @ 3:58 pmBecause there is equipment with moving parts in your office (copiers, printers, perhaps an elevator or three, or an Ally McBeal unisex bathroom for lawyers), a dangling tie could get caught in the machinery (or plumbing) and is thus a safety hazard! OSHA regulations require that you not wear anything that could get caught in dangerous machinery,
Dana (a90377) — 2/6/2006 @ 4:56 pmI’m surprised your dad didn’t explain it. As with all male things, it is about height and erect penis length.
The ‘tail’ left on the chest while tying is inversely proportional to the height of the man. The taller you are (thus the shorter erect penis) the shorter the ‘tail’ one should leave when beginning the tying process. A shorter man (with a commensurately larger erect penis) should leave a longer tail whilst tying.
Dwilkers (a1687a) — 2/6/2006 @ 5:14 pmI’m even shorter than an earlier commenter (5’5″), but my formula is this:
I tie my tie before I put on my pants, and I start with the big end level with the bottom hem of my boxers. It almost always ends up the perfect length. Of course, as short as I am, there’s a lot of leftover length, which I tuck inside the shirt usually.
But sometimes I buy ties off the rack in the boy’s section of the store to avoid this. The same rule applies as far as getting the length right but this way I don’t have to tuck in the other end.
otcconan (9cbf0a) — 2/6/2006 @ 7:39 pmPatrick:
On neckties, my method of dealing with the problem is to take the necktie out of my wardrobe. I wore one once in the last ten years and that was for a wedding where I could use the already-tied paste-on version.
Of course, I haven’t worked in an office for more than twenty years, so I guess that gives me a different view.
elm
evan maxwell (d2d8b2) — 2/7/2006 @ 8:35 amWhat’s a tie?
antimedia (79ce6a) — 2/9/2006 @ 9:00 pmI drape my tie around my neck, and then slide the wide end down until the tip of the wide end lies at the same height as a certain item of my male anatomy. Where along this “measuring stick” lies the proper length varies according to the unit of measure.
Russ (0d5cab) — 2/11/2006 @ 8:30 pmI’m with NK. For a full windsor, if you line the diagonal seam of the tie up with your collarbone, it just about works out.
Half windsors may require some adjustment.
Darkmage (a8ad78) — 2/12/2006 @ 7:23 pm