Well take your pick - according to messiers Thomas Fink and Yong Mao there are 85 ways to tie a tie! There excellent little book, appropriately named 'The 85 Ways to tie a Tie' has instructions for all 85 plus some history and the science of tieing a tie. However here I just have instructions for my favourite knots. First some basic rules.
What with dress down days and casual attire at work tie wearing is less and less common and as a result there are so many bad tie wearers. So first lets consider some dos and donts.
The choice of shirt is essential to complement the wear of a tie. Some shirts, for example, should never be worn with a tie - button down collars are a case in point! I find that the cut away collar is most befitting of a tie.
Stripes and checks can only work with a plain tie or one that has very little pattern. And conversely patterned ties only ever with plain shirts! Cartoon ties are all very well for Christmas, birthdays and other such events, however, after the celebrations the tie should be then placed at the back of one's wardrobe beside the cartoon socks and never worn again.
The knot itself is very important. Ideally it must be symetrical and fit evenly within the space made by the collars of the shirt - you are looking for the know to take from between a third to a half of the area available. So for most cases the knot will be loosely made.
The length of the tie should reach to your belt with the exception for the larger gentleman who may to reduce the lenght to avoid too much "overhang".
Colour coordination is an absolute essential. A red tie on a purple shirt will have people reaching for their sun glasses. Buy your shirt and tie at the same time and take time to match the tie and shirt together - hold the tie across the shirt and make sure that it works.
For the best shirts consider the following outfitters,
Right, now that we know the appropriate choice of shirt and tie let us consider how to actually tie the tie.
