A real man knows how to tie a tie properly. Nothing surprises and impresses people from polite society quite like a rugged man who manages to pull off a timeless Windsor. It’s time to learn this classic tie skill through this step-by-step guide.
The Rugged Gentleman’s Guide on How to Tie a Tie
The Windsor Tie Knot Step-by-Step Instructions
The Full Windsor is the most gentlemanly tie you can do. Here’s how to tie a Windsor:
- Put the tie on your shoulders with the wide end on the right and the narrow end on the left. Make sure the seam is face down.
- The wide end of the tie should go down 36 inches longer than the narrow end.
- Pull the wide end under then over the neck loop.
- Bring the wide end of the tie over the knot and to the left.
- Move the wide end to the right, folding it under the knot and the narrow end.
- Move the wide end up and to the front and then guide it through the neck loop.
- Instead of moving it towards the right, fold it over the right part of the neck loop and bring it down towards the right.
- With the seam facing up, move the narrow end up to the right and fold it over the knot. The seam should be facing down now.
- Move the wide end to the left and pull it up through the neck loop from below.
- You should have a front knot by now. Guide the wide end through the loop of the front knot.
- Hold the bottom part of the front knot to adjust. Tighten the tie by pulling the wide end.
How to Choose the Best Fitting Jacket
Your jacket’s fit determines if your suit will flatter you or embarrass you. You can avoid looking frumpy in your jacket by taking note of the following tips:
- The fastest and best route in getting the right jacket fit is to find the right tailor to do the job. Your tailor should tailor to your preferences. The moment he brags about how many decades he’s been at the sewing machine and imposing what to wear is the time you take your business elsewhere. However, if you’re in a hurry or prefer buying off-the-rack suits, you should still follow the sizing guidelines below.
- The suit shouldn’t be loose at the shoulders. When you wear the suit, you should feel the shoulder pads end where your shoulders actually end.
- Next, focus on where the two or three buttons on the jacket are on your body. The first button in a two-button jacket or the second button in a three-button jacket should be placed above your belly button. You can also use the concept of the button stance to find the ideal place for the buttons depending on your body type.
- Once you got the buttons squared, it’s time to check on the fit of the sleeves. The sleeves should be slim but not be constricting. You should still be able to move your arms freely while wearing the jacket.
- For the length, the sleeves should end slightly below your wrist bone, just at the point where it meets the base of the thumb. It’s okay to get a jacket with shorter sleeves as this is the fashion these days.
- At least a quarter to half an inch of the shirt cuff should show after the sleeve.
Mixing and Matching Your Suits for Style
It’s hard to look stylish in your suit if you don’t know how to pair it with other items. Also, if you need to wear suits a lot but don’t want to keep buying them, it’s important to know how to mix and match. There are three things you need to keep in mind before mixing and matching your suit:
- Match your suit with pants with the same kind of fabric.
- Match your suit with pants with the same fabric weight.
- Make sure the color of your suit and the color of the item you are pairing with contrast each other.
In terms of color, the best colors which lend themselves well for mixing and matching are navy blue, charcoal gray, and gray. Here are some mixing and matching suggestions for you to try:
- Gray Jacket + Navy Blue Pants
- Navy Blue Jacket + Gray Pants
- Charcoal Gray Suit + Khaki-colored Pants
In case you want to see how to tie a Windsor in action, here’s a video from Howcast:
Learning how to tie a tie and how to choose the right suit are some of the things every man should know. It can get overwhelming with dozens of suit options and seemingly millions of ways to tie a tie, but just remember this guide and strip down to the basics. After all, you only really need to know one kind of tie knot, and as for the suit, just remember these basic guidelines. They’ll come in handy the next time you try on a suit since you’ll already know how a good-fitting suit should look like on your body. We hope this article has helped you understand more about the Windsor, and suits in general, to help you when you need to put on a more civilized air even your mother will approve of.
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