Nowadays, there is a wide variety of ties on the market – different in widths, colors, patterns and fabrics, which makes a selection of a proper one truly a headache.
It goes without saying that the right tie completes men's outfit and can literally work wonders. Suppose you see a man, an anchor, a businessman, or a politician on the TV; ask yourself what draws your attention first of all? I bet your answer is “their face.”
Thus, this important piece of your costume should not be deemed solely a complement to your suit, dress shirt and the rest, but a tool to capitalize on and maximize the benefits of the latter.
Whether you are looking to get a valuable customer, a better job or an astounding lady to offer your heart to, a tie becomes an important point.
It may sound trite but there is a great number of pitfalls in the process of tie selection. As they say, every man must have at least three neckties of different color – red, to wear it at work; yellow, to wear it at celebrations; and a black one, to wear it at a funeral.
Well, that was a joke but there is definitely some truth to it – a man must have a good number of ties in his collection to choose from and thus be able to wear different ties on different occasions.
It is also important to make sure that the neck tie you are wearing matches the rest of your costume, i.e. the jacket, trousers and shirt.
It is often said to make matching in the following order: suit goes first, then – shirt that should match the suit, and tie at last, which should match both. Nonetheless, it may make a lot more sense to switch shirt and tie.
Indeed, a tie is quite more exposed to others' eyes than a shirt and, as was mentioned earlier, in many cases psychologically serves as a main piece that draws people's attention. Moreover, it is way easier to get a shirt that matches a tie of an outstanding design than to get a tie that perfectly matches a sort of an exotic shirt.
There are also a few other things to pay attention to when buying a tie: its color, pattern, length and width, fabric type and overall quality, which we are about to discuss now.
Best Business Ties Color Options
There are hundreds of options when it comes to tie colors. In fact, I'm pretty sure every color of the spectrum is available in tie form.
However, just because you've got a choice of every color in the rainbow doesn't mean that every color suits business ties. After all, you wouldn't wear a pink and yellow striped shirt to the office.
Best Business Ties 1. Red ties
Red is one of the most popular colors for a neck tie. It perfectly accentuates your outfit with some color. A red neck tie combines well with almost any suit and shirt, but will be especially great match for a darker suit and white, blue or gray dress shirts
Images source: www.ties-necktie.com
Best Business Ties 2. Dark Red (Burgundy) ties
This is just the very business classics. As classic as it gets. Therefore, ties of this color are good for almost any occasion including a cocktail party and other casual events. A solid burgundy neck tie (with no pattern) is the best bet for a politician who wants to look professional yet chic. Thus, there is no circumstances that can go wrong with this color selection.
Best Business Ties 3. Blue ties
Blue is also among the standard and most popular colors for neck ties. As all other neck ties of light colors, it refreshes, so to say, lightens a darker suit and it is especially good for receptions, networking events and similar circumstances. Also, it is a very good color choice for a spring season.
Best Business Ties 4. Dark (navy) Blue ties
Another case of what was earlier referred to as “as classic as it gets”, navy blue tie perfectly combines with all other colors intrinsic to a classic business costume. Darker suits become overly with such neck ties making a person wearing it look solid and conservative.
Various patterns on a base of such color can be a good choice, for they make a neck tie overall more lively yet formal enough, which is perfect for various business occasions.
Best Business Ties 5. Orange, Pink and Lilac ties
Neck ties in such bright and refreshing colors are usually worn with white, light blue or other light-colored dress shirts. These ties are generally a perfect choice for spring and summer or for a commemorative event. Also, such neck ties, if not too bright, are still fine for formal events.
Best Business Ties 6. Yellow and Green Ties
Another group of bright and lively-colored ties, yellow and green, look especially good in spring and summer. Patterned yellow neck tie may look really great with darker suit-shirt combination. Green neck ties, either solid or striped, are a perfect match for a classic white shirt.
Best Business Ties 7. Brown ties
Brown ties are considered more casual, which means they should be preferably worn in a business casual environment. The problem is that they are really hard to match with anything unless you have a huge selection of suits and dress shirts.
Perhaps, the best use for a tie of such color – a weekend or an informal gathering, which suggests that it can do well together with a blazer jacket. Otherwise, brown is not a good color for a job interview, meeting with a board of directors or for a reception.
Best Business Ties 8. Black ties
Black ties are worn either in the evening with a tuxedo or, all the time, by waiters in restaurants and on the occasion of funeral. Thus, if it is not one of these cases, avoid wearing a black tie.
Best Business Ties 9. White ties
White ties are worn in court by judges, lawyers and defenders; so if you are none of them and it is not the occasion, white is joins black in the list of neck tie colors to be avoided.
Best Business Ties 10. Grey and Silver ties
Silver ties look really neat with a classic white dress shirt. Occasions for such a neck tie include birthday parties, cocktails, various celebrations and other event of the same nature. Grey ties can be worn casually at work, but require to be well-matched to shirt and suit.
Best Business Ties 11. Multicolored Ties
Multicolored ties is the distinctive feature of those men who want and dare to stand out from the crowd, and are usually attributed to young professionals. These ties accentuate your individuality, mood and good (hopefully) taste. Make sure though not to stray too far from business classics in order not to run the risk of being everybody's clown.
Business Tie Patterns
Solid-color ties
This is the most basic and the most formal option for a neck tie – the easiest to match with anything. The only exception is a shirt of the same color with a neck tie: that looks really weird and tasteless. Every man should have at least one solid-color neck tie (especially either or both, burgundy and navy blue), which can be worn to highly formal events, interviews etc.
Striped ties
Classic neck ties, which are fairly easy to match with pretty much anything that bears no specific pattern. If there one, on your dress shirt or suit, you should be more careful. In such case you need to make sure that tie colors complement other colors in the outfit and that the overall ensemble is not awkward.
Be careful wearing such a tie when dealing with people from the United Kingdom. There, each certain stripe combination means membership to a certain group such as military, university etc.
Thus, you should better either check with someone local if your tie is fine or, a come up with a far better idea – to avoid using a striped tie in your contacts with Britons.
Plaid ties
A tie in such pattern will definitely draw everybody's attention but again, make sure to use a good judgment should you deal with people from the UK and ensure that if a pattern of your tie means anything you know that, and that you will not be violating any rules related to that. Such neck ties, although not recommended in general, should be worn with a solid suit or shirt.
Polka dots, Paisley, and figure ties
Those ties are just great to live up a gloomy, darker suit. Make sure to use a very good judgment though as such ties require an especially good eye to make a perfect match with the rest of a costume. These patterns are one of the favorites among French and Italian neck tie designers and if chosen properly can stress your good taste and mastery in tie selection.
Best Tie Length And Width
Normally, neck ties are approximately 50-60 inches in length and 2.5-3.5 inches in width. As a rule, a tie, when tied, should just cover a buckle on your belt.
As for the width, the rule of thumb is to take into account your overall build and complexion (the width of your shoulders and your height), as well as the width of lapels on your suit jacket. The wider your shoulder and/or lapels are, the wider should be your tie. A so-called “skinny” tie look good on tall, skinny men; but if you cannot say that you are a one of them, stick to regular tie width.
A so-called “skinny” tie look good on tall, skinny men; but if you cannot say that you are a one of them, stick to regular tie width.
The Art of Neck Tie Selection
Selecting a proper necktie and matching it with the rest of the costume is certainly a kind of art, which may look magnificent and unbelievable once you have no clue what the underlying idea is; but that skill can be easily acquired with good advice and experience.
The advice have been just presented to you in this article, so now you have something to start building your experience upon and create your own personal style. Good luck!
Read next: How To Tie A Tie On Someone Else
