A Shirt Style Guide

Most of our clients are familiar with the Four-In-Hand, Half-Windsor or Full-Windsor.  Well, there are 15 other documented ways to tie your knot.  Which knot is YOU?

Were you ever frustrated with the tie being too short or too long? Did you look everywhere for the perfect slim navy matte tie? Search no further, Alexander West is launching our custom tie collection.

In addition to choosing your tie fabric, you can also specify:

1. Length – off the rack ties usually range between 58 and 60 inches.
2. Width – 1.75″ modern slim tie to the traditional 3.5″ width ties
3. Your initials on a metal link

Tie length will depend on your torso length and not necessarily on your height.

There are three main factors to focus on, your personal style preference, body type and suit lapel width.

Personal Preference

1.75″ – Considered to be more fashion forward.  It is difficult to justify a tie

less than 1.75″ since it can look out of place

 2.25″ to 2.75″ – Modern men who appreciate slim fitting (aka European cut) suits and shirts

3″ to 3.25″ – Modern and elegant, yet not conservative

3.5″-3.75″ –  Traditional / Conservative

Matching Your Suit Lapel

A rule of thumb if you are after a classic business style, is that the tie should be as wide as the lapel of the suit you are wearing it with.

At Alexander West, we can easily match your tie width with your suit lapel width.

 Body Type

Tie width should also consider your body type.  For example, an ultra skinny tie on a person with a 18″ neck and 48″ chest throws off the correct proportion by over emphasizing the head and upper torso.

We found a great illustration below that shows correct as well as ill-fitting jackets and pants.  We take great care and attention to make sure all of our clients have well tailored clothes.

On the length of the jacket. Since people have different torso and arm lengths, it is better to look at the person’s height minus the head and neck for a proper balance.  Also, pants length is determined by shoes type, width of the pants cuff and your ideal style.