Ties with Stripes – which direction?

First of all, if you are reading this post because you’re curious to know if horizontal or (gasp) vertical stripes are appropriate for neckties, let’s get this out of the way now…

No! If you own or were given a tie with either horizontal or vertical stripes, throw it away. Now. Don’t even donate it to Goodwill because not even they want ties with horizontal or vertical stripes. They are ugly. They are not in style. They have never been in style. They never will be.

There’s actually a reason as to why (has to do with how a tie is cut), but I won’t bore you with the details. Just apologize to me for even wondering if you can wear horizontal or vertical stripes, and let’s move on.

Ok then. Diagonal stripes can move in two directions. There’s different ways to describe them – “positive slope vs. negative slope”, “right to left vs. left to right”, “to the heart vs. away from the heart”, etc. For this discussion, I’ll use the terms “right to left” (stripes going downward from the upper left to the lower right) vs. left to right” (stripes going upward from the bottom left to the upper right).

Read that again because it can sound confusing.

Back?

Ok. So why don’t tie designers like us have a ’standard’ way of making stripes? Because we’re bored and we like to make you guys look into everything we do.

Actually, there’s a historical reason as to why stripes go in two different directions. Again, I’m not here to give you a history lesson (mainly because I’ll get a bunch of angry emails telling me that something may have happened in the year 1674 instead of 1764. And I hate emails like that.)

But here we are in 2008, and stripes are indeed going in different directions. The right to left direction is the “American way” of doing stripes. No, this didn’t start over nationalistic anger similar to the whole “freedom fries” movement in 2001. Let’s just say, that’s where we’re at now. And it’s universally accepted.

The left to right direction is the “European way” of doing stripes. And many ties here in the U.S. do indeed have stripes going in this direction, regardless of where they may have been designed or made.

This begs the question – what’s the “Asian way” of doing stripes? Or the “Antartican way” of doing stripes? Great question. Anyone living in either of those continents can feel free to chime in at any time. But if you’re a bigger smartass than I am, I may not post it.

So which way is more common? Which direction stripes should you, Mr. Wall Street/Mr. Lawyer/Mr. Guy Who Likes to Dress Up for Work, wear? The answer is clear:

Who cares.

Yes, who cares? Why do you care? Seriously. Why are you choosing one over the other? There are some “tie snobs” who prefer the European way because that’s just the tie snob way. To them, I say “give me a better reason, jackass.” But most others just choose the tie style, color and/or construction that they like, and the direction of the stripes are inconsequential. And that’s how you should be to.

For reference (since we most recently discussed the tie-wearing habits of our two presidential candidates), let’s look at the most recent presidential debate. Both candidates were wearing “European” stripes. But Bob Schieffer and Charles Gibson were wearing “American” stripes. So whomever you think is more qualified (and some would argue the latter two), is perhaps the person that you should emmulate.

For what it’s worth, our company goes with “American” stripes. Why?

Who cares!

Ties on Presidential Candidates

Ok. Because I have this obsession in looking at everyone’s ties (after all, I own my own necktie company), I figured I’d be better off just writing about everything running through my mind as I watch John McCain and Barack Obama during their first debate. Yes, I know – it’s their third debate technically. Except if you look up the word “debate” in any legit dictionary (even some illegit dictionaries), you’d find a definition which is not on par with what these 2 did in their first two ‘debates.’

I’m already off topic. Anyway, here we go.

Barack Obama clearly likes narrow stripes. Even before tonight, I had always noticed that he wears thin stripes, often times in conservative colors. Tonight was no exception.

Obama’s power red tie with subtle red stripes was a typical Obama tie. Nothing more, nothing less. I also noticed that his red tie had a satin warp finish, rather than a matte twill finish (giving a shinier finish.) 

So what the hell does this all mean?

Well, nothing important. But you’re reading a tie blog, right? So I have to give some kind of opinion, even though we both should be helping the starving kids in Africa.

Some argue that wearing wide stripes shows either: (1) you’re the most important person in the room, or (2) it’s 1979. But both arguments are wrong.

First, wider stripes (one inch or so) are classic conservative ties that have managed to stick around longer than cockroaches (although if you step on a wide-striped tie, it doesn’t make the same crunch sound.) So the fact that Obama is wearing a narrow-striped tie doesn’t necessarily means he’s a fashion-forward guy. Although he’s certainly not out of style either, so I have no idea what point I was trying to make.

It’s also not 1979 because I have gray hairs in my goatee. You see, in 1979, I had no hairs on what would have been my goatee. In fact, hair was a rarity anywhere on my body (except my head). I had one of those Jewfros, so really, hair on my head wasn’t an issue in 1979.

I’m lost again.

Ok - here’s my summary on Senator Obama. Like most high-profile politicians, Obama is simply not looking for any special attention with respect to his wardrobe. He doesn’t want you to notice his tie. That’s not a bad thing. Some guys lead with their tie and others don’t (that’s why we sell both types on our website.) Obama just plays it safe.

Some might say he was subliminally looking for that ‘patriotic’ feel by wearing his red tie with a navy suit and crisp white shirt. Some might even think it isn’t subliminal. Either way, Obama’s record of being a snappy dresser continues – and merely because he takes so few chances.

So what about Mr. Fashion Plate, John McCain?

Well that wide pinstripe suit was certainly something out of the ordinary for him. It looked like his kids picked out a suit at Bachrach for him, which he is only 40 years too old for.

But once I got past the wide pin stripes, I noticed his ultra-boring striped tie. How shocking. McCain wore a boring tie.

Why would anyone wear a navy tie with a navy suit? Well, once again, we have a guy not looking to have his tie get him any attention. But unlike Obama’s power red tie – which had the sharp red color to help his outfit come together McCain just called it in with a navy and white striped tie. His knot sucked too – it was way too small (a bad four-in-hand knot), and because of his height (or lack of height), he looked like a clown.

So who won the tie debate?

Bob Schieffer, who, as always, wore colorful bold stripes which popped perfectly from his charcoal suit. I love that guy. Not “love” as in “love”, but more of a “love” type of thing. Get it?

So do you feel you just wasted your time reading this? Good. Because I feel like I just wasted my time writing it.

Next week’s topic will be about tie stripe direction. It’s a topic more commonly discussed at the kitchen table than personal finances. And I’ll be here to give my much-waited opinion on the matter.

Thanks for reading.

Still haven’t heard of The Tie Bar?

Welcome to The Tie Bar! We are located just outside Chicago, Illinois (in beautiful Naperville), but our entire inventory can be viewed and purchase online at www.TheTieBar.com.

Who are we?

Well what started as a cute little business idea of designing our own ties and selling them over the internet has transformed into one of the largest necktie brands on the internet.

Why?

The Tie Bar’s $15 handmade silk ties have bucked the theory that the more you spend on a necktie, the better quality it must be. Ungodly necktie mark-ups have gone on long enough! Our margins are small but our volume is high. The result is some really happy guys out there, from Wall Street to Hollywood and everywhere in between.

Since our humble beginnings in 2004, we have added extra long ties, bowties, boy’s ties, pocket squares, cufflinks and dress shirts.

We’ve also now become one of the most popular sources for wedding parties, five-star restaurant staffs, luxury hotel personnel and so much more. If you need 1 or 1,000 neckties, our $15 price and our stylish and colorful collection of neckties makes us the place to start shopping.

Check back with us frequently, as we will begin to blog about necktie do’s and don’t’s (can a word have two apostrophes?), as well as general trends in the world of men’s clothing.

Don’t agree with what we have to say? Too bad! (Ok, not really “too bad”. Well, sort of.)