Tie knots receive far too little attention. Certain knots work well with certain shirt collars, and others don’t. For instance, a traditional narrow four-in-hand knot will appear engulfed in a shirt with a wide-spread collar.
To that end, another of my former students, Varoujan Arman, now an Associate at Blaney McMurtry LLP, has provided some insightful perspectives.
He will tell you what to do, and what ‘knot’ to do:
- The Four-in-Hand: This is the most commonly worn tie knot (although perhaps it shouldn’t be). This is the thinnest or narrowest looking tie knot, due to the fact that it involves the least amount of the tie’s fabric. Accordingly, the four-in-hand looks best with a narrow spread collar, a medium spread collar, and narrow or medium spread button down collars. The four-in-hand is an asymmetrical tie, owing to the fact that it only gets looped through on one side.
- The Half-Windsor: An all-around favourite tie knot that works with almost any collar type, except perhaps a narrow spread collar due to its increased width. The half-Windsor is tied like a four-in-hand except that it is looped through on both sides before wrapping around the front. The result is a very elegant, symmetrical tie that will set you apart from those sporting the four-in-hand. Always a classy choice, the half-Windsor looks great with a wide spread collar.
- The Full-Windsor: The full-Windsor tie knot has a similar triangular shape to a half-Windsor but it is even thicker due to the increased amount of tie-fabric it requires. As one of the largest tie-knots, it is best suited to wide spread collar shirts. It is a bold knot worthy of Trump boardrooms and private jets.
- The Pratt Knot: This is another fairly wide knot best reserved for ties of medium to light fabrics. The Pratt knot has a clean appearance, and although it is a wide knot, it is not quite as wide as a full-Windsor, which makes it appropriate for any collar type. The Pratt has a more tapered shape towards its bottom, which gives it that clean pinched look causing a dramatic dimple in the tie below.
Varoujan Arman is an Associate at Blaney McMurtry LLP and an Alumnus (Class of 2010) of the University of Windsor, Faculty of Law. Emir Aly Crowne is a Law Professor at the University of Windsor, Faculty of Law. Their ‘ties’ are Full-Windsor, although their knots are usually Half.
Image by VidTheKid via Wikimedia Commons.