Prepidemic Guide to Starting Your Neckwear Collection

For all you recent college graduates venturing out into the job market, it’s important to take a look at the state of your wardrobe and decide what needs immediate improvement. We’re willing to be that many of you are seriously lacking in the neckwear department as you probably never had to wear a tie other than at the occasional semi-formal dance. That’s about to change. Revamping your tie rack will be a major key to your sartorial success at your new job and, luckily, we’ve made it a bit easier by picking out the five options that will serve you best.

1. Striped

This is just about the most classic tie out there. It can be worn regularly–with nearly anything–and will never go out of style. While a simple striped tie is usually considered to be a pretty conservative choice, it can be worn in any number of ways depending on your stylistic choices. There are many forms of striped ties, but we suggest going with either a guard or pencil stripe. If you could have only one style of tie in your wardrobe, this would be our choice.

2. Club

This is the most fun option of all ties. The best part about a club tie is that it really gives you an opportunity to express a bit of yourself that you may not be able to with the rest of your wardrobe. If you’ve spent any time in England, we’re sure you’ve seen plenty of these as just about every organization has their own crest. Whether it be a university or a rugby club, you’ll see their crests on just about every well-dressed guy with a little bit of flair. Really make sure to check out all your options and find a club tie that is unique because it could very well become your most cherished piece of neckwear.

3. Silk Knit

It’s amazing how often we receive compliments on a simple silk knit tie. They’re so simple, yet so different from the standard woven or printed tie. We love to wear a solid silk knit tie with a tie bar as we think it’s a great twist on that classic Mad Men look. The key to a knit tie is the width because everything else is fairly similar from tie to tie. We like ours between 2” and 2 1/4” as that keeps them fairly trim without looking overly stylized.

4. Solid Seasonal

Solid ties are the style of neckwear that are most often messed up. We see guys wearing solid ties all the time and the vast majority of them look unbelievably bland. We think a great way of spicing up a solid tie is to choose a fabric other than silk. Do something in either linen or wool/cashmere and you won’t have to worry about being the guy with the boring tie. While some may say a beginner should stick to the basics, we think that understanding seasons is a key attribute for a stylish guy.

5. Plaid Seasonal

When looking into plaid ties we really think that someone who is just getting into neckwear for the first time has two options: tartan or madras. If you go with tartan, get something in wool or cashmere and you’ll be ready for the colder months. We love Gordon and Black Watch tartans for their simple and sophisticated patterns–which make them perfect options neophyte. Madras is your summer option and you’ll usually only be able to find them in cotton. We like more washed out madrases as the really bright styles just seem a bit too tacky for our taste.