Your Neckties Say a Lot about You

Until recently I have thought of neckties as a gift to give to Dad on Father’s Day or what lawyers wear to court. But now that I work in the fashion industry I realize that neckties are much more. The tie brings a look together. Regardless of where you wear your tie, it should represent your personality and style. Just the other day I saw an older gentleman in a suit with a blue tie that had flying paper airplanes all over it. I thought this man has a sense of humor and seemed approachable.

I recently looked through my boyfriend’s tie collection and I was surprised by what I found. I was expecting collegiate stripes, maybe a couple ties that would represent his school or hometown and of course some solids. But all of his ties were brightly colored stripes, some from his trip to Thailand, and a couple of silly novelty ties that his sister bought him. His casual attire is fairly bland so to see these bright colored ties showed me another side of his style. I realized he is an accent-style-focused-person. His belt buckles are large and noticeable and so are his ties.

My grandfather’s tie collection comes solely from a shop in New York City that he would visit every time he went on business trips. My father has a lot of red and paisley ties. Every man has his tie style that seems to come organically based on color preference, design choice, and the ever-important personality!

What kind of tie you should wear? Solid, striped, pattern, polka dot, paisley, novelty? The choices are endless. Personally I love paisley, it is sophisticated yet fun. But the right tie for you depends on your personal preference and style. With the thousands of tie choices available it can be hard to pick the tie to set the tone you want. If you are choosing a solid tie you will want to go with a subdued shade of yellow, but for a pattern or striped tie you can go as bright as you feel. Everyone may be in a suit, but your tie should not resemble anyone else’s. There is one rule though I would try to remember, natural fibers are the way to go when it comes to ties.

You could look to trends for guidance. For example cobalt blue is big this season, as is taxi cab yellow. If your suit or blazer already incorporates these colors use your tie as an accent color in green or deep red and purple. Ties with a slight shimmer look classy and new with a dark pinstripe suit. Skinny ties are also in this season, but only try this look if you are a skinny guy. When shopping for a necktie I suggest you peruse through many ties and get the one or two that stick out to you.

Guest Writer: Rachel Rosen is a recent college graduate working for www.necktie.com. She is an aspiring writer and lives in Orange County, California.