Mens' Ties

King Louis XIV of France

traditional tie

Mens' ties have for the most part consisted of two main styles: bows, and ties. The bow is really a mutation from the look of a French King (King Louis XIV of France) whom popularized the style. Over time this style evolved into the modern tie. The tie is one of the classic elements of mens' dress that has survived nearly 400 years of social change!

Justin Timberlake in Tom Ford for the "Suit & Tie" video

Justin Timberlake in his new video "Suit & Tie" brings the "Sexy Back" by wearing a classic black and white Suit that was designed especially for the filming of the video by Tom Ford.

caravat scarf

handkerchief scarf

modern scarf

Due to the rich history of the tie, there are also different variations of the tie itself that have re-emerged onto the current collections, each one giving a specific type of feeling. The caravat scarf gives the feeling of high-end class and sophistication, while the handkerchief scarf gives the look of a rouged/hard working individual, and lastly the modern scarf sets the feeling of a trendy individual.

skinny tie

knit tie

In the late 60s, early 70s there was a wide adoption of the super wide ties, introduced by Ralph Lauren, this kept being the major form of ties up until the dot com bubble bust. The over all tie seemed to have vanished in general use. In the late 90s and early 00s the reemergence of the skinny ties were adopted as fashion statements by punk bands, thus inspiring the over all culture and causing a mass adoption. At present we see many design houses featuring knit ties in their collections, something that can be used to dress up/down a look of the wearer.

optical tie

Then we go to those ties that like to push the boundaries and make a fashion statement, the tie above gives the illusion that the wearer is wearing two ties, but due to how this tie was created, it just seems that way.

Matthew Morrison in Dior

Then there are the true trend setters, like Matthew Morrison at the 2013 SAG Awards wearing a Dior shirt that embodies the idea of wearing a bow tie, without actually doing it!

“This is the essence of a bow tie, 

but it’s really a shirt!”