023: The 3 Tie Styles That Will Make You Look Stylish in 2024 and Beyond

In this podcast, we delve into the art of crafting a classic wardrobe, focusing on essential menswear pieces and, of course, the unsung hero of sophistication – ties. Join Vladimir every week as he shares valuable insights, discusses common fashion mistakes, and guides you on the path to mastering the art of ties in 2024. 

From unraveling common tie mistakes to offering practical wardrobe recommendations, this podcast is your weekly dose of style inspiration. Dive into 2024 with a renewed commitment to crafting a wardrobe that stands the test of time.


Mentioned in this episode:

Thrifting legend - The StyleJumper

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Transcript

Vlad (host): Are you a guy who's feeling lost in these menswear streets and wants to build a timeless wardrobe that turns heads? If you're nodding in agreement, then I wanna link with you for a complimentary Step Up Your Menswear discovery call. In this informative 20-minute session, I'll dissect your current fashion choices and identify what you might be missing out on opportunities to enhance your style game, all while staying true to classic menswear principles. Whether you're a professional, a businessman,

00:28
or simply someone seeking to upgrade your style game. The step up your menswear discovery call is tailor-made for you. Book a slot on my calendar today by going to imnotagentleman.com and click on the work with me tab. Peace.

00:45
Announcer: I'm Not A Gentleman is a production of chaceandryder.com.

00:47
Vlad (host): Now as I was saying the tie sits right below your face but the closest to your face is actually the tie knot. So the first thing you'll see guys wear really really big tie knots. Like they have something to prove or they're hiding something so they're compensating by having really big tie knots. The size of your head and the size of the tie knot should not be in competition with each other. So that's the first thing and to make matters even worse I've seen some tie knots where it's actually backwards. I forgot what it's called. Thank God. It's not like I'm really trying to remember such monstrosities.

01:25
Yo, what up? Welcome to I'm Not A Gentleman, the show designed to help you look stylish without following trends. I'm your host Vladimir Riché from chaceandryder.com and your favorite menswear YouTuber's favorite menswear YouTuber. I've helped dozens of clients and hundreds of students and viewers feel more confident by looking their best and always making a great first impression.

02:11
This is a special episode because this is the first episode of 2024. Damn, that sounds weird saying 2024 already. I guess it's something that I have to get used to. But yeah, we're really going to turn it up this year. I have a lot of good things in store for you guys and I hope that you guys are ready because this is going to be a big gift for I'm not a gentleman. Today's episode is a subject that's near and dear to my heart and it's not shoes. You guys know how I feel about shoes, man. But this one is about the second subject that I'm most passionate about besides shoes.

02:40
which are ties. I've spoken about ties plenty of times before, but this episode is strictly dedicated to ties, which is something that I've been looking to do for a while. And what better time to do it than the first episode of 2024? So as I always like to say, your tie is extremely important because it sits right below your face. So.

03:08
There are certain things that you can probably hide. Your tie is not one of those things. Your ties are always going to be noticeable because they're right there. And when you're speaking to someone, they're going to be looking at your face. So if you wear really nice ties and people are paying attention to the tie, they will be looking at your face also because they don't really have a choice because the tie is going to be right there. Versus.

03:35
If somebody's really into your shoes, right? They're really paying attention to your shoes. They're not looking at your face. So that's why ties are very, very important. And that's why I put a lot of emphasis on wearing nice ties. With that said, man, sadly, I think only about 1% of men really wear nice ties. And that's something that I'm trying to change by bringing more light to it. Because the problem is,

04:05
most guys wear ties that they get as gifts. So whether it's a Christmas gift, an anniversary gift, a Father's Day gift, yeah, Father's Day, that's a big one. A lot of ties get bought to be given as gifts on Father's Day. And it's a nice gesture because, you know, all men can use a tie, but those ties be the most hideous ties, man.

04:34
And it's not really the people's fault who are buying those ties. I mean, most guys don't really know anyway what's a nice tie. So I don't really expect for somebody else to really know. It's like me, for example, nobody would dare to give me an ugly tie for my birthday because they see the way that I dress. So I can't blame the person that's giving the gift because they're probably already looking at ties that you probably already had and they're basing it off of that.

05:01
And when it comes to ties, you do have to put a little bit more thought into it. It's easy to walk into like a Marshall's. I don't know if you guys have Marshall's where you are. We have them in New York or even a Coles and get somebody a tie. And those ties are going to be extremely ugly. So that's exactly what happens. Guys get ties as gifts and that's what they wear as opposed to doing their research and see what nice ties they can.

05:31
get for themselves. So this is what we're going to discuss in this episode. INTRO!!

05:42
Intro music: Bag in that bag in that bag again, whoa!

05:48
All right, so let's get right into it, man. In this episode, I'm going to tell you about the three types of ties that I recommend that every man should have in their wardrobe. But before we get to the ties though, I do wanna talk about a couple of tie mistakes that I see. And then once we cover those mistakes, then we'll get into the ties that I recommend. This is not really in any order, so I'm just going to spit them out. The first one is wearing ties that are too skinny.

06:16
And I know that when you read GQ magazine and you're on the internet, this is what you see and you think it's cool. And I'm here to tell you that it's really not. Your tie should be proportional to your lapels. And if you weren't skinny lapels, you should stop that too. Your lapels should be around three and a half inches. Personally, my lapels are around four and a half inches, but I'd say minimum of three and a half inches is where you really want to be.

06:45
because it's going to look a lot better. As a man, it's really going to emphasize like your chest, your shoulders, as opposed to wearing them scampi lapels. So if you're wearing wider lapels, then you should be wearing wider ties. They go hand in hand, but the problem is most guys are wearing skinny lapels and skinny ties. Although I don't think that they're doing it on purpose as far as knowing that their lapels should be matching their ties. But you guys really need to chill with those skinny ties, man.

07:16
They're not timeless and they just date your whole look. And like I said, I know that's what you see in GQ magazine, but GQ has to sell magazines every month. So they can be giving you timeless advice because what are they going to be talking about every month? So they have to tell you about trendy things. And me, I'm here to actually save you from that and save you money in the long run also. Cause you don't have to keep buying those things over and over again.

07:46
What I recommend as far as the width of your tie, it should be around three and a quarter to three and a half. Every single tie that I own is three and a half inches. Personally, I wouldn't wear a three-and-a-quarter tie because I would feel uncomfortable wearing that tie. I've worn one once and it was by accident because I thought it was three and a half. And when I was wearing the tie, I just felt uncomfortable because I was actually shooting a video so I could see myself on the screen.

08:16
I'm like something is not right. And then once the video was over, I measured the tie and realized it was three and a quarter. Now you might be saying a quarter inch doesn't make a big difference. And you're probably right. But when we're talking about a tie, that's only three and a half inches. A quarter inch is noticeable, at least to me. And once again, it's probably because that's all I've been wearing since I've gotten into classic menswear.

08:44
So therefore, as soon as something is not three and a half, I'm going to notice it. And that's what happened that time. I didn't notice it when I was putting it on, but I noticed it as soon as I was able to see myself. So my recommendation is your tie should be between three and a quarter and three and a half. And that way you don't have to worry about having something that's dated, that's going to last you the rest of your life. The second mistake is

09:12
wearing those cheap polyester ties. Like I was saying, man, there's really no way to really hide your tie. So, wearing those shiny ties are not doing you any good, man. And I do understand that ties are expensive, but trying to cut corners by wearing polyester ties is just really not a good look. What I would recommend in that case, if you don't really want to spend money on your ties like that, because for good ties, you're looking at around $70 to start.

09:42
I would say so if that's not in your budget it's cool then I would recommend that you probably go to a thrift store and you should be able to find some good options for very cheap but the answer is not wearing polyester ties. The third mistake that I see a lot of guys make is tying some really bad knots. Now as I was saying the tie sits right below your face but the closest to your face is actually the tie knot.

10:11
So the first thing you'll see guys wear really, really big tie knots. Like they have something to prove or they're hiding something. So they're compensating by having really big tie knots. The size of your head and the size of the tie knot should not be in competition with each other. So that's the first thing. And to make matters even worse, I've seen some tie knots where it's actually backwards. I forgot what it's called. Thank God it's not like I'm really trying to remember.

10:39
such monstrosities but what are we doing man? You're bringing attention to your face for all the wrong reasons. I recommend a foreign hand knot that's what I tie every single time actually probably 90% of the time that's what I tie. I also use a tie knot called old birdie so it depends on if I remember or not but most of the time it's second nature I tie a foreign hand knot and

11:08
A lot of times guys will give me compliments about my ties and ask me how do I tie it. I don't think I'm doing anything special because foreign hand is pretty much what most of us in the classic mental community, that's how we tie our ties. So I never really looked at it like I'm doing anything specific. But yeah, just a foreign hand knot, man. It's a simple knot to tie, not complicated. It's not like it's a double Windsor. We have to know all these steps. Very simple, man.

11:36
So that's the third mistake. The fourth mistake, this one is really, really bad, is having ties with logos on them and thinking that you're really stylish. This one really has to stop. Like you ever seen these ties with the Gucci imprint?

11:53
What about the Burberry ties? Like the plaid, like what the hell are we doing? Like what are we doing, bro? Like seriously, man. It's like, I can understand if you're into street fashion and logos or a thing. I mean, I still think that's corny, to be honest with you, but I've done it, you know? So I can understand if that's what you're doing. But when it comes to tailored clothing,

12:23
Logos don't mean a damn thing. So when you're wearing those ties that has the logo of the brand on them, that's just extremely corny. So that's the fourth mistake. The fifth mistake, I hate this one with a passion. First of all, guys will wear some really crazy colored shirts, right? So you'll see orange shirts, you'll see yellow, some yellow shirts.

12:52
You see some black shirts, you see some red shirts, some just some really, really bad shirts. And they'll double up on that by wearing ties, striped ties that has those colors in them. So you see a lot of burgundy shirts with ties that also has burgundy stripes. I mean, come on, man. We got to do a lot better than that. This is almost like when guys buy their ties and pocket square as a set.

13:21
Matter of fact that's exactly what it is. One day I walked into a Kohl's and I saw that all the mannequins had that look. Then I realized this is where guys are getting this from. They walk into a store and they look at the mannequin and they be like I want this look. This is as lazy as it gets man. Like I always like to tell people dressing well should be fun. Life is hard man but dressing well should be fun. So

13:48
when you're wearing a burgundy shirt and you're wearing a tie that has burgundy stripes, that's extremely corny, man. Of course you can rectify that by not wearing those ugly colored shirts to begin with. That would go a long way, so I recommend white shirts, light blue shirts. Anyway, this is not even really about shirts, so I'm not going to get too deep into that, but if you weren't wearing those colored shirts to begin with,

14:15
then you wouldn't be wearing those ties that are matching those shirts. That's the point that I'm trying to make. So that's the fifth mistake that I see guys make that really irks me. The sixth tie mistake that I see is a lot of guys don't even untie their ties at the end of the day. They just pull it enough so they can take it off and then they hang it that way. And next time they just put it back on already tied. That's crazy. I mean...

14:44
If it's a cheap tie anyway, I guess it doesn't really matter. Actually it does matter because you should start building good habits. But you are really destroying your tie when you're not untying the tie and hanging it so that the folds can fall off naturally. It's just lazy, man. And one thing that I always recommend to guys, when you are undoing your tie, instead of pulling out the skinny end.

15:10
which is what most guys do to just pull out the skinny end is to undo the tie in reverse. So the way that you tie the knot, you just undo it. Because when you're pulling on one end, you're also not helping out the tie. And last but not least, the seventh tie mistake, this one is huge, a huge pet peeve of mine is when guys don't dimple their ties. And you see that all the time, whether you're watching TV, whether you're just out and about.

15:39
Yo man, dimple your tie bro. It's not that hard. It goes an extremely long way too. It just shows that you care and you're paying attention to what's going on. You're just putting in a little bit of effort. You know, cause we all can put a tie on, but is your tie dimpled? You know, and that's one question I get too. Like, how come you always have a...

16:06
nice dimple on your tie like a perfect dimple and trust me it's not always perfect man sometimes I have to tie my tie two or three times to get the right dimple always leave yourself a bit of time in the morning because not every time is it going to come out the way that you really envision it and also the more you dimple your tie the more your tie is going to form a memory so the next time when you tie it it should be a lot easier to get the right dimple so those are the seven time mistakes

16:34
that I see out there, they are more than that. And as you guys know, I don't really script what I'm going to be talking about. So those are the seven that come to mind right now, but they are more than that. All right, so anyway, we got the mistakes out the way. So now let's talk about the three ties that I recommend that every man should own or the three types of ties that I recommend that every man should own. The first style of ties are solid color ties. Those are going to be the easiest ties to pair with

17:03
the rest of your outfit. And that's why when guys usually ask me, what's the easiest way for me to start stepping up my menswear? I always tell them to start with their ties because it's one thing that's very easy to buy. Once you know what you're looking for, you don't really have to worry about trying them on. All you have to do is just pull the trigger, go online, see them, and just order them. Just make sure that they're the width that you're looking for. Like I was saying, I recommend three and a quarter to three and a half.

17:32
or even three and a quarter to three and three quarters. Me personally, I stay at three and a half. They're one size fits all as far as the length. Most ties are around 58 inches. Of course, if you're a taller guy, you're like six, three, six, four and above, you might want to have a longer tie than you might have to custom-made it. But for most of us, 58 inches is going to do us just fine.

17:59
So solid color ties, you just set it and forget it. You don't have to really put a whole bunch of thought into it. The fabric that I recommend for solid color ties is grenadine, which is a silk that comes from Italy. And it's kind of a grainy fabric. So it does bring some visual interest to it because when you're talking about a solid color tie, some might think that is boring because it's just one color. So that's why I really love grenadine

18:29
It is one color for the most part. It does have a lot of texture to it. So it's not just like a smooth texture. As far as colors, I would recommend you start with black and then navy and then green and then burgundy. Those colors are going to be very easy to pair with the rest of your wardrobe.

18:54
And black is my favorite out of those four. And that's because I feel like black goes with so many different color suits. Like I always like to say, I'm not into the monochrome look. So navy is really nice as well, but I also wear navy suits. So I wouldn't wear a navy suit with a navy tie. Like I would, but not with a solid color tie. I don't want to be wearing a solid suit that's navy and paired with a solid tie that's also navy.

19:25
I feel like that's really boring. And once again, I feel like dressing world should be fun. If you're into black suits, personally I'm not, but a black suit, a white shirt and a black tie is still a really good look. Like look at tuxedos, right? They're black, you wear a white shirt and your bow tie is usually going to be black. So black on black is cool, but navy on navy, to me, is not cool.

19:51
So that's why they pick it at number one, but a lot of guys would say Navy is probably the ideal color to get. And I'm cool with that. You know, I mean, just want to give you an explanation on why it's not mine, but I would still recommend it as a second choice. And then I'll say like a dog green and then a burgundy would be the option that I would recommend. So that's the first style of ties that I think that every man should have.

20:20
It's very simple. You get dressed in the morning, you're not exactly sure which tie you wanna wear. A solid color tie is a very easy choice, easy and safe choice. The second type of tie that I recommend are striped ties. Striped ties are still very formal, but they have a bit more character obviously than a solid color tie because most of the time they're going to come in multiple colors.

20:48
Or sometimes it could be the same color, just different shades of that one color. For example, I do have my own tie in collaboration with Aklasu. So if you didn't know that already, definitely check it out and get yourself one. The link will be in the show notes is called the intro tie. And it's two different shades of blue. It's a darker blue and a lighter blue. And then block stripes, which are thicker stripes.

21:17
So I think that striped ties are very attractive. I don't have that many in my wardrobe. I think I have two that I really wear, but I would highly recommend striped ties. I think that they're very fresh and you can do a lot with them. And the third style of tie that I would recommend is actually my favorite. And that's what I wear probably 90% of the time.

21:45
not probably, that's what I wear 90% of the time. And I'm talking about Foulard ties. Foulard is a French word, so I know a lot of times when I say people's like, what's that word you said? So Foulard is a print. And it's like a small scale pattern that repeats itself. And the patterns are usually floral or geometric. So you're going to find a lot of diamond shapes.

22:15
a lot of square shapes, a lot of circle shapes. And they come in so many different colors, man. And to me, those are the most beautiful ties that one can get. And they also come in a lot of different fabrics. So in the summer and the spring, I wear just regular silk. And in the fall and winter, I wear ancient matter. Ancient matter is also silk, but

22:44
The colors are more muted and it also has a chalky feel to it which goes really, really well with heavier fabrics like tweed and flannel and quarter boys. This is definitely my go-to tie. Because they have so many different colors, it's very easy to pair them with your pocket squares. And that's one thing about me, the way that my closet is set up is very easy for me to get dressed in the morning.

23:12
And that's what I teach my students with my Ground Up Method framework. My man Mike said, shout out to Style Architect, he said the way that I put my outfits together, I can easily get dressed in the dark. It's hilarious, but it's true. And it's done like that for a reason. And fuller ties go a really long way. Most of them are probably going to be like three, three or four different colors. So it's easy to pair them with my pocket squares because with pocket squares, what you really want to do.

23:42
is to have them complement each other, but not have them match. So you want to pair like a primary color from the tie to a secondary or third color in the pocket square. And being that fuller ties have so many colors and it's very easy to establish what's the primary color, what's the secondary color, what's the third color, what's the fourth color. When it's time for you to pair them with your pocket square is going to be extremely easy.

24:08
So my cladding is set up in a way where most of my ties are going to work with most of my pocket squares. So I don't really have to give it much thought in the morning. So if I have to break it down, let's say you wanted to start your tie collection and you were going to get 10 ties, then I would say you wanna get five full lards and you wanna get three solid and you wanna get two stripes.

24:35
So those are the three style of ties that I think that every men should have. And as Anubo mentioned, I would say daddy ties would be my fourth option. I only have one of those in my closet, but the great thing about that tie is the oldest piece in my closet. I bought that tie in 2009. And the reason why I know that is because that's the tie that I wore when I proposed to my wife and that was in October of 2009. And that was my first time wearing the tie.

25:05
And somehow, even though back then, I had no idea what I was doing when it came to menswear, but somehow I got that tie right. It's a Ralph Lauren purple label tie, and the tie is actually purple with white dots. And that's the only piece in my wardrobe that survived the purge of 2015. Around 2006, I started wearing a suit. Around 2012, 2013, I realized I didn't know what I was doing.

25:33
Then around 2015 is when I really started to put things together the right way. So I got rid of a bunch of stuff and this is the only piece in my closet that I still have from that era when I was clueless about menswear. And I still wear it to this day and I really love that tie. So daddy ties would be the fourth one if I had to pick a fourth and what you have to look out for when it comes to daddy ties.

26:01
is to stay away from polka dots because you don't want the dots to be too big. You can do pin dots, which are a little bit smaller than regular dots, but you just don't want them to be too big because they're going to look kind of clownish at this point and that's not what you want. Let me know which one is your favorite. Shoot me an email or something. My email is vr at chaseandrider.com.

26:27
or even me up on Instagram @chace.ryder or @imnotagentlemanpodcast, I do have two accounts on there. I'm more active on the @chace.ryder, which is my main account. And let me know which one is your favorite, man. But those are the types that I would recommend. Once again, ties are extremely, extremely important when it comes to your presentation. So you really can't go wrong with those ties that I was talking about. And I do understand once again that ties are expensive.

26:55
Most of my ties are around $125 price point. I know that's crazy expensive. You don't have to spend that much. I think good ties do cost though and start around maybe 70, 75. If you can't afford that, then thrifting would be my recommendation. And if you need help with thrifting, one of the homies StyleJumper, I linked them in my last episode because I did speak about him then also, but I will link them also.

27:25
in the short notes of this episode. So definitely hit him up and he'll be able to work with you because I'm not really that sound when it comes to thrifting. I'm still learning about that. So my guy Style Jumper will definitely set you straight. So that was episode 23. Once again, the Michael Jordan episode of I'm Not A Gentleman. First episode of 2024 is going to be a wild ride. Appreciate you guys supporting the podcast and you know.

27:56
Let's see what 2024 has in store for us. So thanks for checking out what I had to say about ties and tune in again next week for another fire episode of I'm Not a Gentleman. Peace.

28:15
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