Pratt or Shelby -- introduced in August of
1989 it was reportedly invented by Jerry Pratt who worked for the US Chamber of
Commerce, but made famous by Minneapolis news anchor Don Shelby. A 92-year-old
viewer disgruntled with Shelby’s atrocious on-air tie knots showed him how to
tie the new knot.
How to Tie a Pratt (Shelby)
1. Start
with the tie inside out, front side toward your neck and wide end on your right
12 inches lower than the narrow end
2. Take
the wide end over and under the narrow end
3. Pull
the neck loop down and tighten
4. Take
the wide end and pull it across to the right
5. Pull
the wide end under the loop of the knot
6. Tighten
creating the dimple
7. You
may turn the narrow end right side out if you want
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The “all-important” DIMPLE
Even if you have tied the
most perfect knot in the history of the world, if it doesn’t have a perfect
dimple just under the knot it ain’t perfect!
Sophisticated men and women
notice a tie knot’s dimple.
How to get one?
Place your index finger in the
middle of the tie just under where the knot is forming, pinch that part of the
necktie between your thumb and
middle finger and squeeze together as you pull it down and tighten the knot.
The necktie knot should
hide the collar button. |
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ANDY'S ADVICE:
Ties should end within the area of
the belt buckle (not above and not below). Even if
you're wearing braces!
So how can you tie your knot so that
the front falls to your belt buckle, since all tie lengths may be
different?
The secret is
that the knot is constant! So the solution is to tie your regular
tie knot, then carefully untie it so that you can measure the length
of tie material that makes up the knot.
My knot happens
to be the exact length between the small finger and thumb of my
right hand fully stretched out. This is handy for me since I don't
have to take a measuring stick when I travel.
To get the front
end of the tie to fall within the range of your belt buckle just add
your knot length measurement to the length of the long part of your
tie, below your belt buckle. So when you start to tie your tie, the
wide end will be hanging below your belt buckle, the exact length of
your knot!
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Hysterical err Historical Knots:
The Prince Albert
-- Named for
the husband of English Queen Victoria, this is the four-in-hand with a double
wrap around horizontally before the wide end finally passes through the last of
the two loops. Allow the first loop to show through
The Onassis
-- This is how the Greek shipping VIP tied
his knot in the late 1950’s and it was also popular for a few minutes in the
1960’s with white belts and shoes, this is another variation of the four-in-hand
except that the wide end goes over the knot, hides it and hangs from the top.
How to Tie a Bowtie
Remember the motion
is similar to tying your shoelaces!!!
