[MTM_Master?]

Good day all,

Having gone a number of years without having purchased any new "formal" mensware, I am now in the midst of a wardrobe update. One of the (many) items on my list are neckties.

I wanted to ask the group about how XL (long) neckties are cut vs a standard length tie, and if proportionally there are differences between brands in the "body" of the tie vs. the "tail".

A little background, I stand around 6' 3" and thus generally purchase long ties when available. I typically wear a four-in-hand or Victoria knot, but have found that, on some but not all ties, the knot never quite turns out to my liking. I like a knot to have a little bit of length to it; a very small knot, even if well executed, does not look proportional on me in my opinion and is not to my taste.

I have found the knots turn out best when I am able to involve the wider part of the tie when wrapping around the knot, as that creates the extra length I prefer, however then I seem to run into a problem where the body is too short and I have too much tail left.

In other words, I suppose my question is, do long ties simply provide more tail length, or is the body length longer vs. a standard tie as well? Any recommendations from the vertically gifted on ties and/or knots that might produce the desired result?

Cheers.

 

[winghus]

I'm sure every manufacturer does things slightly different from competitors. You would need to try XL ties from various brands to see if they have what you want.

Or, you could just order custom from Sam Hober. They will respond to emails and adjust the tie pattern to give you the knot you want and the taper you want and make recommendations if you aren't sure.

 

[JBierly]

Good day all,

Having gone a number of years without having purchased any new "formal" mensware, I am now in the midst of a wardrobe update. One of the (many) items on my list are neckties.

I wanted to ask the group about how XL (long) neckties are cut vs a standard length tie, and if proportionally there are differences between brands in the "body" of the tie vs. the "tail".

A little background, I stand around 6' 3" and thus generally purchase long ties when available. I typically wear a four-in-hand or Victoria knot, but have found that, on some but not all ties, the knot never quite turns out to my liking. I like a knot to have a little bit of length to it; a very small knot, even if well executed, does not look proportional on me in my opinion and is not to my taste.

I have found the knots turn out best when I am able to involve the wider part of the tie when wrapping around the knot, as that creates the extra length I prefer, however then I seem to run into a problem where the body is too short and I have too much tail left.

In other words, I suppose my question is, do long ties simply provide more tail length, or is the body length longer vs. a standard tie as well? Any recommendations from the vertically gifted on ties and/or knots that might produce the desired result?

Cheers.

To cut to the chase, you want a longer and fatter tie. My impression is most longer ties (XL) are a bit proportioned and are fatter. There are some tie makers on this forum so you may get a better (more educated) answer.

 

[JBierly]

I see that you have sold some SamHober ties so you must have some experience with them and as a MTM master I suspect you have reached out to them in the past - what was your experience?

 

[cosmotoast]

I'm 5'11" so I wear standard ties with a four in hand knot. I can not wear common ties with a full Windsor. The length just isn't there for fabric to tie that knot so I have a few XL ties for the full Windsor. At 6'3" even with XL ties I bet you will be stuck with a four in hand knot.

 

[MTM_Master?]

I see that you have sold some SamHober ties so you must have some experience with them and as a MTM master I suspect you have reached out to them in the past - what was your experience?

The ties I had ordered in the past from Sam Hober (this was several years ago, mind you) were indeed longer, however for whatever reason I never considered the length of the body vs. the tail - I always assumed that a longer overall tie would have proportionally a longer body. It never occurred to me to inquire otherwise. (My tastes have been refined over time as well).

Perhaps the best, and most obvious, course of action is to send an email to the Sam Hober team - thought I would ping the bottomless wisdom of the forum, first.

...You'll also note the "?" after my username...I do have MTM experience, yet I still have much to learn

 

[MTM_Master?]

I'm sure every manufacturer does things slightly different from competitors. You would need to try XL ties from various brands to see if they have what you want.

Or, you could just order custom from Sam Hober. They will respond to emails and adjust the tie pattern to give you the knot you want and the taper you want and make recommendations if you aren't sure.

Fair enough - I have actually ordered from Sam Hober in the past, however as you will see in a response to another member (JBierly) that I just posted, for whatever reason I have never actually considered to ask about body with tail proportion - I simply assumed longer tie for taller guy = correct. Now that I am older, and wiser, I know (a little) better. Based on some recent shopping trips it does seem that off the rack long ties may simply offer a longer tail vs. a longer body as well, which is quite interesting to me.

 

[winghus]

Fair enough - I have actually ordered from Sam Hober in the past, however as you will see in a response to another member (JBierly) that I just posted, for whatever reason I have never actually considered to ask about body with tail proportion - I simply assumed longer tie for taller guy = correct. Now that I am older, and wiser, I know (a little) better. Based on some recent shopping trips it does seem that off the rack long ties may simply offer a longer tail vs. a longer body as well, which is quite interesting to me.

You can tell them your neck size and how wide (long vertically) you want the knot to be, how big (diameter, width) and how long you want the tail to be etc etc and they will make it happen. I prefer less taper than most ties made nowadays. I like 3.5 inches but most companies are only 3.5 at the very bottom and narrow a lot by the time you get to the neck.

 

[JBierly]

I would also make certain you indicate your preferred knot since that will affect the length of tie and they may suggest some fabrics over others (obviously some are thicker than others - indeed they suggested for grenadine ties to not tie them except as a 4 in hand.) Anyhow, if you order some more please share your experience.

 

[JBierly]

...You'll also note the "?" after my username...I do have MTM experience, yet I still have much to learn

Join the club - lots of experience here too but always learning. And then you gain or lose weight and you have to start over again. If only your body were a piece of plastic....