How to Tie a Tie

A tie should sit closely enough to cover the top button and still permit the wearer to breathe and turn his head in the ordinary way.

Although dozens of knots have been named, the four-in-hand answers for nearly every ordinary occasion and is the only one described here. Mastery of one knot, including the proper starting length for one’s own neck and ties, is more useful than a theoretical acquaintance with twelve.

Stand before a mirror. Drape the tie around your neck with the wide end on your right, extending roughly twelve inches below the narrow end, and cross the wide end over the narrow end. Bring the wide end underneath the narrow end and back across the front, from right to left. Pass the wide end underneath again, this time from left to right, then bring it up through the loop at your neck from behind. Slip the wide end down through the front loop you have just created, and tighten by pulling the narrow end down with one hand while sliding the knot up with the other.

The finished knot will be slightly asymmetrical, as the four-in-hand is intended to be. Resist the temptation to pull and pinch it into a perfect triangle; that shape belongs to the wider Windsor and generally requires a different collar.

The tip should reach the belt buckle. When it finishes much above or below that point, the wide end began at the wrong length and the knot must be tied again; after a few attempts, the proper starting place becomes easy to remember.

The knot should sit snug against the collar, with the top button of the shirt fastened and invisible. If you can see the top button, the tie is too loose; if you cannot breathe, the collar is too small. These are separate problems with separate solutions, and you ought not to conflate them.

A small dimple may be formed below the knot by pressing a finger into the fabric as it is tightened. It is optional, but gives some shape to a plain length of silk and costs only the extra moment required to make it.