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23 Types of Ties For Both Formal And Informal Occasions

Types Of Ties

So, you have got a killer suit already: ready-made or bespoke one. Your shirt fits perfectly on your shoulders; your shoes and your belt scream out their brand names. But, is that all you need?

Not at all. Instead, one critical piece is direly missing.

Yes, it’s the tie. In fact, men’s formal dressing is incomplete without ties.

What started as an integral part of men’s formal dress in the early 20th-century is more a style quotient now.

That’s why today, we’re going to discuss types of ties as we did in the case of different scarves and dress types in our previous blogs. 

Types of Ties by Design

Ties by design mean the shape of a tie. In other words, is it hanging from the collar, wrapped around the collar, or covering one’s neck simply.

Let’s take a bird’s eye view of each of these types.

1. Necktie

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When we talk about ties, neckties roam our minds first.

Neckties are long ties tied under the collar of a shirt and hung on the front, along with their tails hidden at the back.

Usually, when we say a necktie, it’s a regular wide necktie, which is not slim.

Types of Neckties by Knot-style

1.1 Four-in-hand Knot

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It’s the most common type of knot that’s popular everywhere. It works with any kind of formal suiting, for it takes the least time to knot it.

1.2 Half-Windsor knot

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It’s another simple yet loose form of tie-knot. Students are often seen in these kinds of knots while they wear their school ties. The apparent reason is the ease of tying and nothing else.

1.3 Windsor Knot

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Sometimes it’s called full Windsor to avoid confusing it with a half-Windsor knot. Unlike the tie-knots mentioned above, this knot is triangular without having any drape on the front side.

It’s the most followed knot at formal occasions. Formal corporate meetings, meetings between intercountry delegates, etc. witness ties with this knot.

1.4 Café Knot

The café knot is a bit stylish. It’s like a half-Windsor knot has been tightly covered with the shirt collar of the same fabric.

1.5 Ediety or Merovingian Knot

This is yet another stylish knot that’s difficult to wear. In this knot, the wider side of the tie makes the background, whereas the narrower one is shown at the front, and a bigger knot embeds the smaller one.

1.6 Eldredge Knot

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Eldredge is an executive style knot with too many wrapping in the knot with a single drape on the wide panel.

1.7 Fishbone Knot

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It’s just another version of Eldredge knot, except the knot is fluffy. Such a unique and stylish tie can be worn at one’s own wedding reception to get an artistic touch.

1.8 Four Rings Knot

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Four-rings tie is not very common among people, but it doesn’t stay behind when it comes to style. It looks like a loose knot in which the wider part remains on the backside.

1.9 Krasny Hourglass Knot

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It’s a funny type of knot that imitates an hourglass. If you want to look different at a party, then this knot is something you must try.

1.10 Linwood Taurus Necktie

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It can simply be called a loose version of the café knot because the collar-shaped coverings are too loose, giving it a baby elephant shape.

1.11 Onassis Knot

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Onassis knot gives an incomplete knot, as the tie seems to be hanging from a string. It’s suitable for proms and casual occasions.

1.12 Pinwheel or Truelove Knot

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This is yet another stylish tie-knot, the shape of which resembles a pinwheel. The art in tying this knot is matching the inner patterns of the tie; otherwise, it won’t look like a pinwheel. It’s also fit for informal occasions only.

1.13 Trinity Knot

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Trinity is a simple yet stylish knot in which the knot consists of three triangles with one corner of each triangle embedded into another. Again its complex shape does not make it suitable to be worn on highly formal occasions.

1.14 Van Wijk Knot

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This is another funny knot that looks as if the tie is wrapped around in a spiral. It can be called a semi-formal, that can work in college or school parties. But again, for highly formal parties, it’s not recommended.

Are you one of those who always have a hard time tying a tie? If yes, watch the following video, which teaches it in an easy fashion.

2. Skinny Ties

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Although skinny tie is a sub-type of a necktie, yet they are so popular that it’s better to mention them separately.

Skinny ties have a standard width between 1.5 to 2.5 inches and look best in the modern European cut suits.

Fashion Tip: The skinnier the tie, the more the skinny stature emphasized.

3. Bow Tie

A bow tie is a type of tie that looks like a butterfly and tied like a shoelace.

Not every man likes to wear a bow tie, as it’s been more fantasized by the thrilling Bond films rather than seen at every formal party.

Today, bow ties have gone beyond being formal and professional to become a creative and fashion symbol.

Fun Facts: In the business world, a red bow tie symbolizes the reaffirmation of authority, strength, and dominance.

Let’s look at some of the types of bow ties that are trendy these days.

3.1 Butterfly

The butterfly bow is the most formal bow tie knot that makes an essential part of the tuxedo. It’s a simple and elegant knot that looks like a butterfly.

3.2 Batwing

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Batwing, as the name suggests, looks like the wings of a bat. In this knot, the overall look is made less wide by giving more drapes in the middle.

It’s considered less formal than the butterfly bow but can still work as formal wear.

3.3 Diamond Point

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The diamond knot gives an edgier look than the butterfly knot. It’s a kind of evergreen knot style, as celebrities of both past and current eras are often shown in this style.

3.4 Skinny

It’s the slimmest bow tie of all. Like a skinny necktie, it’s more about the width of the fabric rather than the knot-style.

In other words, a skinny bow can adopt either a butterfly, batwing or diamond-point knot-styles. A skinny bow tie is about 2/3rd the width of a regular bow.

4. Western Bowtie or String Tie

We can call this a combination of both necktie and bow tie. Let’s look at one of such ties.

5. Ascot or Hanker Tie

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It sounds a bit strange when it’s called a tie because the only thing it covers is the neck. Neither it hangs, nor it shows any knot like necktie and bows. It’s an informal tie that’s tied under the collar.

6. Bolo Tie

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It’s a pair of strings or braided leather hanged like a necktie but with a decorative metal tip rather than a visible knot.

7. Cravat

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By definition, the cravat is the original form of a tie, from which bow and neckties evolved later. Unlike ascot, it’s more formal. It’s the style that King Louis XIV adopted from Croatian mercenaries.

8. Neckerchief

For Men

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For Women

Neckerchief for women

It’s the only informal tie worn with either a formal shirt, T-shirt, or a top –  by both men and women.

Do You Know: The beautiful ties seen around flight attendants’ necks are actually scarfs tied like a neckerchief.

Types of Ties by Pattern

Tie patterns are endless, as each manufacturer tries to print a unique one on his product.

For highly formal events, solid ties followed by polka dot and diagonally striped ties are mostly observed worldwide.

Sometimes, there’s symmetry in a pattern, and sometimes it’s merely an odd or weird pattern on the fabric.

9. Solid Ties

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These are the plain color ties with no pattern whatsoever. They make the simplest, most elegant formal dress code.

10. Polka Dot Ties

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11. Checked or Plaid Ties

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Checks or boxes with striped lines sometimes are a part of this pattern, which looks elegant when matched with a suit made of either of the colors forming this tie.

12. Novelty Ties

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Novelty ties are the ones that have depictions of some real or virtual objects, including a flag pattern, an animal, galaxy, cars, etc.

13. Diagonal Striped Tie

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Ties under this type have diagonal stripes on them.

14. Geometric Pattern ties

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As the name suggests, this pattern follows some geometric shapes, like squares, rectangles, triangles, etc.

15. Paisley Ties

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Paisley pattern is a Persian-origin popular design pattern that’s popular in South East Asia.

It has a teardrop-shaped motif with a curved upper end. It’s still seen in Britain and other English-speaking countries on men’s ties, waistcoats, and handkerchiefs.

16. Floral Ties

Floral ties are made of fabrics with flower-like patterns printed on them, just like the one below.

17. Stamp Print Ties

Types of Ties by Material

Ties can also be classified according to the types of fabrics they are made with, making a tie cheap or high-end.

Let’s look at some of the ties made with different fabrics.

18. Knit Tie

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Knit ties are expensive to buy because most of them are hand-made fabrics. Unlike other ties, they need to be washed carefully, like handwash, etc. Ideally, they are considered less than formal, be worn with blazers at a wedding or an evening out.

19. Silk Tie

The good thing about silk tie is that it keeps shining and is visible from far. It makes a nice formal tie that easily available at every tie store.

20. Microfiber Tie

Microfiber is a synthetic fiber made from a polyester and polyamide blend. Polyfiber fabrics are mainly used in cleaning stuff, but the ties it makes are elegant and worth wearing made for formal wear.

21. Cotton Tie

Since cotton is lightweight, the cotton ties are comfortable to wear in the spring or summer. It makes semi-formal wear.

22. Polyester Tie

Polyester ties are the cheapest ones with an additional benefit that the stains are easily removed from them.

23. Seersucker Tie

The best thing about such fabrics is that it sits off a bit from other surfaces, like your shirt, giving you comfort, increased air circulation, and breathability. So, it’s perfect for the spring and summer seasons.

Type of Ties for Wedding

Your wedding reception is the most important event of your life, where you and your wife are the stars of the day with every eye turned at you.

Where you try your best to search for the most stylish suit, you need a tie that makes the perfect match.

Let us show you some of the popular types of ties for a wedding in 2023.

Conclusion

There are so many types of ties today that choosing one for your dress code often becomes confusing. With differences concerning material, design, patterns, and knot styles, the combinations are hundreds.

Whatever tie you like, one thing is for sure: a gentleman’s look at a formal event is incomplete without a tie.

Which of these ties you think are the most stylish? What tie you wore or planning to wear at your wedding reception, and why? Let us know by leaving your comments in the comment section below.

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