How to Tie a Tie

A tie is not a noose, though the way some men wear them suggests they believe otherwise.

There are dozens of knots, and you need one. The four-in-hand is the only knot a man requires for nearly every occasion, and it is the only one I shall describe here, because a man who has mastered one knot properly is better dressed than a man who can name twelve and execute none.

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 result should be slightly asymmetrical, and this is correct. The four-in-hand is not meant to form a perfect triangle (that is the Windsor, which is a different knot for a different occasion and, frankly, for a different collar entirely). The four-in-hand has a gentle lean to it, a natural quality that suggests the wearer is a man rather than a diagram.

The tip of the tie should reach your belt buckle. Not above it. Not below it. Not tucked into your trousers like a napkin. The belt buckle, precisely. If your tie is too long or too short, you have started with the wrong proportions; untie it and begin again, for there is no shortcut here, nor should you wish for one.

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.

One dimple, just below the knot, formed by pressing your finger into the fabric as you tighten. It is not essential, but it is the difference between a man who has tied a tie and a man who knows how to wear one, and that distinction, though invisible to the careless observer, is worth the extra moment it requires.