For every man, there is the right tie, and for every tie, there is the right way to tie it. Here, a step-by-step breakdown of the two most useful ways to fasten your neckwear: the Windsor and the four-in-hand. Tear this out and display in your closet.
The Windsor (tie shown: Hermes, $130) Wear it with: A broad spread collar. Pros: Elegant with a formal shirt; an international business look that shouts status. Cons: It's a punishing routine for your tie. Always unknot it at the end of the day.
Cross the wide end over the narrow, then slip the wide end up between the tie and collar, then drop it back down.
Wrap the wide end behind the narrow end from right to left.
Bring the wide end in front and over the loop between collar and tie.
Wrap the wide end around the narrow part one more time and slip up through loop again.
Loosely stabilizing the knot, slip the wide end through it. Center dimple. Tighten.
The Four-in-Hand (tie shown: J.Crew, $45) Wear it with: The new breed of nar-row suits; a narrow shirt collar or button-down. Pros: Great with a skinny suit, and the only way to wear a tie with jeans. Cons: It requires ex-actly the right shirt collar and jacket.
Begin with the fat end of your tie on your right and extend it about ten inches below the skinny end.
Cross the wide end of the tie over the narrow end and then continue underneath.
Cross the wide end over the narrow part one more time.
Pass the wide end up behind the knot, through the neck, and back out the front again.
Hold the knot steady and slip the wide end down through the knot. Center dimple. Tighten.
The Style Definition:
Straightlaced \strat•last\ adj : 1. A common colloquialism originating in England in 1554 used to describe an individual who exhibits excessively reserved or, some would say, uptight behavior. Syn: prude, stick-in-the-mud, wet blanket, Tipper Gore. 2. A method of fastening shoes and other garments with laces that bind two separate pieces by spanning them straight across rather than in a crisscross pattern. A common technique used by Europeans to lace their shoes, it results in a tighter, stronger binding. Used by well-bosomed Victorian women to cinch their corsets. Also employed by British soldiers looking for a more secure way to fasten their boots. See photo at left. (Sorry, we were all out of pictures of women in corsets.)