Question: “wide tie or narrow tie, what’s to choose?”

We won’t hide you that the journey of getting to know all the secrets of dressing impeccably is long and hard, but reading Eredi Chiarini answers to all the most asked questions, one at a time, will quickly lead you to be a “male elegance expert”.

For our first focus, we decided to answer to a necketie themed question, because starting from the most important details of the Gentleman wardrobe will lead to the the perfect outfit.

“How wide is a skinny tie?”, “are wide ties in style?”, “when to wear a skinny tie?”: these are just some of the more common ones.

It’s all about a good proportion between the tie and the rever.

The answer we give is simple: forget about trends and beliefs, it’s really all about proportions. The only rule we like to follow about choosing the right type of necktie is to keep a good proportion between the tie and the rever.

A narrow tie on a very large rever tends to look disproportionate; at the same time, a wide tie on a thin, small rever would look a bit weird.

It’s all about finding the right balance between the two of them to also balance the shapes of the outfit and keep the whole figure harmonic, for an elegant Gentleman allure.

Close up of Eredi Chiarini fall winter ties

There shouldn’t be any “skinny tie vs regular tie” controversy at all; truth is that a wide tie, arranged in a classic windsor knot or in other big, nice tie knots is never going to look old, but also a skinny tie (as well asthe other necktie types), arranged in one of the many common tie knots, will still look sharp, smart and elegant, so why not try them both?

And when it comes to choosing a good, well made and sartorial necktie, you should look up to the inner “soul” and seams of the tie.

Turn around the tie, whether it is a wide or narrow tie; touch it and take a close look at it.

In any kind of fabric (wool, cotton, silk etc…), the tie should feel versatile to the touch anyway, especially in its inner part, because that’s what will determinate a good tie knot with a beautiful bow; when it is too large and stiff, it will be very hard to create a knot and it may also form some unpleasant creases.

A “free” thread is also a synonim of true craftmanship

In the back of the tie you can examine the seams. The seams need to be very light, smooth and of course hand made: you can be sure that a tie is really handmade and valuable when there’s a “free” thread hanging from the inner side of it, a “free” thread that allow the tie to be as smooth versatile as it should be and it is also a synonim of true craftmanship. That thread must not be cut, otherwise the whole tie might come off and discompose.

But in the end, of course, the decision is up to you and your own personal taste.