How to Wear a Skinny Tie

The appropriate width for a necktie is exactly 3 inches at its widest point. Some current trends beg for a tie of less width, which ends up looking hipster and try hard.  Some trends, notably a few Saville Row tailors want a tie of considerably more width.  Unfortunately, most retail stores sell ties that are about 4 inches in width, which looks dated and draws flashbacks of the heavy shoulder padded suits of the 80s and 90s.

Due to the trendy and inherently unstylish extremes in tie width, that is why the 3 inch middle ground is the best.  A 3 inch tie is actually quite conservative and classic, a tie width common for decades until the 1970s ruined more than just rock n roll.  The 3 inch tie is the neutral territory that will grow in popularity and commonality, especially as the 2 inch width becomes more widespread.

The three inch ties are more common with each passing day.  My favorite locations to buy the "slimmer" ties are:

J. Crew - ties sold are exactly 3 inches in width (for the most part).  They are very classically styled with great color combinations.  The Italian silk knit tie the width shrinks to 2 1/2 inches, so wear it caustiously.

Pink - Thomas Pink has a nice selection of slim ties all for $100 a piece.  The colors are typically either pinks or purples but they are nice.

Brooks Brothers - the conservative retailer has moved 3 inch ties into the regular rotation, albeit under the "slim" tie section.  These are beautiful ties, including a lot of rep stripes and even some madder patterns (like the one pictured above).  They also have a nice glen check that looks very sharp.

Ben Sherman - has a line of ties around the 3 inch width.  They come in aggressive colors and patterns and sold widely at Macys.  Some are more conservative than others, but it always good to have a few daring ties in the collection to spice up the white shirt and gray suit look.

Calvin Klein - a small but nice selection of skinny ties.  They are simple designs but usually have a little flair to keep them visually engaging.

Burberry - also makes some very conservative looking slim ties.  I think they may be a little over priced for the quality, personally opting for bespoke first, but they are very nice.  Especially the classic Burberry check.

If you want a timeless style go with the 3 inch width.  It will always be essential to a classic look and will never look as trendy as super skinny ties or the wide ties en vogue with the anchors at ESPN.

Wardrobe Essentials

The Top 10 Wardrobe Essentials for any man's closet:

• Gray Suit – The most versatile dress wear in the closet, the gray suit.  Make it a medium to dark 100% worsted wool suit from a top brand (Hugo Boss, Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren, Ben Silver, Brooks Brothers, J Crew), you will get the most use out of this suit.  This is the workhorse suit in the wardrobe as it is the most formal suit and the only suit appropriate for weddings, funerals and interviews.  This suit can be worn for business, a dinner party or a date.  Spend the money on this suit and it will benefit you tremendously.  Ideally, get this suit hand made and tailored specifically to you, if only one suit can be bespoke, this is one.

• Navy Blazer – A navy blazer is the uniform of the American male.  It can dressed up with a pair of slacks or dressed down with jeans and it will never look out of place.  A navy blazer may be most at home with a pair of khakis and a button down shirt, few outfits have more classical appeal.  The blazer is as American as apple pie and Pabst Blue Ribbon.  Buy one with a modern slim fit, add some gold or brass buttons and you will look like an updated and hip Northeasterner who attended Warton or Harvard.  The blue blazer is the best jacket to wear with a dress shirt and tie during the day and a simple t-shirt at night.  Make sure it is well made, because you will be wearing it a lot.

• Blue Oxford Shirt – Another quintessential piece of the American wardrobe.  The blue oxford shirt has been worn by the best dressed in America for as long as anyone can remember.  The Oxford shirt comes in many types, and while I would recommend one of each, at least have a nice one ready when you need it.  Dressed up or dressed down the Oxford is shirt for all occasions, except the most formal and somber.

• White Pin-Point Collar Shirt – If the Gray suit is the workhorse of the suits then the white dress shirt is the workhorse of the shirts.  This shirt is the most formal of all the dress shirts, appropriate for every occasion, with a tie or not a white dress shirt is never a bad choice.  It looks stunning under any suit or alone with jeans during the summer.  Many a great wardrobe was compiled with the idiom: “You can never have too many good white shirts”.

• Dark Denim Jeans – Straight or Slim cut clean, simple, dark denim jeans.  They are simple, versatile, classic and always popular.  Every wardrobe needs one pair of clean dark jeans.  Avoid the fancy stitching, flashy pockets or complicated designs, the simpler the jeans the better, in this case minimalism goes a long way.  Your closet should have multiple types of jeans, but these should be the first pair you buy.

• Chinos – Every man should own a few pairs of these pants.  Whether fixing the car in the garage or worn to work on a more casual day, chinos always look sharp.  They are great for a casual coffee date and are the uniform of weekend trips.  Chinos are easy to wear, last forever, always look good and are never out of place.  They can be worn with a t-shirt, a polo, a button down or a blazer.  Match them with dress shoes or Chuck Taylors, chinos always look good.  Make sure they are a modern slim fit and a durable material, cause they will be worn until they are frayed and stained and then worn some more.

• Gray V-Neck Sweater – Stick with a light gray V-Neck Sweater, at first, since it is the most universal and will go with any color.  The V-Neck can be worn over a shirt and tie for cold days in the winter or over a t-shirt and jeans for a night out.  It can be thrown on with shorts for a night at the beach or chinos and a polo for a Sunday brunch.  As you expand the wardrobe continue to add more colors of the V-Neck Sweater, but keep them plain to start.  Plain sweaters are more useful as they can be matched with anything in the closet, only have you have every color and in cable knit version should you expand to limiting designs like argyle & striped.

• Black Cap-Toe Oxfords – This is most formal shoe you can own.  It works with every suit made and is the only option for somber events, interviews and weddings.  Keep them polished and in good condition because you will be in these shoes more than your car.  Make sure the shoes are Oxfords, not bluchers, have a simple, clean and sleek design.  These shoes must have wooden soles that can be replaced and simple laces.  These are serious shoes worn with serious suits and should look the part.  Also, for the sake of all things stylish make sure they have a rounded toe and are made from real leather.  With as wear as these shoes will get, paying a little bit more for them is certainly worth the money.

• Brown Leather Boots – Good quality leather boots will keep your feet dry and be the perfect solution for situations that the shoes make take some wear and tear.  Boots only get better with age and become more personalized as they take on wear and care.

• Timepiece – A man needs a timepiece beyond his cell phone.  Keep the watch simple, basic and well made.  Stick to silver band watches that can be worn with anything from a suit to jeans and a t-shirt.

• Solid Color Neckties – At first only a few solid color ties are all that are needed in the wardrobe, expansion from this point is certainly nice but is not needed until later.  One solid blue gabardine tie, one solid dark red wool or silk knit tie and one silk solid black or charcoal gray tie.

It's About a Wardrobe Not an Outfit

Full Wardrobe by DandyFashioner featuring Marni

When buying clothes focus on buying clothes that fill out your wardrobe as a whole, not clothes that fit specifically into an outfit. The clothes in your wardrobe should be versatile and interchangeable. The ties should be able to be worn with all your suits. The shirts should go with all of the ties. The suits should go with the shirts and so on. While one set of tie and shirt and suit may look great together, you can certainly switch it up as needed.

Buying only outfits makes your clothes repetitive and predictable. When you wear the tweed jacket with the purple tie and white striped shirt every time, people will no longer think it is an interesting combination, and instead find your wardrobe boring and downright unoriginal.

If you think of the wardrobe as a whole, with holes that need to be filled, then you will have more universal and interesting wardrobe. The clothes become puzzle pieces and fit together beautifully. The same shirt and jacket will work with every tie in closet. The gray suit works with every shirt in the wardrobe. The red silk knit tie will fill in that gap in the wardrobe you have been thinking about.

This is way we stick to gray, blue and brown suits, in general, as they are more versatile and useful. And avoid black suits as they are limiting and eventually useless. We avoid suits with pinstripes in colors like pink and purple and green, since they limit the options on shirts and ties that we can wear with them.

Only as we fill the holes of our wardrobe do we add the unusual pieces and colors. Having a dark gray suit, navy suit, tan suit, medium gray, light gray and brown suit do we expand to the pinstripes, glenn check, window pane and hounds-tooth suits. This will ensure that our wardrobe is never boring, provides us with true longevity and the clothes will fit all occasions.

Of course, their are exceptions to the rules but keeping versatility in mind will keep your wardrobe fresh and interesting for you and others.

Navy Blue Blazer, American Made

Looking for a nice Navy Blue Blazer? Check out Anderson Little. They are an American company with an American made Navy Blazer for only $159 and free shipping. It is a classic navy blazer, with brass buttons and classic styling. Perfectly classic version of the essential blazer.

Anderson Little is an old school company with a long American history. The history is detailed on the website as:

Anderson-Little was founded in 1933 by Morris B. Anderson, and began as a manufacturer of fine men’s clothing in Fall River, Massachusetts, and pioneered the concept of “factory direct to you” following World War II, when it opened its factory showroom directly to the public, for retail sales.

Driven by the strength of this concept, by 1960 Anderson-Little had 11 retail outlets selling “factory direct to you” in Fall River, New Bedford, Providence, Hartford, Worcester, Springfield, New Haven, Bridgeport and other major markets in New England.

Stuart Anderson, Morris’ grandson, joined the management team after his graduation from the Wharton School of Finance. By 1966, this family business had grown to 40 outlets and had become one of the most recognizable brand names in New England, and the company was sold to Richman Brothers, a national chain headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio.

Certainly glad that we can still find well made inexpensive clothes that are made in the states. This looks like a good start.

Always List - Navy Blazer

The navy blazer should be in every closet. It is quintessential American piece, a navy blazer and khakis is as American as apple pie & the Fourth of July. But a navy blazer works well beyond Cape Cod and mint juleps. The classic heritage of the blazer is the reason the look is so universal, versatile and wide ranging. A navy blazer will go with almost any outfit, and it should. It definitely should be in your closet.

Too start lets look at the most conservative use of a navy blazer. A structured J Press blazer with a raw silk tie, pocket square and classic bright and shiny brass buttons. This is blazer that will fit in at any Ivy League alumni function or day trip to Martha's Vineyard.

I like to wear the blazer best as the jacket in a suit & tie look. It can look modern and dressed up if it is the right cut: fitted, tailored and slim fit with natural shoulders (small to no shoulder pads) and no shiny brass buttons (stick with tortoise shell, navy or white). Find a good designer of modern fit jackets and buy the version they make. This will help make the blazer have a more versatile style.

A navy blazer is so much more than the uniform of the American bourgeois it is also the perfect casual jacket. It looks great with a cashmere sweater.

Or a nice polo shirt.

Or a plain white shirt.

It also looks great with jeans. Any type of jeans will work great, a nice pair or a destroyed pair, tie or no tie, button-down shirt or t-shirt, the navy blazer will be the right choice.

It even works when you wear shorts. (Granted you have to look like you are part of a rock band or a designer from Band of Outsiders).

It also works dressed down with a t-shirt and jeans. A navy blazer works great as a suit and in most sprezzatura outfits. The navy blazer provides tremendous utility and a must for every man's closet.

Always List - Gray Suit

Gray Suit - Having a suit is crucial for any man, but if you don't have one make sure you get a Charcoal Gray Suit or Dark Gray Suit. The fit of a good suit is essential to making the suit look good. A badly fitting expensive suit will make you look sloppy, while a well tailored inexpensive suit will make you look like a million bucks. The suit needs to fit differently depending on if it is a two-button or three-button suits.

The best way to find the right suit is to go to a place that will have multiple brands and cuts for you to try on like, Macys, Bloomingdales or Nordstroms. For your first suit, stay away from the pinstripes, window pane checks and keep it a plain simple charcoal gray. This suit will be accented by the shirt and tie and you can have more fun with the combination if the suit is plain. Also a pinstripe suit is hard to wear for a wedding, interview or funeral. Dark Gray will go well with brown shoes or black shoes. It will also go well with any color combination of tie and shirt.


So buy a plain charcoal gray suit. Make sure it is well tailored, slim fit. Make sure you are comfortable in the suit and you will have it for the next 5 years (at least).

Always List - Jeans

Jeans - It is certainly not revolutionary that a man should have jeans. But specifically, a man should have various types of jeans.

The Destroyed Pair - This is for the jeans that have the torn up knees, the thrashed cuff, the stains on the legs, the worn out back pocket. One of two ways to get this pair of jeans: buy it or earn it. If you are going to earn it, go the A.P.C. way. If you are going to buy it, think about the Abercrombie & Fitch. Their Remsen slim straight destroyed jeans have a great fit and nice level of destruction. (Typically I hate A&F, but I do have to say they have great jeans).

These jeans are best worn with a button down shirt or nice polo shirt. Capitalize on the sartorial contradiction of wearing worn out jeans with a nice clean shirt and shoes. These also work great with a blazer and converse. Utilize the jeans to add extra casualness to the outfit. Save the tshirt and jeans look for your other jeans.

The Favorite Pair - Do I really have to explain what makes a pair of jeans your favorite? This pair is not as torn up as the one above. It looks worn in, but is not destroyed, hopefully only has one or two small holes.
Wear this pair of jeans to the bar, to the ballgame, for kicking it with the girl. This pair of jeans are perfect for your favorite t-shirt. You could sleep in these jeans and probably have. Just make sure they are vintage slim fit.

The Nice Pair - Lastly, every guy needs a pair of crisp clean jeans that are for casual Friday at work, the important date, the dinner date or for meeting her parents. These are the jeans that you wear when slacks are too dressy, but you still have to look good. These jeans go better with a suit than a shirt, but hell they are jeans, they can be worn with anything. The Nice Pair of jeans are dark wash, non-faded, no distressing, no whiskering, no holes. We at DF recommend Selvage denim (also called selvedge denim) as it has cleaner lines. J Crew and the Gap have nice selvage denim jeans.
Remember, to dress the jeans up properly. Wear them with nice shoes and a well tailored jacket. Respect this pair of jeans as they are to be worn when you need to look nice. These are the jeans that work with any jacket and tie combination you own. Wear them only with dress shoes or casual shoes with good lines, like converse (save the skate shoes for the 90s flashbacks).

Always List - Oxford Shirt

Sometimes in fashion we forget to praise the simple and classic. So often the focus and praise falls on the new, the flashy and even the odd. During the summer fashion shows a lot of articles praised Gucci for turning dress slacks into cutoff shorts, because they were a new idea; despite the look being so ugly and impractical that no one would wear them outside of a few fashion designers and label whores. Instead there should be an endless slew of articles about the practical, simple garments that fill our closets and actually get worn on a daily basis. Fashion writers should filter their approval and disapproval through a net of reality. Would anyone actually wear this crap? Will they wear it more than once? Will it be a mainstay in anyone’s closet for more than one soon to be forgotten season?

It is time we praise the mainstays of fashion, the essential clothing that no matter the trends are still worn; the pieces that we never fear may be out of style. We all love the simplest of pleasures in fashion, the articles of clothing that you can proudly call your favorite, not because they are trendy, but instead because they have earned that right after the 150th wash. Your favorite shirt was worn when you landed the job, met the girl, saw your team win the pennant, you beat your buddy in pool and won the wing eating contest. The favorites in any closet are always in style, are well made and will be still be made when you need a replacement, if you ever need a replacement. These items are on the “Always List” of fashion.

The Always List mainstay: the Oxford Shirt -

Every man has at least one Oxford shirt in his closet and most men have multiple oxfords. Hopefully, in your closet there are multiple oxfords in varying degrees of wear and tear.

• The Dressy Oxford: Worn as a staple to the office because it goes with anything. This one is crisply ironed and fits like a champ. It is the nicest oxford in the closet and will go with a suit and tie as well as it does with a deconstructed blue blazer. The Dressy Oxford can be found at Ralph Lauren or Brooks Brother (pictured in order). The later has a great non-iron blue Oxford that can be worn for any occasion.

• The Favorite Oxford: It has been washed so many times it certainly doesn’t have the same crispness it once did, but who needs crisp when you have comfort. It is the go-to-shirt when you need to have a button down shirt, yet you don’t know what else to wear. It’s perfect under a sweater for big date and always looks good under a jacket. It is also at home paired with a tie. At this point it prefers chinos or jeans, but don’t count it out with slacks. Basically it is a refined but slightly casual look. Rugby.com, J Press & Ben Silver (pictured in that order) are the best Oxfords that after about 10 washes will be your favorite.

• The Casual One: The oxford that has been washed and worn so many times it is slightly frayed at the collar cuffs and buttons, but due to the hefty fabric is still in quite good condition. As you wear your favorite more, it will get to this state. Until then J Crew and Gap (once again, in that order) provide options for those of us that lack patience. This Oxford is still a staple for a night out to the local bar or for errands on a Saturdays. It should be more important for any grown man's fashion rotation then a t-shirt, we are beyond the college humor shirts, or at least we should pretend we are. This is a great comprise, it is just as comfy, it will fit in on any Eastern campus and it adds refinement to the college humor shirt when it is layered over it.
  

A good oxford is like a favorite pair jeans or your go-to-boots. They only get better with time. It just might be the most versatile shirt in your closet and endorsed by the coolest guys, including Paul Newman. It is easy to make it your own, just wash it.