Fashion Advice « PRB's Tweed Feed

I’m a collector of Ties, and as an Englishman the term tie is correct, Necktie as a term was brought in by the Americans a little later in history, I digress, as a collector of ties, I thought it only right and proper to address my feelings on this wondrous coloured material that complements our shirts and suits so perfectly.

As I have mentioned in my earlier post, In my opinion, a decent selection of ties is key to every mans wardrobe, and is a vital and important part of mens fashion, this marvellous invention allows men to get a little more outlandish with patterns and colours that would otherwise not work on any other type of clothing, the floral tie springs to mind, men should not be seen in floral prints, unless it’s on a tie, the inside of your shirt collar, or the lining of your Paul Smith suit.

Some men among us, don’t seem to have grasped the fact, that a tie is a piece of clothing, and will go out of fashion, I wrote before about the monstrosities that I have encountered, and have had to endure on a long journey trying not to look at, paisley 1970’s 3ft wide orange and brown special is not on, not then and not now, my advice for choosing a tie that will last the test of time is simple, if your a gent that would rather play it safe, then the spotted tie is always a good way to go.

Spotted Silk & Linen

Choose light coloured spots on a light background, my reason for this choice and advice, I’ve had a sky blue and white spotted tie for the last 10 years, yet every time I wear that tie it garnishes yet another comment, with the first question always the same, where did I get it, indeed this tie is still in print by it’s designer (refer to my pictures)

Block Colours

I mentioned in my earlier post about block coloured ties.

I think at least a few different colours are a must have, changing the tie along with your shirt everyday can make your suit look completely different from 1 day to the next and as some men find wearing a tie a rather tedious task, this can make the chore fun and interesting.

Having a few block coloured ties will give you range against your selection of shirts and suits.

Large Floral Silk

Although I would love to stir you away from designer ties, and with prices varying from £50-£125 you’ll know why, however I have found that the quality we seek can only be found by paying good money for a tie.

My earlier comment about the type of tie to choose will see you in good stead when spending that extra, personally I love floral patterns, large flowers mostly, however these must not contain an array of colours, smaller floral prints however can in my opinion contain more colour.

I do try to stay away from brand printed ties, although I do own a few and they always get attention, especially from the ladies. I’m not totally stuck on floral patterns, I think the right checked tie can sing volumes on the right coloured suit, aquascutum and the Burberrys house check are both extremely nice, and come in a variation of colours and styles.

Harris Tweed

Of course this post would not be complete without A Harris Tweed tie.

Due to the fact these are hand made no 2 are the same, however I do find them to be made slightly long, bare this in mind, but that pure wool affect is a wonderful addition to a crisp white shirt, and are inexpensive.

Very bright coloured tie’s of course, can be striking and fantastic against the right colour suit, however one must be extremely careful when displaying the high coloured tie, the line between super cheesy and a solid, well executed fashion statement is hairline thin, you’ve been warned.

Lets take Jon Snow from Channel 4 News in the UK, he is usually wearing the designer Victoria Richards, beautiful hand painted silk ties, again no 2 are the same, I don’t think that Jon pulls it off particularly well, his shirts are generally too baggy, but the ties are fantastic, and is indeed a wonderful display of art, style and colour.

Duchamp Floral

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Other designers to look out for in my humble opinion would be Duchamp London, again the variations in styles and colour displayed by this label are particularly Striking and beautiful, all hand woven in England, using the finest English woven silks.

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Shop around before choosing a tie, be adventurous, TM Lewin and Tie Rack are great, but the patterns will be available to everyone no individuality there, there are many avenues for buying a tie, second hand and charity shops are fantastic places to start a collection, or even a well known auction site, however be careful if buying ties online, your screen resolution will in most cases never show the true colour of the material, always bare this in mind, if purchasing second hand ties always check for stains, wear marks, or pulls in the material.

Have fun wearing ties, it’s the only chance to get a real splash of colour in an otherwise drab office, at the very least, your tie will be the talking point among the ladies in the workplace.

Country Gent On The Cheap – Casual Or Office (rbtweed.wordpress.com)
Men’s Guide To NeckTies (dapsonsodipe.blogspot.com)
c.a.j.: Eldredge Tie Knot – How to Tie a Eldredge Necktie Knot (agreeordie.com)
Tie One On (playingintheworldgame.wordpress.com)

This is me, in a Harris Tweed Bargain Special

This is me, in a Harris Tweed Office Look – Bargain Special

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Many people these days are on quite a tight budget, and although we all love designer clothes many of us cannot afford to buy them, for many it’s label trends for me it’s the cut that designer clothes have over the high street brands, it can still be quite hard to find great clothes at a bargain price for the smaller frame such as mine, however this is rapidly changing there are now 1 or 2 shops that cater for the smaller man.

Harris Tweed Mixed With Denim

Take this, the latest style that I’ve adopted, the country gent, I love tweed, hence the blog, however Harris tweed can cost a pretty penny, even more if you want the real vintage pieces, I found this Jacket and both the waistcoat’s at Primark the lot came to only £50. With a few key pieces in the wardrobe it’s easy to mix and match to get just that look, and it doesn’t have to cost a fortune, as you can see from the pictures this style just looks amazing with a pair of skinny Jeans, with shoes or a pair of old Converse.

Jeans Back

With Tie (And iPad Case)

One of the key features is the Tie, many men today are quite happy with that hand me down look, as if they’ve gone rummaging through their father’s closet, pulling out some monstrosity to wear to work, I honestly sit there on the tube in absolute amazement at some of the fashion crisis’s that I’ve seen on my daily commute, diagonal striped tie with a check shirt, the 2 patterns clashing are bad enough, but the colour war going on between the clothes is just a catastrophe.

Aquascutum Tie

In my view patterned shirts should only be worn with block coloured ties, as to keep the confusion on the eye to a minimum, with a white shirt you can pretty much do whatever you like tie wise, just be careful of the type of pattern you choose.

As you can see from my pictures, as long as your tweed is not super busy, a lovely checked tie works very well, but again block colours, as bright as you like do also work well, I have always been quite fussy about patterns and the clashing there of, the same has to be said for tweed I love to mix and match, but if you find that difficult stick to my 2 basic principals, rather than mixing patterns try with colour.

For example a tweed jacket will always work with a block coloured waistcoat, most tweeds are made up of several colours in a checked style, some are made of a speckled type tweed, but again using many different colours, try enhancing just 1 of the colours from the tweed within your waistcoat, this works a treat, it also gives you more room for selection of tie patterns rather than a blocked colour.

If you decide on a patterned shirt, the same rules apply, choose a colour from your shirt and try to bring that out, using the tie and matching the colour.

Jacket Lining – Nice!

Burgundy Trousers For The Office

As most of you will be well aware, Jeans are a no no in most (old fashioned) offices, no problem here, switch out the Skinny Jeans for a pair of nicely fitted and tapered trousers, again the key here is colour, stay away from black, unless you’re a security guard or policeman, and again, should only be beige if they are chinos, and even then there are now so many colours to choose from, use your integrity.

I know what would happen if I turned up to work in a pair of yellow trousers, again referring to my pictures you can see I’ve chosen a dark deep burgundy colour, but feel free to experiment:

Jeans – Nudie Jeans – these can be quite expensive, however TK Maxx is always a good place to start for designer Jeans, other than that Top Man will always stir you right.
Converse All Stars – purchased NY 560 Broadway, again these can be picked up in the UK at all Footlocker Stores, and depending on style, should start around £45
Shoes – Butler & Webb – Primark – £15
Waistcoat – Butler & Webb – Primark – £12 Each
Jacket – Butler & Webb – Primark – £25
Shirts – TM Lewin – £25 Each again you can pick up some great shirts a lot cheaper at Primark
Burgundy Trousers – Butler & Webb £15