Hello, friends.

Today, we will be speaking about a subject that is near and dear to my heart - neckties (pun intended), and specifically, the five essential ties that I believe every man should own! Ties are among the most important accessories that a man could own, and they have had a long-standing role in menswear dating back to the early 1920s when the modern necktie was introduced.

Fun fact: I didn't know how to tie a tie until I was 17! Until that point, my dad had to tie all of them for me! Despite this setback, I quickly learned how to tie various knots, put a beautiful dimple in a tie to add dimension, and distinguish between a quality tie and a poorly constructed one. (I will have a separate post where I break down what makes a quality tie, what to look for, and what to avoid.)

Ties have a way of pulling together an outfit like no other accessory. You could be wearing a beautifully tailored suit, a crisp dress shirt, and high-quality leather shoes, but without the proper tie, your ensemble will be lacking.

However, there is an abundance of ties out there, all with various colors, patterns, textures, and materials, and it can be overwhelming to narrow it down to just five.

The good news? That’s what I’ll be doing for you today.

1. Navy Silk Tie

The first tie that should be in your collection is a solid navy tie in silk. Even if you could only own one tie, this would be my choice.

Consider the situations that would necessitate your wearing a tie. If you’re like many men, you likely thought of a formal setting, like for business or a wedding. In these situations (unless you’re part of the wedding party), you need a tie that is dark in color to reflect the formality of the situation, and there is no better choice than navy.

In addition to being a great choice for formal wear, navy is an incredibly versatile color. It pairs beautifully with a wide variety of suit colors, such as other shades of navy, blues, charcoals, grays, greens, and more. Navy ties can also be worn with a blazer/sport coat and a contrasting pair of trousers.

If this is the first navy tie in your collection, choose one that is solid and in plain silk, as pictured below.

If you’re adding a second or third navy tie to your collection, you can be more daring with the texture and choose either a knit or grenadine tie or one with a classic pattern, like dots.

For your first tie, you want to choose a solid one since it can be worn with both solid and patterned suits, whereas a tie with a bold pattern might not be the best choice for every suit in your wardrobe.

One crucial aspect you should not overlook is the width of the tie.

As with many things, you want to choose pieces for your wardrobe that will stand the test of time. It’s important to avoid the extremes and ignore what modern style dictates as “in,” and when it comes to ties, that means avoiding skinny ties. These ties, sometimes only one inch in width, were first introduced in the 1960s and were all the rage during the late 2000s and early 2010s but have, thankfully, mostly died out.

Trends rarely last, as people quickly realize that they were never fashionable to begin with. (If you want to know the specifics of why skinny ties were never a good choice, feel free to ask me in the comments!)

Most of the ties in my collection are between 3 and 3.5 inches wide, and if you say within the 3-4 inch range, you can rest assured that you won’t need to replace your collection every two years.

2. Burgundy Grenadine Silk Tie

The second tie you should purchase is one that’s solid burgundy in color and made of grenadine silk.

To clear up some confusion, grenadine is not a color! Grenadine refers to an open weave used in ties to lend texture and dimension that is not found in ordinary silk ties (it’s also a non-alcoholic bar syrup!). Within grenadine, there are several different weaves with varying degrees of fineness, but we can delve into that further in a later post.

The texture and weave of grenadine can be demonstrated by the picture below.

Since the first tie you purchased is in plain silk, the grenadine silk provides a fun and unique alternative. Since it’s not as casual as a knit tie, it can still be used for business and formal settings, but the texture's softness means you can easily wear it with more casual ensembles like sport coat combinations and knitwear (i.e., sweaters) without a hitch.

Burgundy is a suitable color for business and business/smart casual attire, and it looks especially good when paired with blue tones, but it works with charcoal, grays, and other colors as well.

Please note: Although I suggest that you buy the first two ties in the order I laid out, you can purchase the latter three ties in whatever order suits you. Just look at what fits your needs and wardrobe best.

3. Silver and Black Silk Tie

Though it pains me, I acknowledge that many men only own one suit color - black.

I’ve spoken at length about why black is a bad choice for a suit, but since many in my audience likely own one, I feel that it’s imperative that you choose the appropriate tie when wearing one.

The starkness of black makes it difficult to combine with many tie colors, as lighter-colored ties get washed out, and darker ones often clash.

Therefore, the best choice of tie to wear with a black suit is a silver and black tie, which complements the suit color and stands up to it in terms of formality.

Silver is the most formal tie color, and it’s appropriate for any situation where you’d be wearing a black suit, likely a wedding or perhaps a cocktail party. (Note: The one situation where you can’t wear a silver tie with a black suit is at a funeral. That is the only situation where a black necktie is not only acceptable but is required.)

When choosing your tie, make sure that the primary color is silver, not black. You can choose from various classic patterns, like the Prince of Wales check, stripes, or a basketweave pattern, as pictured above.

In addition to black, silver pairs nicely with charcoal and navy and is a great choice for the office and other formal events. However, it is limited in that it can’t really be combined with anything less than a full suit, as it’s too much of a formality clash with a more casual outfit.

4. Striped Tie in Either Silk or Wool

Stripes are one of the most classic patterns in menswear, and a collection would not be complete without a striped tie.

First popularized by the Ivy style (the ubiquitous style found in Ivy League universities), stripes have since become commonplace.

Striped ties are a great addition to your wardrobe, as they create more visual interest than a solid tie and can be combined with various suits, blazers, sport coats, and more, no matter whether they’re solid or patterned.

If you have a solid gray suit, wearing a solid gray tie along with it can look quite dull. However, swap out that solid tie for a striped one that incorporates gray, and you have a cohesive and fantastic look on your hands.

The same goes for other jacket colors you may have, like navy, blue, brown, etc.

Since you already have two silk ties in your wardrobe (the navy silk and burgundy grenadine), a great fabric choice for this tie is wool, which has a warmth that silk lacks and makes it especially suitable for colder weather outfits.

If you prefer to stay classic, there’s nothing wrong with sticking with silk.

In terms of color, there’s a wide variety to choose from. Classic combinations are blue/navy/white, orange/gray/white, and green/ blue/red. When choosing your colors, just make sure that they’re not too bold and that they work with the other items in your wardrobe.
For example, if you wear mostly grays and browns, then you should try to find a tie that either incorporates or complements those colors or even both!

I have a lot of navy and blue in my wardrobe, so the tie pictured above is a great fit for me.

5. Micro Pattern Tie in Silk or Wool

Finally, the last tie you should buy is one with a micro pattern.

Large, bold patterns are often overdone in menswear, are inappropriate in more formal settings, and it takes some skill to deftly incorporate them into your wardrobe.

However, small patterns can be easily combined, even by novices. Additionally, they’re appropriate for both business and casual wear, something which can’t be said for larger patterns.

Classic micro patterns include dots, diamonds, and Macclesfield Neats, which are the little flowers seen on the tie below.

Micro pattern ties come in a few different fabrics, such as challis wool and madder silk (varieties of wool and silk we will discuss more in a different post), and they come in regular wool and silk as well.

If you have all silk ties in your collection, now is the time to experiment with different fabrics.

The tie's base color can be whatever you like, but if you want to wear it in business settings, choose one that has a dark base color, like navy, dark blue, or bottle green.

Since they’re patterned, they work equally with business and smart casual ensembles, whether you’re wearing a blazer, sport coat, or sweater. Micro pattern ties have an additional advantage over large patterned ties since you can combine them with solid and patterned jackets with aplomb.

Conclusion

When it comes to clothing, I always advocate for starting slowly and with the basics. As a beginner, you want to ensure that everything in your wardrobe works together, and these five ties will work well in nearly any wardrobe.

Once you have purchased these five ties, feel free to branch off and choose ties with more daring colors, patterns, and in different fabrics. There are thousands of ties out there, but I have a sneaking suspicion that you’ll come back to the essentials time and time again. I know I always do!

Just be sure to make your purchases with foresight and taste, and you won’t go wrong.

As always, please leave your thoughts and questions in the comment section below. I would love to hear from you all!

Farewell for now.