Necktie Knots

There are dozens of ways to tie a necktie. In fact, authors Thomas Fink and Yong Mao published a book titled The 85 Ways to Tie a Tie in 1999. No doubt even more have been invented since then. Tie knots all vary in size, shape, symmetry, and difficulty in creation. But while there may be a myriad of methods to flip some fabric, there are truly only several a man needs to know.

Most men only utilize one tie knot no matter what they’re wearing it with. However, each knot has its own strengths and weaknesses. Not one is a “one size fits all.” Some of them are superior than others depending on what type of collar your dress shirt has or what look you’re trying to achieve. Today we’ll discuss the four common ways to tie a tie. Bow ties not included.

Windsor / Full Windsor

Being a large, symmetrical knot, the Windsor is fitting as a “power” knot worn by the well to-do’s in the upper echelons of the corporate world. The Windsor bestows its wearer with an air of prestige and nobility. This is given credence by the fact that this knot was popularized by the Duke of Windsor (King Edward VIII) after which it is named. He is still considered a legendary style icon and during the first half of the 20th century he was one of the most photographed men in the world.

Ironically enough, the Duke never actually wore his tie in a Windsor knot. In truth, he wore custom ties deliberately crafted with an extra thick fabric. This helped to produce a knot that imitated the size and shape of what we now call the Windsor. Being the icon he was, men everywhere attempted to duplicate this and, thus, the Windsor was born!

A Windsor knot is also known as a full Windsor to help differentiate it from the half Windsor, but it is often incorrectly referred to as a “double” Windsor. I can only imagine that an actual double Windsor would produce a knot so grotesquely large it would suffocate its wearer before proceeding to invade Europe.

Half Windsor

A medium size knot that is just slightly asymmetrical. The half Windsor is pragmatic and genuine. It looks just right on the hopeful job candidate or the honest businessman. Its almost impossible to go wrong with the half Windsor and its good for any man.

Being smaller than its big brother the full Windsor, the half is more adaptable to a wider array of shirt collars. Its probably a bit too large for a narrow collared shirt and maybe a bit too small for wide collar shirts, but its juuust right for everything in between.

Four-in-Hand

Also known as a simple knot or a schoolboy knot; the four-in-hand is the most asymmetrical of the common knots. That asymmetry provides it with many characteristics; its professional and practical yet effortless and charismatic. A four-in-hand tells everyone that you didn’t have to try that hard to look this good. Due to that flexibility, its worn on everyone from the boy who has to wear a uniform at school to the executive board member carefully considering a high level business deal.

One of its few disadvantages is due to its small size. It does not pair well with wide spread or cutaway collars. Other than that, its a fantastic go-to. If there’s any knot a man should know, its the four-in-hand. Its the quickest and easiest to tie while being one of the most versatile. If you’ve never utilized this knot, give it a go and watch your life change for the better.

Pratt

The Pratt is a symmetrical, medium size knot also known as a Shelby knot. It looks similar to a Windsor but its size is somewhere in between a Windsor and a Four-in-hand. This means you can generally utilize it with any sort of shirt collar and I’d recommend following the same guidelines used for the half Windsor.

Full disclosure: I’ve never tied a Pratt knot before I wrote this article so y’all are making me learn new things.

Novelty Knots

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In recent years I’ve noticed numerous articles and posts online recommending wearing what I can only describe as special or “novelty” tie knots. These knots are sort of neat and almost certainly required a fair amount of creativity for someone to come up. However, they are best left to children or teenagers to enjoy- an age group where creativity, standing out, and making mistakes is crucial to forming one’s own lasting style. Adults who wish to be taken seriously should shy away from these knots as they will place a substantial amount of attention on your neck.

Recommendations:

• keep in mind that the thickness of your tie’s fabric is a big factor in the outcome of your knot size. Thicker fabric = larger knot
• wear ties made of thinner fabric if you want to utilize the Windsor. Otherwise you’ll end up with a cartoonishly sized knot
• if tying a Windsor, you may need to start off with making the thick side extra long to account for all the loops to be made
• four-in-hand knots work especially well for point collared or button down collared shirts
• no matter which knot you choose, always be sure to dimple your tie (the dimple is the vertical crease created just below the knot)