Tie Knot Types
Even if wearing a classy suit isn’t your preferred fashion style, there will be some situations when you will need to dress elegantly. Maybe it’s your first day at work, maybe you’re going to a friend’s wedding, or maybe the bouncers won’t let you in the club if you’re not wearing a fancy suit.
But, what does a fancy suit mean? You can look at the latest fashion trends and you’ll see that there are all kinds of suggestions and tips given by the designers. Styles change all the time, but if you look closely you will spot a pattern – every elegant outfit features one particular item. Of course, we’re talking about the tie.
Ever since the Croats (you know, those guys that came in second at the soccer World Cup this summer) made cravats fancy back in the 17th century, ties have been an essential fashion item. Everyone who matters wears them, as ties are a sort of symbol of power. Take a look at Trump’s post-2016 photos and you’ll see he’s wearing a tie at literally every official meeting. And his buddy, Putin, does the same, as well as literally every head of the state as wearing a tie is a part of the official protocol.
Speaking of protocols, it’s kind of lame if you show up at college graduation without a tie. Or if you go to your best friend’s wedding without wearing it. There are many occasions in which you would look underdressed if there’s no tie around your neck.
And, if for some reason you still don’t own one, you will want to run to the store ASAP after you hear the next fact. Wearing a long time will give away the impression that you’re thin. So, if you have a beer belly, a tie will make everyone not notice it.
Another reason why you ought to get a tie as soon as possible is that they’re pretty cheap. Of course, if you feel like spending cash, go to a Louis V’s store and splash out a few hundred dollars on a silk tie. But, if you value your hard-earned money more than that, it’s best if you got yourself some awesome-looking ties on Amazon. Besides, it can be a very stylish gift.
And once they arrive, it’s time to learn how to tie them. This can be tricky sometimes, especially if you’re planning to go with some unique tie knots. Speaking of knots, there are many different types of ties’ knots, some of which are easy to make; others, not so much.
We’re now going to present you 15 awesome types of ties; yours is just to pick the one that goes best with your personality and your physique. So, let’s begin!
1. Full-Windsor Knot
Named after Duke of Windsor, a British Royal Family member who even was the King for a brief period. But, this guy didn’t care much about conventions and protocol. He was kind of a badass who liked partying, seducing women, and apparently, hanging out with Nazis.
If you are like him, apart from the Nazi stuff, maybe you’d like to wear the Windsor knot in his honor! And there’s another reason for that – this knot is not too difficult to tie. Furthermore, when done properly, it also looks really nice with its wide symmetrical triangular knot.
2. Half-Windsor Knot
This is a version of the regular Windsor knot, the biggest difference being that is much narrower. Therefore, this knot doesn’t require too much of the tie length, which, in turn, means that you don’t have to use a long tie even if you’re a tall person.
3. Four-in-Hand Tie Knot
Together with the two versions of the Windsor tie knot, this one belongs to the category of classic tie styles. If the Windsors are preferred choices of serious men like politicians and businessmen, the four-in-hand tie knot seems to be working men’s favorite.
The main reason why you can see this type of knot everywhere is that it’s simple to make. There’s no need for any special skill, nor do you need some kinds of a specially designed tie in order to make it.
4. Nicky Knot
Apart from learning how to tie a fancy tie, you also wanna know how to untie it. The bad news is that a number of different tie knots are very difficult to untie. But, that’s not the case with the Nicky knot. With a single arm movement, you will be able to untie this knot.
This is exactly the main reason why the Nicky knot is among the most popular tie knots in the world. When you come back from your 9-to-5 work, you surely don’t want to lose a single minute on such an annoying thing as untying the tie knot. The Nicky knot relieves you of such a duty.
5. Pratt Knot
The story goes that the Pratt knot was invented by the guy called Jerry Pratt, who was US Chamber of Commerce employee after the WWII. Whether that story is true or not, it does bear his name. This knot is basically a variation of the Nicky knot, but a much-improved one.
Actually, when the people learned about this tie knot in the 1950s, everyone went crazy about it. The fact that it’s made by tying it inside out made people think there’s something wrong with it. But, when they realized how awesome it looks, the Pratt knot became incredibly popular. And its popularity remains to this day.
6. Balthus Knot
Here’s another knot that was named in honor by an interesting guy. We’re not sure if the controversial Polish-French modernist painter Balthasar Klossowski a.k.a. Balthus was actually the man who invented it, but he sure did use it. Whenever he wasn’t busy painting creepy paintings of underage girls, he was often seen rocking a fancy suit with a long cravat tied in a Balthus knot.
7. Cavendish Knot
The knot is not named by the people who invented it, but the place where it was invented. The birthplace of the Cavendish knot is the Cavendish Laboratory at the University of Cambridge, where two professors, Thomas Fink, and Yong Mao, decided to create a Windsor-like knot for long ties.
8. Hanover Knot
Hanover knot is based on Windsor knot, which you could’ve figured it out from its name. But, unless you’re an expert on British Royalty, you probably don’t know that the House of Windsor used to be called the House of Hanover before the World War I. Yup, the British Queen is actually German and her ancestors had to change their name when Germans became unpopular on the island.
But, that doesn’t matter too much when the knot is concerned. What really matters is that this knot seems ideal for long and thin neckties.
9. Grantchester Knot
Here’s another knot coming from the United Kingdom. Grantchester Knot is very similar in appearance to Hanover and Windsor knots, which means that it’s perfect for tall men who like to wear long neckties. The main difference is that it’s bulkier than the other two similar knots.
10. Atlantic Knot
Now we’re gonna discuss one of the fancy tie knots. The Atlantic is great for those men who would like to achieve a sort of unique look, while still sticking to the centuries-old traditions of knot tying. What this type of knot is saying is that you’re a man who respects tradition but is open to change. Basically, perfect marriage material.
11. St. Andrew Knot
Now, this is a knot that will tell everyone you’re a man with plenty of experience. You love to dress well, even if that means that you need to invest some effort in it. St. Andrew knot is one of the more complex tie knots, meaning that it’s not very easy to make it. But, when you do it, everyone will be impressed with it.
And although you may lose a bit of your time tying this not, you will not waste a single second to untie it. St. Andrew Knot is a self-releasing knot, meaning that you just need to pull the tail end and the job is done!
12. Eldredge Knot
We continue dealing with some really cool tie knots. The next in line is the Eldredge knot, a necktie knot that will put you in the spotlight at any business meeting. It really does look fantastic and gives an impression that only a true master can tie it. Well, that’s not far from the truth, the Eldredge knot is pretty difficult to make.
A funny thing about the Eldredge knot is that it wasn’t invented by an eccentric aristocrat or a kinky artist. It was invented by a twenty-something system administrator from Iowa, Jeffrey Eldredge.
13. Trinity Knot
Similarly to the Eldredge knot, the Trinity knot was also invented relatively recently. Okay, we can’t be sure that no one used it decades ago, but this style of tie knots has just recently started to become a thing in the fashion circles.
What this means is that not many people actually know how to tie it. This is something you can use to your advantage. If you master the skills of tying a Trinity knot, you’re guaranteed to make your coworkers jealous.
14. Victoria Knot
This knot looks pretty much like the most commonly used necktie knot, the four-in-hand knot. Because of that, not many people can even recognize it. That brings us to the question of why would you bother learning how to tie it?
Well, this knot requires an extra loop, which will make it slightly thicker than the four-in-hand knot. But, because of this, the necktie won’t appear too long. So, if you wanna rock the classic four-in-hand knot, but your necktie is too long, Victoria is your match.
15. Kelvin Knot
Here’s another alternative to the classic four-in-hand necktie knot. The Kelvin knot is a bit thicker and slightly more symmetrical. If this is the look you’re going for, then you’ll be glad to hear that this type of knot is pretty easy to tie. It’s basically the same as the four-in-hand knot, the only difference being that you tie this one from the necktie’s upside-down starting position.
Final Piece of Advice
Being able to tie a fancy knot can upgrade your style and give you a lot of conversation topics at boring business meetings. But, you shouldn’t feel bad about yourself if tying a perfect necktie knot isn’t your thing. If you can’t do it, who cares!
You can always go with the good-old four-in-hand or Windsor style knot, both of which are pretty easy to tie. But, if you find even those knots difficult to tie, there’s still hope for you. You can go with a bow tie instead!
