Tie clip + loosened tie = Good or bad?
There’s something sartorially backwards about wearing a tie clip then not buttoning the top button on your shirt. A tie clip’s purpose is to keep your tie under control. And then you unbutton your shirt collar and let the knot hang loose and free?
J. Crew (that’s a Ludlow suit you see above) uses this look extensively and it does show off the rumpled but still dressed up image that the brand has mastered. But is this “I just had a long day and now I’m at happy hour” look best left to the pages of catalogs?
Have you executed this in public, would you consider it, would you not, and why?
Leave it all in the comments section below.
Gotta hand it to J. Crew on the tie clip itself. Perfectly simple and sterling silver. $60.
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For me it depends on the outfit, if I’m doing a dressy casual look and I need a bit of flair, I like to add the tie bar to complete the look.
Being buttoned down works well in the office for professional reasons. But, since I don’t work in an office I find breaking a sartorial rule here and there adds to your personal style, whether it’s leaving your shirt cuffs unbuttoned, or a couple jacket cuff buttons undone, wearing your tie clip at an angle, the list continues. I see this as acceptable if you wear it well. It’s like a straight bow tie, sometimes it’s too symmetrical.
best left to the pages of catalogs.
I don’t consider wearing a tie loose a good idea,it tends to remind me of those college kids that goes to a party, tries to dress up, wear a tie and then unbutton the collar and let the tie loose. Even if it is my age group, I don’t want to sport that look. This it acceptable in my opinion, on your way home from work.
But I have to say that sometimes, I unbutton the collar but tighten the tie enough so as not to see the button…
I am all for it! Unless you work in a conservative business environment, I feel this look conveys that you are modern and up-to-date on your style perspective. Just as Thome Browne moved the business uniform forward with a shortened jacket length – to me, this does the same.
Im with James, I dont follow every sartorial rule imaginable…i wear gingham in the winter in wear light v-nexks sweaters in the summer. I do the angled clip and YES, I have done the J. Crew tie undone but not in a suit i wore a lightly structured Blue Blazer from Gap and a wool plaid tie…All my compliments were as followed “i like the look, you look like a J. Crew model” guys and girls saying the same thing…I didnt intentionally do it to look like a J. Crewer, I just wanted to feel casual, yet dressed well…Style is about individuality and understanding what accentuates your best features. So yes, I am a rule breaker but you wont se me wearing black with brown, hahahah.
Add one more for James & HM. The tie undone thing looks casual cool and I’d definitely rock it. I might not do it with a tie clip all the time, but it would be a nice flair thrown in for good measure now and again. In the last wedding I attended I unbuttoned the top button once we got to the reception and the lights went down. I had worn a tie bar for the occasion and didnt take it off at this point.
I know not everyone is a fan of the J.Crew models and looks, but I have to say that I rarely see a J.Crew look I don’t like. It may be because it leans younger and more casual (im 25), who knows.
If it’s done it has to be done right. Shirt collar still has to stay relatively in place, etc. Not everyone will be able to pull this off.
I consider this hand-in-hand with being drunk in public. You wouldn’t leave the house with your tie artfully loosened, and you wouldn’t wear it like this to work or on a date, but if you’re unwinding at the end of the day it’s an accepted way of showing “I’m ready for a drink.”
I would only do it if I had at one point in the day had the tie fully knotted and in its proper place. In my mind, it’s like wearing the untied bow tie with the collar undone – if you’ve been in a wedding and it’s the later hours of the reception, go for it; if you just show up somewhere with a bow tie draped over your neck, that’s a little weird. While I often follow a “whatever floats your boat” mantra, it still comes across to me as a bit affected and not really all that sprezzatura.
really like this look. For me it is function over style… even though a tie clip is used, it is more for the look rather than keeping the tie locked to the shirt. I have seen many more men wearing their ties a little loose when the situation is appropriate and I think it is a great look!
While I will break style rules, I feel like the only time you loosen the tie and unbutton the top button is at a wedding reception that has dancing. Otherwise it just looks weird. And the tie clip makes it look weirder.
I like the look. It tells people that you’re either really laid back or that your really freakin busy.
I have to go with James Bryan and HM and others for the look. Again, it is VERY sensitive in its application… a casual event or something where looking totally buttoned up and down would just be a bit… much. Again, it’s also age dependent.
I also would echo the “yes with a blazer, no with a suit” sentiment. With a blazer or a shawl-neck cardigan, I think it can look really good, with a more casual tie-bar at an angle and a woolly tie… dressed up but down.
Would I do it with a suit? No, it somewhat does negate the purpose, although if there’s dancing or you’re coming back from work etc. then why not? If there would be reason to loosen it, then I will. I think if you are always purposeful with your decisions, then it will look natural.
Cheers,
Ben
Hmmm… Not sure I’d do it with a suit, but I work at J. Crew, so having the “J. Crew” look is sort of important for me.
Plus, I usually wear a tie bar to keep my tie from dangling and getting in the way, a completely different issue than collar+tie look. So I have no issue with wearing a tie bar (to keep my tie from flopping all over) and then loosening my tie and unbuttoning the top button to feel a little more comfortable and relax my look a little bit.
Of course, I’ll wear my tie twisted, tucked, and miss-tied on occasion when I’m bored.
I think that it can work, often I will try it with an ocbd that can keep the collar in place. As far as the clip, I think that it’s functional either way. Just because the top button of your shirt isn’t buttoned doesn’t mean that your tie is all of a sudden going to lie perfectly on your shirt and not flop around. I say wear it.
Would probably be easier to pull off if you’re on the phone while Charlie Sheen walks into your office.
Loose tie is very “Wedding Singer” You wouldn’t believe some of the crap we wore in the 80’s.
I personally love it and think it adds a little swagger to an outfit I would do it all the time if I could get away with it at my work. But once I clock out i unbutton and loosen up the tie with the tie bar.
DEFINITELY has to be one or the other. No way you can pull off both. Tie clip means business; button undone means casual. Period.
I have no problem with the unbuttoned and loosened tie; but if this is the look you are going for, just take off the tie clip.