Ask A Woman: Yay or Nay – Guys wearing ties with jeans.
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Hi Beth:
What’s your opinion on guys who wear ties with jeans? Is it a good look? Bad Look? Does the collar have to be unbuttoned? Is this all just trying to be “too” cool?
Greg
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Hi Greg,
Well, I’ve avoided your question for many moons now, because I keep going back and forth: ties with jeans are way douchey; ties with jeans can look kinda slick. At some point, though, I have to take a stand. Here it is. Mostly, ties with jeans looks lame. I say “mostly,” because in select situations, it looks fine. I see you on the street in your is-it-casual-or-is-it-not? attire and neither gawk in horror nor give you a mental thumbs up. As soon as you pass by, I forget what you were wearing.
Some people who have managed such mediocrity include Justin Timberlake (who can wear WHATEVER HE WANTS and it’s fine by me), and Frank Muytjens, head designer at J. Crew for menswear (whose head of gorgeous silvery hair may be distracting me). Some people who have not managed as well include David Beckham (who ruined an otherwise decent ensemble by choosing a too-big cardigan, and not being able to decide whether to tuck in his button-down) and Matthew Morrison from Glee (who looks like he’s here from tech to fix your computer).
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I think my beef with the tie-with-jeans look is that it can’t decide what it is. Ties are inherently dressy. Add jeans and it looks like you knew you were supposed to dress up but you couldn’t stand the thought of going all the way, so your compromise was to wear jeans along with the button-down and tie.
Tie plus jeans is the clothing-equivalent of the mullet–business on the top, party on the bottom. And we all know what happened to the mullet.
-Beth
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So it is ok if it for a photoshoot (the left two pics), but not if in real life (the two on the right).
Like everything, if done wrong, it turns out — well, wrong. The size and material of the tie matters BIG TIME, and for me is really the deciding factor if its going to work or not. In a recent post, Joe branded the wrong ties as being Regis Philbin ties… and these are not the kinds of ties you want to mix with jeans. The ties that go with jeans have to be made with a matte material (to avoid the formality of a glossy/shiny tie, like on the far right), and should be skinny. Also, undo the collar button on your shirt and tie a less bulky and less symmetrical knot, like a four-in-hand. Personally, I think Muytjens goes too far with the “looseness” look around the collar, but JT nails it. Muytjens’ tie knot hangs too far down, which causes the collar to have TOO much of a gap. Usually my gauge for the gap is that the button hole shouldn’t stray too far from the button itself, and should overlap at least a 1/4″. Get the knot of the tie right under or overtop of the button, and you’re in a pretty good position.
i dont see a problem with the jeans and tie look; however, there are certain things that must be done to keep this look balanced…
1) dont wear a silky tie, opt for knit, wool or that tie Joe showed last week from LEC (gingham print i think)
2)the JEANS; IMO is the most important step here, i think they need to be dark denim, anything else will make you look off balance, and fit must be correct, not baggy not snug nutt huggers…
3) I dont generally like the whole tie no jacket/sweater/cardigan thing, but i guess here its “doable”
4) Your shoe GAME completes the look, keep it clean and sharp, brown wings, dessert boots, even some purcells, i like the cuff of the jeans to fall on the shoe and get that little contrast before you get to the shoes
I am not sure which way to go on the keeping it unbuttoned (the JCrew) look, i have done it and recieved compliments so i say go for it if your into switching it up…
-MAXman: My wife loves it when Im fly-
btw ony the Jcrew guy looks well done…the other guys are snubbed, timberlake would have been ok cept the angle of the pic makes it look like the leather jacket is tighter than the vest, look unproportional
good call on the relaxed collar tess, completely overlooked that initially
Is a wool/knit/cotton tie still considered “dressy”??? I don’t feel dressy in a loosely tied, loosely worn slim tie.
I wear jeans and a tie to work on Fridays. No one seemed to mention the obvious: tie and jeans looks like a high school teacher. Like the dude in the far right picture. Throw on a tweed blazer and the look is complete. I suspect Beth isn’t sure if it’s dressy or casual because the guy isn’t wearing it as if he’s sure. If you wear it, own it.
As for the IT look, it’s pretty standard: khakis with a solid dark color shirt (red, black, navy, etc), or dark color pants (black) and a lighter solid color shirt (not white). Top button open, no collar stays, and sometimes a white crew neck undershirt showing. Everything baggy. Shoes are either dark color running shoes or hybrid oxfords with the big rubber sole. I know because I used to wear it.
Tie and jeans are OK. you need some contradiction in your style
Second most of this. Wearing a suit jacket and silk tie with jeans doesn’t look right, but wearing a tweed with a wool tie, jeans and brogues is murderous.
I’ll go ahead and echo what most everyone has already said: material and texture is big here. Stay away from silk ties or light jeans. The goal is to “meet in the middle”, so to speak. Go with dark jeans to step up the formality a bit, and knit, wool, or cotton ties to play down the formality. A slimmer tie would also help here. Same with the sports coat; if there is one being thrown into the mix, don’t let it look like a suit jacket. Tweed is perfect here, as would be a more casual cotton coat.
There have been a few occasions where I have gone for the dark jeans, button up and a v-neck sweater and decided to swing for the fences with a bow tie. It generally has worked out but your mileage may vary.
I really love the picture of the legs that starts the “Ask A Woman” articles.
With all that ‘I wonder whether you know what this word means!’ stuff last week, the ‘Yay or Nay’ stands out to me more than it normally would.
Jeans and a tie are fine, in my book, as long as they don’t seriously clash with each other in terms of dressiness. That means the jeans should be on the dressy side and the tie should be on the casual side. A shiny satin business tie and starched white shirt will always look awkward on pale, distressed, or loose-fit denim. Any kind of jean with weird pockets or other eye-catching features should also be avoided. But a casual tie, like a knit, a button-down, and crisp, well-fitted jeans in a dark wash can all work perfectly well together.
As mentioned above, the shoe also matters. Virtually any informal leather shoe or boot could work. Canvas sneakers, as another mentioned above, might also be an option, though that really puts the outfit into the casual realm.
Regardless of shoe choice, this wouldn’t be an appropriate look for a professional setting like a large law firm, but could be fine for weekends, relaxed evenings, or a casual office environment. If your workplace has a casual Friday rule, this is a pretty good way to incorporate denim into your work wardrobe without looking like a total slob.
Like many others here, I have no problem with the tie/denim combo, as long as it’s done right and the textures compliment each other. The real pioneer of this look was the great Andy Warhol.
Not all ties are ‘dressy.’
That’s a good point. I seldom wear ‘dressy’ ties. Like the James Bond of Fleming’s novels, I prefer simple knit ties. Those go quite well with denim.
Interesting take on the subject. I would agree with most of the commenters. There’s a difference between a dress tie and a casual tie, just as there’s a difference between casual Gap chinos and a dressy pair of khaki trousers. All about width, texture, etc. We recently did a piece on Primer about pulling off the casual tie http://www.primermagazine.com/2011/field-manual/style-qa-whats-the-secret-to-pulling-off-the-casual-tie
I wear dark jeans with a knit tie (collar eased off) and brown oxfords quite often on the weekend. I think if you make sure the jeans are reasonably classic and the shirt and tie casual it looks fine.
To echo others: keep the denim dark, the tie textured and the knot careless and you’ll be fine. An unstructured blazer helps complete it.
Tie and jeans, actually I’m wearing them right now.
BB madras slim fit oxford, with a knit blue tie, straight fitten BR jeans with Frye driving shoes, sans socks.
It’s all about fit, texture, pattern/colors.
Dark jeans definitely, with blue jeans that is.
Unless you’re rockin’ some white jeans, red ones, grey or some other GTH color.
Especially since it’s Spring time.. jeans+chambray+driving shoes/oxfords/wingtips/brogues minus socks = Dappered!
and Tie+Tie clip!
and sometimes a waistcoat too!
I hate that people see jeans as not dressy. Sure if your wearing them down to your knees that’s just going to look silly with a tie, but a properly fitted dark wash jean looks perfectly fine with a tie. I personally like the tie with jeans look.