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document updated 15 years ago, on Nov 4, 2009

knots
- thicker knots (more masculine?)
  - full Windsor
- medium thickness knots
  - Pratt knot
- thinner knots (more feminine?)
  - four in hand knot
  - small knot
- outside the box
  - Onasis knot — when finished, it looks almost as if there's no knot at all
  - going completely knotless is possible but extremely rare
  - Atlantic knot, it looks almost inside-out (instructions)
width
- Neckties can very in width from 1" to 5", with ~3.5" ties currently being the norm.
- The most fashionable width has changed quite a bit over time; Wikipedia has a good overview.
- Search online for pictures. 2" ties have almost no taper, 1" ties are almost reminiscent of bolo ties, and 5" neckties have an extreme amount of taper.
- Currently, ties are trending narrower, but not everybody thinks this is a good idea.
how low should the tie hang?
- Generally, it should land right at the belt line.
- In a few rare cases, you can go a little longer.
- Vintage ties can be worn much shorter, but it's a distinctly vintage look.
how many buttons to button?
- Women's dress shirts usually don't have the top-most button that men's dress shirts have.
- Therefore, when women wear a tie, it's almost always with the tie much looser than men normally wear it. You can simulate this on a men's shirt just by leaving the top button unfastened. This is usually considered to be a much more casual look than buttoning it all the way up.
- Women who want to show a lot of flesh go even further, unbuttoning their top button (equivalent to unbuttoning two buttons on a men's shirt).
accessories / minor features
- Adding a dimple is considered "going the extra step". Many people don't bother to do it, but it looks good. (some go further and say it's absolutely mandatory) (if you're really picky, make sure the dimple is in the middle of the tie)
- There are a lot of different accessories that are designed to prevent the lower end of the tie from swinging out of place: tie bar, tie clip, tie pin, tie chain, and tie strap
  - Personally, I like the tie strap because it's mostly invisible (and you don't have to decide how high to place it). However, the idea that you have to buy several of them to suit the color of your shirt seems rediculous. So go with clear plastic. Or just DIY it with fishing line. (seriously — you get to be stylish and practice your knotwork at the same time)
taking care of ties
- oh god, there's a huge amount of advice out there, but the basics are:
  - keep the tie from getting too wrinkled: when taking a tie off, untie it in reverse order that you tied it. Don't just pull it off.
  - keep the tie from getting stained: Stains are basically a death sentence for a tie, so do everything you can to avoid stains. If you do get a stain, DO NOT use any stain removers or try to launder it yourself. The only option is to try to dry-clean it, but even that is a poor option.