Why Wear A Tie Clip?
Picture the scene: you enter a crucial business meeting and you are dressed to impress in your very best tailored pinstripe suit and a beautiful monotone Italian silk tie from Tieroom. Your tie is clearly the focal point of your entire outfit, which you have carefully selected to match your suit and accentuate your professional look. You feel the part, as confident as you can be because you know you look great.
Then, during the meeting, perhaps during a presentation you are giving, you bend over to demonstrate something and suddenly your tie is swaying from side to side, like one of those boats rides at a fun fair that rock back and forth! Poof, just like that your tie is distracting and looks silly. Your entire professional demeanour is diminished and all that thought and consideration into what you’re wearing is cast aside.
Or how about you just don’t want your tie to suddenly flounce into your lobster bisque during that all-important business lunch. Or imagine the horror of your tie swishing into your plate of ravioli while trying to impress your date!
Put simply, a tie clip or tie bar keeps your tie in place so that there is none of the awful and embarrassing swaying or lurching or jumping that can happen with a tie that isn’t secured in place.
A tie bar can also be simply used for aesthetic purposes. It finishes your outfit, making you look more polished and well-attired. It can make you look dandy with one outfit or give you a more vintage look with another. Tie clips often come in silver, for that classic and timeless look. They can also be in gold, for a more eye-catching and up-scale visual effect. And then there are the dazzling array of tie clips in different shapes and figures. From a whale or a shark, to a battleship or moustache! Ultimately, you wear your tie bar for whatever reason suits you, your outfit and the occasion.
Tie Clip Vs Tie Bar Vs Tie Pin
So, what are the technical differences between a tie clip and tie bar, remembering that the terms are often used interchangeably. For that matter, what is a tie pin?
Tie Clips
These serve to secure a tie and shirt together as securely as possibly. A tie clip closes around both by opening like a jaw on a spring before being clasped together. Think of the clip’s spring mechanism being similar in operation to that of using a clothes peg to keep a tie securely in place.
Tie Bars
Tie bars simply slide over the tie and shirt, thereby ensuring the tie is secured to the shirt. The sliding action is why they are also sometimes called tie slides.
Tie Pins
These pins are composed of a T-bar, a chain and a fastener. What is typically visible is the head of the pin itself, making it a more visually subtle accessory than a tie clip or tie bar.
7 Steps To Putting Your Tie Clip On
Here is a seven-step guide to securing your tie clip properly:
- Choose the correct tie clip for the tie you wish to wear (see above tips)
- Put on your tie with your desired knot and make sure its securely tightened.
- Align your tie by making sure it is centered and hangs straight against your shirt.
- Pinch or gather the tie and the front of your shirt together between the third and fourth button.
- Slowly slide the clip across the tie. Make sure that it has secured both the tie and shirt.
- Check to see that the clip is parallel to your tie and looks straight and not crooked.
- ‘Puff the blade’ – the blade is the thicker bottom half of your tie and you ‘puff’ it by slightly fluffing or smoothing out the blade after the clip is secured. This should give your tie more volume and a more stylish, polished effect.
Key Tips to Using Your Tie Clip
There are some important pointers that you should remember so that you can wear your tie clip as effectively, fashionably and comfortably as possible. These include:
Position: Where exactly on your tie should you fasten your tie clip? Keep it simple by securing it at the halfway point of your tie. This will ensure that both the narrower and wider halves of the tie are kept in place.
Placement: Where should you position your tie clip relative to your shirt? Your best bet is to fasten it between the third and fourth buttons of a shirt. Doing this ensures that your tie remains firmly in place while allowing you to move freely.
Alignment: What should you do to ensure your tie clip is not askew? Nothing looks shabbier than a tie clip that is crooked, right! To avoid this, use the ground or another flat surface as a point of reference for your eye, making sure that the tie clip is parallel to said surface. A crooked tie clip can throw off the balance of your entire outfit. Using a mirror to ensure proper alignment can also work well.
Proportion: What about how big or small your tie clip should be? This is actually more of a personal choice than many tie experts will admit. A more discreet or narrower tie clip looks best with a thin or vintage-style tie. Conversely, you can use a wider or more fancy tie clip with a fuller tie or where the intention is for your tie to be centre stage.
Depth: How far into the tie should your tie clip go across? A rule of thumb by most experts is that your tie clip should be approximately three-quarters across the width of your tie. The logic is that a clip that goes too far or too short across the tie will look jarring and even untidy. too narrow or too wide can disrupt visual harmony.
What Should I Wear a Tie Clip With?
There fashionistas who insist that a tie clip should only be used with certain types of ties. For example, they advise that tie clips are best worn with ties made of sturdy, bulkier fabrics such as wool or felt. They rail against a tie clip used with silk or another delicate or thin fabric. They argue that the tie clip may cause a more delicate fabric to pucker or even damage it.
So, is that really the case? Yes and no: yes, if you secure the tie clip too tightly or slide it across too brusquely, it can do said damage. But other than that, there is no reason why you cannot wear a tie clip with silk. As with any quality accessory, a light and deft touch is best when securing and unfastening your tie clip.
Ultimately, whether you call it a tie clip or a tie bar, you wear it because it is timeless, elegant and highly functional when worn correctly. Whether you opt for a classic, minimalist tie clip or one that is more fanciful and eye-catching, the result is always of a gentleman who has taste and appreciates what an accessory can do for his outfit.