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SHAPES AND KNOTS
Oscar Wilde said it: “A well-tied tie is the first serious step in life.” Since early in the 19th century,
the quest for the perfect knot has been the cause of unremitting effort and ingenuity.
At the height of the cravat obsession, there were at least 100 recognisable knots, including the
Gordian Knot, so complicated that the wearer could be extracted only with shears or scissors. The
French novelist Honoré de Balzac is said to have been the mysterious H. le Blanc whose best-
selling instructional manual detailed the ins and outs of 32 of them, with names like the Napoleon,
the Oriental, and the Mail Coach.
The Mail Coach may have had something to do with the naming of the Four-in-Hand, the basic tie-
knot of today. The four-in-hand is named after the manner in which coachmen controlled the reins
of a team of horses. Slim and asymmetrical, it is distinguished by a little dimple immediately beneath
the knot.
The Windsor knot dates from the 1930s and is named for the Duke of Windsor, who then favoured
large knots. Symmetrical, bulky and triangular, it is tied in a special manner with extra loops
The bow tie is a subject on its own. Never out of fashion, and of course an essential part of formal
evening wear, it nevertheless comes under suspicion from elements who regard its everyday use as
an affectation of the eccentric. Some of this suspicion may mask embarrassment from not knowing
how to handle a bow tie; it particular, how to tie it. This is easier than it appears, being much like
tying one’s shoelaces.
A permanently tied bow is wholly lacking in style, and is impossible to disguise. A gentleman must
therefore persevere and learn to tie his own: one can practice on the thigh, or on the arm of a chair.
Bow ties are commonly of silk or barathea, silk being the more difficult to tie.
The asymmetrical, simple four-in-hand knot
The symmetrical half-Windsor knot
The symmetrical full-Windsor knot
Tying the bow tie
Tying a scarf tie
Neck-scarfs or cravats are tied in simple knots The ascot normally comes cut in its Edwardian mode,
with a narrow, pleated centre section to negotiate the collar, and wider ends for puffing up in the
shirt opening. An intriguing alternative is to be your own Beau Brummell. A large silk square folded
to form a triangle, then fold-rolled to an appropriate width, can be knotted and tucked as one
chooses. The Duke of Windsor achieved a simple elegance just by treading the ends through a
finger-ring.
Oscar Wilde said it: “A well-tied tie is the first serious step in life.” Since early in the 19th century,
the quest for the perfect knot has been the cause of unremitting effort and ingenuity.
At the height of the cravat obsession, there were at least 100 recognisable knots, including the
Gordian Knot, so complicated that the wearer could be extracted only with shears or scissors. The
French novelist Honoré de Balzac is said to have been the mysterious H. le Blanc whose best-
selling instructional manual detailed the ins and outs of 32 of them, with names like the Napoleon,
the Oriental, and the Mail Coach.
The Mail Coach may have had something to do with the naming of the Four-in-Hand, the basic tie-
knot of today. The four-in-hand is named after the manner in which coachmen controlled the reins
of a team of horses. Slim and asymmetrical, it is distinguished by a little dimple immediately beneath
the knot.
The Windsor knot dates from the 1930s and is named for the Duke of Windsor, who then favoured
large knots. Symmetrical, bulky and triangular, it is tied in a special manner with extra loops
The bow tie is a subject on its own. Never out of fashion, and of course an essential part of formal
evening wear, it nevertheless comes under suspicion from elements who regard its everyday use as
an affectation of the eccentric. Some of this suspicion may mask embarrassment from not knowing
how to handle a bow tie; it particular, how to tie it. This is easier than it appears, being much like
tying one’s shoelaces.
A permanently tied bow is wholly lacking in style, and is impossible to disguise. A gentleman must
therefore persevere and learn to tie his own: one can practice on the thigh, or on the arm of a chair.
Bow ties are commonly of silk or barathea, silk being the more difficult to tie.
The asymmetrical, simple four-in-hand knot
The symmetrical half-Windsor knot
The symmetrical full-Windsor knot
Tying the bow tie
Tying a scarf tie
Neck-scarfs or cravats are tied in simple knots The ascot normally comes cut in its Edwardian mode,
with a narrow, pleated centre section to negotiate the collar, and wider ends for puffing up in the
shirt opening. An intriguing alternative is to be your own Beau Brummell. A large silk square folded
to form a triangle, then fold-rolled to an appropriate width, can be knotted and tucked as one
chooses. The Duke of Windsor achieved a simple elegance just by treading the ends through a
finger-ring.
Tying the bow tie
Tying the half-Windsor Knot
Tying the simple four-in-hand
Tying the full Windsor knot
How to dress like a gentleman- A guide on shapes and knots of the tie worn by a true gentleman
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