The Gent's Cheat Sheet » Style & Taste

How to Tie a Bow Tie

Trey — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 02:56:39 +0000

Bow Ties aren’t exactly everyday wear (unless you’re Tucker Carlson), but most guys still have to don one from time-to-time. Here’s a step-by-step guide.

1. Drape the bow tie around your neck and under your collar and grasp the ends, with the end on your right extending about 1.5 inches lower than the end on your left.

2. Cross the longer end over the shorter end. You should cross the tie near your neck so that the loop around your neck is just large enough to work with. You don’t want your bow dangling in front of your chest.

3. Pass the longer end up through the loop, forming a simple, loose overhand knot.

4. Grasp the loose (dangling) end that is now on your right and fold the end back to form a loop that is pinched between your thumb and index finger. Essentially, you want to double the right side of the tie (which originates on the left side of your neck) over itself to make the loop. Hold this loop, which will be the front loop of the completed tie, between your shirt’s collar points.

5. Drop the left end of the tie (the one which you passed up through the loop and which originates on the right side of your neck) over the front of the bow.

6. Form a new loop with the left end, just as you did with the first one. While still holding the loop you just made, double the end over itself.

7. Position the new loop behind the front loop facing the opposite direction. Pinch the loops together with your thumb and push the second loop into the knot behind the front loop. The tip of your right index finger will be in position to push the end of this loop into the hole behind the front loop. On one side, the loop will be on the front. On the other, it will be on the back.

8. Tighten the knot by pulling the two loops together, and straighten the bow tie. To loosen or untie the bow, pull on the tails.

If you’re still confused, check out this video.

Sources: Wikihow, CC 2.5 License.

Video: How to Tie a Bow Tie

Trey — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 02:55:35 +0000

For step-by-step instructions that you can print, check out this guide. Related posts:How to Properly Tie a Tie TED Conference Video – Tony Robbins on Motivations How to Tie a Bow Tie Related posts:

A Man’s Guide to Dry Cleaning

Trey — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 11:37:10 +0000

As most people probably know, dry-cleaning isn’t actually “dry.” It simply means that garments are washed with a solvent (called perchlorethylene or DF2000) rather than soap and water. And despite the fact that many nicer garments do require dry-cleaning, it’s not necessarily easier on the fabric. So even for clothes that have to be cleaned this way, it’s best to do so only when necessary.

If you’re going to spend good money on clothes, it’s worth your while to take care of them—and to know what happens when you entrust them to someone else. The cleaner’s doesn’t have to be a black box–the place where you drop off valuable items and have them magically reappear the next day, looking like new.

To be honest, this is how I’ve always viewed the process…I know enough to check the labels and see if something I own has to be sent to the cleaner’s (the case with most dress pants, for instance). But what actually happens after things are dropped off? It’s always been a bit of a mystery to me.

Thankfully, I happened to find a pretty good overview recently. The author provides three good reasons it’s worth your while to know a little bit about the process:

First, you have to understand enough about the process to know what to do if an expensive item is damaged or lost.
Second, it’s important to understand the impact of dry-cleaning on your clothes. Since dry-cleaning can actually be tougher on fabric, you should know how often your garments need to be washed—and what the solvent does to the fibers.
Third, if you’re going to spend money on something, it’s a good idea to know what it is you’re paying for—and whether you’re actually getting extra value by paying more.

The author of the guide provides quite a few good tips (picking a drycleaner, what to have cleaned, how often, etc.), but the explanation of the process itself is pretty straightforward:

The dry cleaning process starts when you drop your clothing off; first it’s tagged and then sorted by whether it needs to be dry cleaned, laundered, pressed, or altered. At this point the clothing is often moved to another location; in fact, it’s not uncommon for all the dry cleaners in an area to use the same contractor or be owned by a few companies. This is why many cannot offer same day service or when “they” lose a garment you’re out of luck because the garment is lost in a much larger system than just the facility you dropped it off at. Also, despite two cleaners charging different prices for the same service, if they use the same master cleaning facility, you are receiving no added benefit despite paying more. I always look to use cleaners who do their work in house – I like knowing my garments are kept right where I dropped them off and handled by the person I gave them to.

Back to the process – after the drop-off stains are pre-treated (note – it’s very important you point out stains and label what the stain is so that it is treated properly) and the clothing is loaded into large machines where they sit in baskets and rotate in perchlorethylene – the perc is then drained using centrifugal force (shirts and other cotton garments are more often simply laundered with water and soap – it’s less expensive and does the job without damaging the fabric). A good cleaning facility will then inspect clothing for any remaining soiled spots and post-treat if necessary. Next the clothing is lightly steamed, pressed, and ironed where applicable. Finally, garments are sorted out, shipped if necessary, and then stored for pick-up.

If you’re anything like me, most of this is probably new (and not exactly what you spend your free time pondering!). Still, it’s something worth knowing at least a little bit about: your clothes are an investment, and should be cared for appropriately.

-Trey

[A Man’s Guide to Dry Cleaning at The Art of Manliness]

How to Properly Tie a Tie

Trey — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 01:04:37 +0000

The Gent’s Cheat Sheet

How to Properly Tie a Tie

There aren’t many skills more fundamental (and more common) to dressing with style than being able to properly tie a tie. Unfortunately, it’s not like riding a bike–so if it’s been a while since you’ve had to wear one, it can be surprisingly easy to forget how.

Lucky for those of us who could use a reminder from time-to-time, there are plenty of resources online for this sort of thing. One great site I found is a site devoted exclusively to tie tutorials. The tutorials are simple and easy to understand, with step-by-step instructions, mirror-image video, and simple illustrations. Here are a couple of videos for the most commonly-used knots–the “Four-in-Hand” and the “Half-Windsor.” For others, check out the site.

The Four-in-Hand:

The Half-Windsor:

Learn How to Tie a Tie.

Clothing Alterations and a Good Tailor: Style Essentials

Trey — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 04:13:16 +0000

You probably know a reputable mechanic for auto repairs. But who do you call on for help with something much more important–your personal appearance?

Today, The Art of Manliness shared a practical post covering the basics of clothes alterations and tips for selecting a tailor. It’s not something most of us think about on a daily basis, but definitely worth considering in light of the fact that the way clothes fit can often be more important than the way they actually look. It’s also important to know when a damaged item is salvageable, when it needs to be replaced–or at least who to ask. Among other tips, they share a quick guide outlining the different types of alterations, according to cost and level of skill.

Common Alterations and the Level of Skill They Require

Basic Skill Alterations – Cost is low – you could do it yourself with a little guidance from a friend who can sew or a reputable manual.

Button & zipper replacement

Trouser leg length

Jacket sleeve length (non-working buttons & unlined)

Medium Skill Alterations – Cost is a little more expensive than the above, but always worth the price if this is what you need to make your garment fit.

Jacket sleeve length (non-working buttons & lined)

Fixing neck roll

Bring in or opening up the torso on a jacket

Bringing in or opening up a pair of trousers

Taper trouser legs

Shortening a shirt sleeve

Replacing a shirt collar

Adding darts

Tapering the shirt

High Skill Alterations – Expensive – make sure your tailor is good and knows what they are doing.

Jacket sleeve length (working buttons & lined)

Jacket length

Rotating the jacket sleeve (correcting for arm pitch)

Relining the jacket

Reducing shirt shoulders

Re-weaving – fixes small holes by using fabric found elsewhere on the suit to create an invisible patch

There are other factors to consider, of course–especially when deciding on the right tailor. A tailor, like an auto mechanic, is someone you probably won’t see every day–but then the time comes, it’s good to know a reputable place to call.

A Man’s Guide to Clothing Alterations at Art of Manliness.

A Treatise on the Mustache

Trey — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 02:18:07 +0000

The Art of Manliness has provided a fairly humorous treatise on the mustache, and regardless of your opinion of mustaches it’s worth a read just for the laugh:

“Every strand of hair found above a man’s lips serves as a tribute to the pantheon of mustache holders throughout history, an ode to the testosterone that has driven every strand of every male’s facial hair since the first man roamed Planet Earth.”

Mustaches, it would seem, also have significance that goes far beyond style and testosterone:

“Fast forward to the current age, where societies by and large have maintained their bond to the mustache, as evident in Egyptian society today, where a man’s honor is measured by the size of his mustache. Truth be told, an Egyptian clan elder was stripped of his honor in recent years when an unfortunate scuffle led to his kidnapping and the subsequent humiliation of seeing his mustache shaved, packaged, and sent home.”

Ahh, so that’s why we’re hated in the Middle East! They think we have no honor! Perhaps we should all grow mustaches—in fact, I urge you to do so. Do it for your country and world peace. Trust me, you’ll be glad!

Now, in all seriousness, mustaches DO have a certain flair that (when done right) can be downright classy. Too bad that we seem to be in a lose-lose situation here, since mustaches are now the “ubiquitous trademark of villains, pimps, and scalawags.” Either we have no honor, or we’re villains, pimps, and scalawags. It would seem that the only reasonable thing to do would be to reclaim this noble expression of manliness from the scoundrels and grow some ’staches that would make Teddy Roosevelt proud to call us gentlemen.

-tg