The Gent's Cheat Sheet » Style & Taste

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