Fashion Forward Fridays: Sharp Dressed Man Edition

“I love ties.” ~ Baby B

Mmmmm….men’s fashion.  While not as obviously complicated as women’s fashion (pantyhose? Pants? Skirt?  500 pairs of shoes??), it still has its little ins and outs that every guy should know about when attempting to dress himself.  And my favorite part of any guy’s outfit?  (Get your mind out of the gutter!)  A good tie.  Here's some tips for buying your perfect tie.

1.  Consider the Color:  Buy your tie when you buy your shirt.  That way you have at least ONE matching tie.  And it needs to match EXACTLY.  No slightly off colors, or everyone will notice.  

2.  Ponder the Pattern:  Striped shirt, solid tie/solid shirt, striped tie.  Just do it and don’t get excited.  (However, I once saw a sharply dressed guy with khakis a striped shirt of yellow and blue and brown shoes.  And a paisley tie.  It was super awesome, but this level is FOR EXPERTS ONLY.)

3.     Mull over the Measure:  Your tie should at least reach your pants.  Seriously, guys.  Buy the right tie length.  Especially if you have a little bit of belly going (I don’t judge.  My pants refused to button the other day), that tie will cut you at the WORST place.

4.     Weight the Width:  Skinny ties are a no.  Unless you’re a hipster.  But we here at RWF make fun of hipsters and Baby B wants to sterilize them so that they can’t reproduce.  So just no skinny ties in general.

5.     Think Gallant, Not Gaudy.  Remember that paisley tie I mentioned earlier?  Patterns are awesome.  Ties with Santa Clauses running the length of them are not.  Especially if you are under the age of 35.  You are only obligated to wear something like that if it was given to you by your clueless children.  And even then, you don’t have to wear it to school/work/etc.  (Well, you might have to.  Children seem to think I’m evil, so I could definitely be wrong on that front.)

Also, thanks to Baby B and Mikey for their invaluable information on men’s fashion!

And to celebrate your newfound knowledge:  Here’s some ZZ Top.  Because God knows, this girl is crazy about a sharp-dressed man.

Any other advice about how to buy/find a great tie?  Ladies and Dudes both welcome to chime in below in the comments!