When pair­ing a tie with a dress shirt, most of the time we hardly give con­sid­er­a­tion to the col­lar. We think color and shape, match as appro­pri­ate and then we’re on our way, ready to save the day. But not so fast. Dif­fer­ent col­lars offer dif­fer­ent spreads and a tie’s knot can help define your appear­ance, giv­ing the right impres­sion. It could be for a job inter­view, a wed­ding or just another day at the office, but it never hurts to give a good impression.

There are three basic tie knots which can be learned here. The Full Wind­sor Knot has the largest knot, fol­lowed by the Half Wind­sor and then the Four In Hand.

When­ever you have a spread or wide col­lar with your dress shirt, it’s best to use a larger knot to fill the space in between, such as a Full Wind­sor or Half Wind­sor Knot. If you’re feel­ing bold, go for the Dou­ble Wind­sor. One note about spread col­lars, is it looks best with those who have nar­row or slim shaped faces. Here’s Lebron sport­ing a wide col­lar and a Full Windsor.

A Half Wind­sor Knot is slightly smaller than the Full Wind­sor and eas­ier to tie. Since it’s not too bold but not tiny, it’s a safe and com­mon selec­tion among most men. It looks best between a mod­er­ate spread col­lar or slightly pointy, depend­ing on your preference.

The Four In Hand works best with a point or short col­lar with your dress shirt. The point col­lar doesn’t leave much room in the mid­dle for any­thing other than a Four In Hand. If you try a large knot, it looks crowded, some­what forced. The short col­lar, with its brief tips, matches well with the Four In Hand’s smaller knot, along with a short, spread col­lar. Going with a Four In Hand and just a spread col­lar looks wimpy. You won’t strike fear in your opponents.

Vari­a­tions of the three basic knots are com­mon, adding your own per­sonal style and taste. A trendy style is leav­ing the knot loose but that look is dic­tated by the sit­u­a­tion, like wind­ing down a night at 4am or a casual get together. Or maybe you just don’t give a damn, just like Clive.

Regard­less, match­ing the col­lar with the right knot isn’t very hard and worth the extra step to make you look that much bet­ter. If you’re going to put in the time to wear a dress shirt, tie and suit, take the extra few min­utes to com­plete the look. Leave lazi­ness to others.

Return to our home­page to learn more about cus­tom dress shirts.

Categories:Men's Dress Shirt Guide, Men's Style Guide

Tags: clive owen, collar, dress shirt, four in hand, half windsor knot, how to tie a tie, Lebron James, men's fashion, men's style, men's tie, shirt collar, shirt tie, tie, tie knot, tie knots, windsor knot