I thought that there has to be a way to tie a tie so that I can get it right every time. It sucks to be running late and to have to retie a tie because it’s too short or long the first or second time. Fortunately, I don’t have to wear a tie often so I’m not wasting weeks of my life retying ties.
While getting dressed for Jan’s wedding, I decided to experiment with tying my tie. I put the tie around my neck, as usual, yet this time I intentionally outstretched my right arm straight down and grabbed the tip of the tie between my thumb and index finger. This is going to serve as my gauge.
I tied the tie and to my surprise I got it right the first time. Now I know that any time I tie a tie in the future all I need to do is start with the tip of the big end of it between my down stretched hand.
The big thing is that some ties are longer than others. Some people are built differently the others. Some people prefer to wear their ties long, some short. As long as you find your initial gauge, for you specifically, you’ll get it right every time there after.
No one has ever suggested this to me and the dozen guys I’ve asked since have never heard of it either. Are we all out of the loop? Is this common knowledge within certain circles? If so, why hasn’t anyone told me? Until then, I’m calling this the Thacker Method.
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I’m not going to go into the specifics about the mechanics of actually tying the tie but just how to set it up so you learn how to do it the same way every time.
What is important to remember is that different ties are different lengths but it doesn’t really matter how long or short the short/skinny end of the tie is after you tie your tie. What is more important is how long the long/wide end of the tie is. This is what people see and what causes retying if you tie it incorrectly.
1. Let both of your arms hang down at your side. Hang your tie around your neck and hold the tip of the wide end of the tie in your downward stretched arm’s hand, downward at your side. For me personally, I hold the tip of the tie in the tip of my index finger and thumb.
2. Take mental note where the end of the wide end of the tie falls with regards to the length of your arm. (eg: middle of your fingers, tip of your fingers, a couple inches past your fingers) This serves as your personal gauge.
3. Tie your tie.
4. If the length is how you like it, you now know your personal gauge. Hold any tie in your downward stretched hand in the exact same spot from now on. If it’s too short/long for your preference, untie your tie and start over adjusting where the tip of your tie falls in your downward stretched hand adjusting for how short or long the tie was with the first tie attempt. Just slide the tie a little more over on your neck to adjust for this length difference. Just use this same gauge every time you tie your tie and the length will be about the same every time, right? The short/skinny end is the end that will vary with different ties.
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