The one rule every man should follow when buying a tie
Gone are the extremely wide ties of the '80s. Gone too, is the early 2000s fad of extremely skinny ties (thank goodness).
So where have we landed in 2015 and what width tie should you really be wearing? There's an easy way to tell.
In fact, it's a simple and widely recognized rule of thumb. It goes like this: The widest part of your lapel should match in width the widest part of your tie.
That's it. Here's a graphic from our friends at Black Lapel that further explains it:
Black Lapel/The CompassNot that complicated, right? For most ties and lapels, this will end up in the 2.5 - 3 inch range. Anything narrower, and you're headed into '50s fad territory.
According to GQ UK, some tie materials require special consideration. For example, a knit tie should err on the skinnier side, while one with a print should be wider.