Necktie size chart

Custom necktie length and width are available on request. A few extra inches of length cost nothing.

How a necktie is measured

Three measurements describe any necktie. Once you know them, every size chart in the world becomes readable.

Length

Tip to tip along the center of the tie, laid flat and untwisted. This is the number that decides where the tie ends on your body.

Blade width, which we call the tie’s end

Measured straight across the widest point of the wide end. When anyone says a tie is 3 inches, this is what they mean.

Head width, which we call the tie’s head

Measured across the narrow end, the tip that finishes behind the blade. It is narrower than the blade on every classic tie.

Junction point

A silk tie is cut on the bias in separate panels, then joined. The junction point is where those panels meet. It is a construction landmark rather than a fitting one, but it tells you the tie was cut properly rather than stamped out in one straight piece.

Which tie width should you choose?

The rule that matters more than any other: match the blade to your lapel. Measure the widest point of your jacket lapel and pick the tie width within about half an inch of it. A 3 inch tie against a 3.25 inch lapel looks considered. A 2 inch tie against a 4 inch lapel looks like an accident.

Build matters too, because a tie is read against the width of your chest. As a rough guide, slimmer frames sit well between 2.25 and 2.75 inches, average and athletic frames between 2.5 and 3.25 inches, and broader frames between 3 and 3.5 inches. Our three stock widths bracket that range, and anything in between can be cut for you.

If we are making the jacket as well, tell us and we will cut the tie to the lapel we are cutting for you. That is the one advantage of ordering both from the same workshop.

How long should a necktie be?

The tip of the blade should end at the middle of your belt buckle, or at the top of your waistband if you are not wearing a belt. That is the whole target. Everything else is arithmetic working back from it.

Most ties on the market are 57 to 58 inches. We make ours at 60 inches as standard, which covers most wearers up to roughly 6 feet 2 inches with a four-in-hand or a half Windsor. Four things eat into that length:

• Height. A longer torso needs a longer tie. Above about 6 feet 2 inches, ask for 62 to 64 inches.
• The knot. A full Windsor uses roughly 4 to 6 inches more silk than a four-in-hand.
• Build. A fuller chest and waist means the tie travels further before it hangs free.
• Where your trousers sit. A low waistband puts the buckle further down, so the tie has to reach further. A high-rise waistband needs a shorter tie, not a longer one.

If two of these apply to you at once, add length. It is free, and a tie that is slightly long can be absorbed by a bigger knot, while a tie that is short cannot be fixed at all.

How much length does your knot use?

Cloth weight compounds this. A three-fold silk tie with a wool interlining, which is how ours are built, ties a fuller knot than a thin lined tie of the same width, so allow for it rather than being surprised by it.

How to measure a tie you already own

The fastest way to order a tie that fits is to measure one that already does.

1. Lay the tie flat on a table, untwisted, seam side down. Do not stretch it.
2. Run a tape along the center from the tip of the wide end to the tip of the narrow end. That is the length.
3. Measure straight across the widest point of the wide end. That is the width.
4. Send us both numbers. If your favorite tie ends exactly where you want it, we will match that length rather than guess from your height.

Bias-cut silk stretches slightly under tension. Measure it relaxed, not pulled taut, or you will order a tie an inch shorter than you meant to.

What our neckties are made of

Construction changes how a tie knots and how it hangs, so it belongs in a sizing guide rather than a separate story.

• 100 percent satin silk at 18.5 momme, about 80 grams per square meter.
• Cut on the bias at 45 degrees, which is what lets the tie hang straight and recover its shape rather than twisting.
• Three-fold construction, interlined in wool and lined in silk.
• Hand slip stitched, self-tipped, with a bar tack on the blade.
• Handmade to order by our tailors in Kathmandu.

The wool interlining is the part that matters for sizing. It gives the knot body, which is what makes a small four-in-hand hold its shape, and it is also why the knot takes a little more silk than a lightweight tie would.

Pocket square sizing

The pocket square in our tie and pocket square set is 17 inches square with a hand-stitched edge. That size gives enough volume for a classic fold without bulking out the breast pocket. A larger or smaller square can be made at no extra cost, and it is cut from the same bolt of silk as the tie so the color matches exactly.

Custom lengths and widths

Every tie is cut after your order is placed, so a custom size is not an upgrade. It is simply how we work, and it is free. Send us whichever of these you know:

• Your height, and roughly where your waistband sits.
• The knot you tie most often.
• The lapel width of the jacket you will wear it with.
• The length of a tie you already own and like.

Any one of these is enough to start. If you send the last one, we barely have to guess at all.

Caring for a silk necktie

• Dry clean only. Silk and water do not forgive each other.
• Untie the knot by reversing the steps you used. Pulling the narrow end through the knot stretches the bias and shortens the life of the tie.
• Roll the tie loosely or hang it, and give it a day between wears so the bias can relax back.
• If it creases, hang it in a steamy bathroom rather than pressing it. A hot iron flattens the roll of the edges, which is the part a hand-finished tie is built for.

Necktie sizing questions

Order a tie in your size

All three are handmade in satin silk, in skinny, standard or extra large, with custom length and width at no extra cost.

Solid color silk neckties
Two face silk neckties
Tie and pocket square set

Not sure which width suits the suit you already own? Send us the lapel measurement and we will tell you honestly, even if the answer is the tie you already have.