# Gentlemen: Do you remember your first real tie? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 16, 2017, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gentlemen-do-you-remember-your-first-real-tie/789092 "2017-06-16T06:26:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2017, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gentlemen-do-you-remember-your-first-real-tie/789092/1 "2017-06-16T06:26:39Z")
When I was a kid, we went to church every Sunday. As was the custom for male children in those days, I had to go dressed in a jacket and tie. My ties were clip-ons, until at about age 7, I balked: “I want a real tie, like Dad has. One that I can tie myself.” Well, my parents got me a tie. It was navy blue, and Dad taught me to tie it by myself. I wore it to church for years, when I was a kid. Ties aren’t very popular any more, and neither is church. But I’m curious: gentlemen of the Dope who still wear ties, do you remember your first real tie? One that you could tie by yourself? ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2017, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gentlemen-do-you-remember-your-first-real-tie/789092/2 "2017-06-16T06:57:44Z")
I had a tie as part of my primary school uniform, at least from the age of 9, so I could tie my own by then. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2017, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gentlemen-do-you-remember-your-first-real-tie/789092/3 "2017-06-16T07:02:11Z")
Yeah, plain maroon and a simple four-in-hand knot. I have gone on to greater things in color, pattern, and knot (and a couple bow ties, too). I still don’t have a perfect knot. The four-in-hand always looks lopsided to me, but any of the more symmetrical ones make a larger knot than is currently in vogue. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2017, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gentlemen-do-you-remember-your-first-real-tie/789092/4 "2017-06-16T07:07:16Z")
School uniform tie. 7 years old. Diagnol silver and blue stripes. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2017, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gentlemen-do-you-remember-your-first-real-tie/789092/5 "2017-06-16T07:27:02Z")
No. I don’t remember the tie specifically, but I do remember being taught how to tie a Windsor knot at the ripe old age of 21. I had never worn a tie up until then. My parents weren’t church goers, and I had no reason to wear a tie until that first formal job interview. A full Windsor is the only knot I know. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2017, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gentlemen-do-you-remember-your-first-real-tie/789092/6 "2017-06-16T12:05:54Z")
Early on I had a clip-on bow tie. At some point, maybe around 10+, I got my first real tie. A hand-me-down straight black thing. Did a half windsor for a while. Finally found out about the full windsor well into high school. I think I went tie-less for a few years in-between. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2017, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gentlemen-do-you-remember-your-first-real-tie/789092/7 "2017-06-16T12:33:39Z")
I wore clip on ties to church until I was about 8 to 10. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2017, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gentlemen-do-you-remember-your-first-real-tie/789092/8 "2017-06-16T14:01:56Z")
My first tie was a cotton knit maroon colored affair with a squared off bottom. [Like this](https://img0.etsystatic.com/064/0/6527810/il_570xN.781458694_j8nd.jpg), aside from the color. I don’t even remember wearing it so much as I remember its constant presence in my socks 'n underwear drawer. The bottom was a bit frayed though from wear so it must have been worn even if I can’t remember the events. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2017, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gentlemen-do-you-remember-your-first-real-tie/789092/9 "2017-06-16T14:05:10Z")
Heck I’m a girl, and owned and wore a proper tie daily from the age of 5. That’s British school uniform for you. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Bredin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@John\_Bredin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Bredin)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2017, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gentlemen-do-you-remember-your-first-real-tie/789092/10 "2017-06-16T15:17:38Z")
My first non-clip-on tie was the same one as **Jophiel** except green. I still have it, and I think I’ve worn it within the last few years. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2017, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gentlemen-do-you-remember-your-first-real-tie/789092/11 "2017-06-16T15:31:50Z")
I still own my first real, a Wembley that I bought when I was like 11 or 12 years old. It still looks good, too. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2017, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gentlemen-do-you-remember-your-first-real-tie/789092/12 "2017-06-16T16:01:36Z")
Barely, just some blue thing. I was a little kid, it was small. As a teenager I wore my father’s ties. As an adult I have a few that I shared with my sons. It’s hard for me to find a long enough tie, I have a thick neck and a large torso grotesquely out of proportion to my stubby legs. A full windsor knot leaves the tie half way down my chest so I’ve forgotten how to tie one that way. ---
**Author:** ![maisoui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@maisoui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maisoui)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2017, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gentlemen-do-you-remember-your-first-real-tie/789092/13 "2017-06-16T16:27:03Z")
I’m not a gentleman (not even a man) but I wore a tie to high school fairly regularly. It was a thin grey leather tie. There was also a black and white piano keys one. It was the 80s and I was 14 - we’ll blame my fashion choices on those facts… ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2017, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gentlemen-do-you-remember-your-first-real-tie/789092/14 "2017-06-16T16:50:37Z")
> [@maisoui](#): > > I’m not a gentleman (not even a man) but I wore a tie to high school fairly regularly. It was a thin grey leather tie. There was also a black and white piano keys one. It was the 80s and I was 14 - we’ll blame my fashion choices on those facts… I’d be willing to bet that you bought that tie at either a Jeans West or an Oak Tree, too! ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2017, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gentlemen-do-you-remember-your-first-real-tie/789092/15 "2017-06-16T16:56:09Z")
Yeah, I kinda sorta think I can still remember my first introduction to real (not clip-on) neckties, and having to learn (very poorly) how to tie it. But, being a gentleman (:dubious:) of the Dope who _doesn’t_ still wear ties, I guess OP’s query isn’t addressed to me. Oh well. Suffice it to say I _still_ to this day don’t know how to tie a neck-tie. I wonder: Does The Donald tie his own ties? Or does he have a personal necktie valet to do it for him? ---
**Author:** ![maisoui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@maisoui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maisoui)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2017, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gentlemen-do-you-remember-your-first-real-tie/789092/16 "2017-06-16T17:01:58Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > I’d be willing to bet that you bought that tie at either a Jeans West or an Oak Tree, too! Ha, no, Canadian here. Probably “Le Chateau” or the like… ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2017, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gentlemen-do-you-remember-your-first-real-tie/789092/17 "2017-06-16T17:03:29Z")
The first tie that was _mine_ and not one of my dad’s was when I received a purple tie from Safeway in 1996 as part of my uniform. I had my father tie it and it stayed tied in that same knot for at least the next 6 years. I don’t work for Safeway anymore but I still have that tie (it’s no longer in the same knot). ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2017, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gentlemen-do-you-remember-your-first-real-tie/789092/18 "2017-06-16T17:11:43Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > I still don’t have a perfect knot. The four-in-hand always looks lopsided to me, but any of the more symmetrical ones make a larger knot than is currently in vogue. Here is your [comprehensive treatment of necktie knots](http://www.tcm.phy.cam.ac.uk/~tmf20/tieknots.shtml), in which you are certain to find the perfect knot to match any style. (does not include old-school cravats and the like, but hard-core fops, punks, and dandies are expected to know what they are doing.) ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2017, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gentlemen-do-you-remember-your-first-real-tie/789092/19 "2017-06-16T18:50:06Z")
I’m not a gentleman, but on my way to work this morning I saw a little boy, probably four years old, standing on the sidewalk wearing a perfect little gray suit with a white button down shirt. His mother was kneeling in front of him trying to tie his tie, and he was bawling his eyes out. I wonder if he’ll remember that as his first tie. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Bredin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@John\_Bredin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Bredin)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2017, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gentlemen-do-you-remember-your-first-real-tie/789092/20 "2017-06-16T19:06:34Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > Yeah, I kinda sorta think I can still remember my first introduction to real (not clip-on) neckties, and having to learn (very poorly) how to tie it. > > But, being a gentleman (:dubious:) of the Dope who _doesn’t_ still wear ties, I guess OP’s query isn’t addressed to me. Oh well. Suffice it to say I _still_ to this day don’t know how to tie a neck-tie. > > I wonder: Does The Donald tie his own ties? Or does he have a personal necktie valet to do it for him? No valet would scotch-tape a tie like Trump does. 😛 Once I went to court and my firm’s client, a 20-something guy whose mother was paying us to represent him in traffic court, had just bought his first tie ever and hadn’t the foggiest on how to tie it. My boss tasked me with getting it tied. As I can tie my own tie in my sleep but can’t visualize how to do it on someone else (backwards!) I ended up tying it around my own neck, loosening it partially, handing it to the client, and showing how to re-tighten it. 🙂 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gentlemen-do-you-remember-your-first-real-tie/789092.md?page=2)