# The Tie Poll **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 25, 2011, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tie-poll/579689 "2011-04-25T18:35:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2011, 10:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tie-poll/579689/41 "2011-04-26T10:12:45Z")
I don’t have to have a mirror to tie the tie, but I do have to have one to make sure the results look good. But you have to do that with everything, especially when you are trying to look dressed up. It’s in a place where I can’t look down and see if for myself, unlike tying my shoes. I still continue to find that most ties are too short with even the four-in-hand knot, so I’ve never tried any of the others. I have no idea if I still remember how to do it, and definitely prefer it when I can get a woman to do it for me. It just feels so loving. (Every guy I know who will do it for me will do it on his own neck. I never have figured out how they can get the length right that way.) ---
**Author:** ![Double\_Foolscap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85e7bf/32.png) [@Double\_Foolscap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Double_Foolscap)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2011, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tie-poll/579689/42 "2011-04-26T11:55:31Z")
I tie my ties myself, but then I keep them looped because I’m lazy. I tie my own bowties, though, and without a mirror because it just confuses me. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2011, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tie-poll/579689/43 "2011-04-26T12:32:02Z")
> [@Giles](#): > > Back when I was in primary and high school, I wore a tie as part of the school uniform, so I’ve known how to tie my own tie as long as I can remember – not that it’s a very difficult process to learn. Ditto. ---
**Author:** ![lazybratsche](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ba8739/32.png) [@lazybratsche](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lazybratsche)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2011, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tie-poll/579689/44 "2011-04-26T12:51:24Z")
I tie it myself, but I wear ties so rarely that I usually end up fumbling around for a while, doing it wrong a few times, and ultimately I have to get directions from google. ---
**Author:** ![Hermitian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hermitian/32/470_2.png) [@Hermitian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermitian)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2011, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tie-poll/579689/45 "2011-04-26T18:33:10Z")
I am not sure why guys re-tie their tie every day. My father never did, nor do I. One of the reasons for this is that we both have very short torsos. So the ties have to be tied so they are exactly the right length (short enough not to be way too long for our torso, and just long enough to cover the mini-tie behind it). It is way too difficult to get this perfect tie every day, so I just keep them tied. No one can apparently tell the difference. ---
**Author:** ![Ignatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/3be4f8/32.png) [@Ignatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignatz)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2011, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tie-poll/579689/46 "2011-04-27T00:45:11Z")
After about 20 years of tie-wearing at work, I began to tie them only once (Windsor knot) and then removed them by loosening them and lifting them, still looped, over the head, then to the tie rack/doorknob. Did that for the next 20 years until I retired. Haven’t worn one since then except for one funeral. Still have them all, many with transportation job-related thematic figures/designs. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2011, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tie-poll/579689/47 "2011-04-27T04:32:52Z")
Speaking of short ties, I’m always struck when watching a film like _Casablanca_ just how short men’s ties were back then. Seems they barely reached a man’s stomach. ---
**Author:** ![Dinaroozie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Dinaroozie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinaroozie)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2011, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tie-poll/579689/48 "2011-04-27T05:12:29Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > And I do not trust a man who can tie a bow tie. I can’t really disagree here. 🙂 Seriously though, the whole point to wearing a real bow tie is that it looks cooler untied at the end of the evening. If I somehow forgot how to tie one before going to a formal event, I’d wear a fake one and bring a real one to swap in, untied, later. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2011, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tie-poll/579689/49 "2011-04-27T05:23:49Z")
The boys’ uniform at my infants’ school included a tie, so I learnt very early on how to tie one. ---
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2011, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tie-poll/579689/50 "2011-04-27T05:27:42Z")
When I was a teenager, my oldest brother showed me how to tie a tie. I grasped it easily, and have done it myself ever since. No mirror, no assistance. I’ve never had a job where I’ve _had to_ wear a tie, so I don’t wear ties very often, but I do like to dress up a bit, so I wear them occasionally. ---
**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2011, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tie-poll/579689/51 "2011-04-27T05:31:18Z")
The knot itself is easy, I can do that without a mirror (except a full-windsor. I need someone to teach me), but I need a mirror to get the length right. The knot is perfect every time. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2011, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tie-poll/579689/52 "2011-04-27T11:59:12Z")
> [@Shark\_Sandwich](#): > > I tie all of my own ties. I can even tie bowtie, so BOOYAAAA! Ditto. and cravat and ascot . I love ties. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2011, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tie-poll/579689/53 "2011-04-27T12:06:02Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Speaking of short ties, I’m always struck when watching a film like _Casablanca_ just how short men’s ties were back then. Seems they barely reached a man’s stomach. Yeah, but Bogart could kick any modern actor…but I digress. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2011, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tie-poll/579689/54 "2011-04-27T20:50:08Z")
Step A: google and save PDF of tie-tying instructions Step B: tie tie once for all time Step C: after wearing tie, take tie off by loosening the noose part and fling into back of closet to be found in the year 2023 or something when I next have reason to wear a freaking tie ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2011, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tie-poll/579689/55 "2011-04-28T01:07:39Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Bow ties are cool. I have never heard or seen the phrase before. Bow Ties are effectively the opposite of cool. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2011, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tie-poll/579689/56 "2011-04-28T03:17:42Z")
Your thread’s title confused me until I opened it, so I started the thread I thought this one might be. [The other Tie Poll](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=606424) ---
**Author:** ![thebenn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dfb087/32.png) [@thebenn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thebenn)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2011, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tie-poll/579689/57 "2011-04-28T11:55:39Z")
I’m kind of like a mortician in that I can’t tie a tie when it’s around my own neck. My dad taught me to tie a tie when I was a teenager. He always sat down, crossed his left leg over his right, and tied his tie around his left knee while looking at it. I imagine that my grandfather taught him this technique. I do the same thing now. I’ll probably teach my two sons the same technique. I will NOT send them out into the world not knowing basic sartorial skills. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2011, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tie-poll/579689/58 "2011-04-28T14:00:00Z")
I had to wear a tie to school every day from 1st through 12th grade. By the end of high school, I could tie it one handed while driving. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2011, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tie-poll/579689/59 "2011-04-28T15:10:06Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > If you’re an adult male and you can’t tie your own tie you should be ashamed of yourself. > > Well, unless you live somewhere where men don’t wear ties. Or you’re a caveman. Well, I don’t know if I should hang my head in shame, but I’m a 43 year old male who has only worn a tie on two occasions in his entire life (once as a soldier, the other time for an application photo shoot). I do not exactly live somewhere where men don’t wear ties at all (Germany), but neither my job (programmer) nor any kind of social situation require me to ever wear a tie, and since I think they are the most useless article of clothing for a man, I don’t wear them, and thus can’t tie them myself. But I think that’s a case of cultural divide, because for my father’s generation, wearing a tie was/is just as ubiquitous as it seems to be for the most of you Americans (judging by the answers to this thread). And I’m not a caveman. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![badlyburnttoast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ad7895/32.png) [@badlyburnttoast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/badlyburnttoast)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2011, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tie-poll/579689/60 "2011-04-28T21:37:45Z")
I gotta have someone else do it for me, every time. I have absolutely no idea how to do it, at all. But then I think I’ve had to wear a tie 3 times total in my adult life so, oh well, not much incentive to google up instructions and memorize it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tie-poll/579689.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tie-poll/579689.md?page=4)