# What Happened To The Tie Clip? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 12, 2010, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-tie-clip/528646 "2010-02-12T02:53:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-tie-clip/528646/1 "2010-02-12T02:53:53Z")
I was watching reruns of “Barney Miller” and I noticed Wojo had a neat looking tie clip. It was a pair of handcuffs. Anyway I got to thinking, what happened to tie clips? When did they go out of style? I don’t recall ever wearing them and I’m 45, so they must’ve died out in the early 80s. As a side question, what’s the most interesting or unique kind of tie clip have you seen or owned? Note: I put this in Cafe Society as it’s sort of about fashion. Feel free to move it where appropriate. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-tie-clip/528646/2 "2010-02-12T02:58:28Z")
I still use one though I only wear a tie maybe 1-3 time a year if that. I do remember one many years ago. A small gold hand with the middle finger extended. Worn by a gentleman wearing what looked like a very expensive tailored suit. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-tie-clip/528646/3 "2010-02-12T03:02:10Z")
I wear one occasionally, as do several other men in my office. One bloke wears one every day. Mine has my school crest on it. ---
**Author:** ![JSexton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@JSexton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JSexton)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-tie-clip/528646/4 "2010-02-12T03:39:45Z")
I wear one every time I wear a tie. I wasn’t aware that there were out of fashion. If I don’t, the skinny end always sticks out or something. That’s got a to be a worse faux pas than the clip. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-tie-clip/528646/5 "2010-02-12T03:56:40Z")
I prefer tie tacks. Clips tend to fall out. But I don’t wear ties too often. They probably went the way of the cufflink. ---
**Author:** ![Todderbob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47774/32.png) [@Todderbob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Todderbob)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-tie-clip/528646/6 "2010-02-12T04:01:02Z")
I don’t wear one when I wear a tie, but that’s more because people are lucky I wear a pair shoes, much less a tie. I’m crotchety, what can I say? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-tie-clip/528646/7 "2010-02-12T04:05:52Z")
I think the [tie chain](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tie_chain#Tie_chain) is more popular now. More practical, too – keeps the tie in place while allowing a bit of slide. A tie pin damages the fabric, however slightly. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-tie-clip/528646/8 "2010-02-12T04:44:58Z")
I’ve given Himself several vintage Masonic ones. Actually, there was an article in Slate not too long ago about the death of the tie clip - [here.](http://www.slate.com/id/2167134/) It seems odd to me that men, having so few outlets for sartorial expression, would lose one. ---
**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:** [February 12, 2010, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-tie-clip/528646/9 "2010-02-12T05:05:24Z")
> [@JSexton](#): > > If I don’t, the skinny end always sticks out or something. That’s got a to be a worse faux pas than the clip. Even without a tie clip, you can tuck the skinny end through the label on the fat end to keep it hidden. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-tie-clip/528646/10 "2010-02-12T05:11:13Z")
I first started wearing suits regularly in the mid 80s I was informed by the haberdashers I outfitted myself with that tie clips and tie tacs were out of fashion. Ties should fly in the wind. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-tie-clip/528646/11 "2010-02-12T05:25:51Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Even without a tie clip, you can tuck the skinny end through the label on the fat end to keep it hidden. In the late 80s through the mid 90s, I wore a suit and tie for work. I used to wear a tie tack, because the way in which I tied my ties tended to leave the skinny end too short to fit through the label (or the little fabric “keeper” that some ties had specifically for that purpose). As BrainGlutton notes, the tack _did_ leave little holes in the ties. I don’t wear ties often anymore, but I’ve since learned how to tie my tie a bit differently, and now the skinny end is long enough to fit through the “keeper”. So, I don’t use a tie tack any longer. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-tie-clip/528646/12 "2010-02-12T06:00:57Z")
I was told in 1981, as a trainee fresh from college, that only old men wore tie clips and so eschewed their use. I’m 51 now. Do I get to put it back on? ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-tie-clip/528646/13 "2010-02-12T06:08:24Z")
Not just tie clips, but tie tacks as well. I’ve got a handcuffs tie tack, but can’t remember the last time I wore it. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-tie-clip/528646/14 "2010-02-12T06:13:49Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > They probably went the way of the cufflink. Where do you work? Cuff links are more popular now than they’ve ever been. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-tie-clip/528646/15 "2010-02-12T07:38:55Z")
I had a tie clip of a slide rule, with a cursor which moved. But it fell apart, and when I wear ties, which has gotten to less than once a year now, I wear my tie pins, including one I got at my bar mitzvah 45 years ago. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-tie-clip/528646/16 "2010-02-12T12:45:56Z")
> [@Cunctator](#): > > Where do you work? Cuff links are more popular now than they’ve ever been. I usually wear short sleeve shirts, so I had to get my wrists pierced to wear cuff links. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-tie-clip/528646/17 "2010-02-12T12:55:57Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > I first started wearing suits regularly in the mid 80s I was informed by the haberdashers I outfitted myself with that tie clips and tie tacs were out of fashion. Ties should fly in the wind. I think you were misled. As a young hipster professional in the late 80s I wore tie tacks all the time. As I recall, we regarded them as cool retro throwbacks to the early 60s. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-tie-clip/528646/18 "2010-02-12T13:18:32Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > I think the [tie chain](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tie_chain#Tie_chain) is more popular now. More practical, too – keeps the tie in place while allowing a bit of slide. A tie pin damages the fabric, however slightly. Yes, I agree on all accounts. I have several tacks and chains, but almost exclusively wear a chain (although I rarely get to wear a tie any more.) ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-tie-clip/528646/19 "2010-02-12T15:50:17Z")
I don’t often wear one these days, but I did wear a silver tone one with the black-tie-on-black-shirt Navy uniform (commonly called Johnny Cashes). That was a sharp look. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-tie-clip/528646/20 "2010-02-12T16:01:57Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > Anyway I got to thinking, what happened to tie clips? **Chris Isaak** , the musician, has them. I think he collects vintage ones; either way, he has a couple of stylin’ blazers that he regularly wears where the lapels are edged with hundreds of freakin’ tie clips…I tried to find a pic but my search-fu was weak… [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-tie-clip/528646.md?page=2)