The Shapes of Men's Skinny Ties Make Shopping Fun

When you think of men’s skinny ties, you might think of the Mad Men hit TV show and might have seen friends and colleagues attracted to the newest fashion trend to wear slimmer ties. You might even be wearing skinny ties as a fashion statement or just because they look good on you. If you are part of the older crowd, you may remember wearing skinny ties as a teenager, both in the 50’s, 60’s and 80’s. Designers such as Calvin Klein offer new skinny ties as thinner versions of their normal seasonal necktie collections, and they all have tips, which is to say the end of the ties taper to a point. Most of these ties are 2 ½ to 3 inches wide. However, a far greater variety of skinny ties are available for anyone interested in expanding their collection. Skinny ties are as thin as 1 inch, and their ends can be tipped, rounded and square end.

Tipped & Square End Ties

Men’s skinny ties first appeared at the start of the 20^th century. Some had tips; others were flat at the ends. Fashion trends after World War I called for broader ties, which widened even more after World War II with some ties as wide as 4 ¾ inches. Major fashion houses intervened again and by the mid 50’s and well into the 60’s skinny ties were in vogue, both tipped and square end. The ties were made of various fabrics, including silk, polyester, wool, acetate, rayon as well as blends. Some neckties were crochet knits.

Ralph Marlin & Fish Shaped Ties

By the time narrow neckties were fashionable again in the 1980’s, various novelty tie manufacturers decided to think outside the box. The Ralph Marlin Company in particular began the manufacture of neckwear in 1986 with the introduction of fish shaped ties. Some had funky names such as “Holy Mackerel”. All of the ties had rounded ends to follow the shape of the head of the various fish.

Rounded Ties Everywhere

Other necktie manufactures have also designed ties with rounded ends. Some of the Christmas holiday neckties feature a reindeer with a rounded outline of the reindeer’s face located by the bottom of the tie. Rounded ties are most often found on novelty ties. Necktie manufacturers feel free to take liberties with novelty ties, which are often worn casually and have fun and funny themes. There is no one way to find ties with rounded ends, and searching for novelty ties is your best bet.

Narrow ties with tips are easy to find. Men’s ties without tips can be found online when searching for “square end ties” although they have also been listed as "flat bottom" ties and "square bottom" ties at auction sites. Most all of today’s square end ties are machine knit, whereas vintage versions were also made of standard fabrics as are today’s ties.

For the largest selection and greatest variety it’s a good idea to look online for both new and “vintage skinny ties”, “square end ties” and “skinny novelty ties”. The possibilities are endless!