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Tie Tips & Tricks

After getting into the habit of wearing ties on a more regular basis, you will probably notice that they somehow seem to “wear off” a little bit. That may be due to improper care or things beyond your reach, for example, getting food or beverages spilled on your favorite tie.

That is why I wanted to give you a few suggestions as to how to take care of your tie to make sure that you will be able to wear and preserve it for quite some time to come!

How to Properly Untie Your Tie

A very common mistake a beginner makes when learning how to tie a tie is that once you get that first knot done right, you would never even think about untying your tie at the end of the day. Instead, you would probably prefer to make the loop just big enough to pull your head out and hang the tied tie on a clothes hanger or over the back of a chair.

Unfortunately, that is the most damaging thing you could ever do to your tie. What you would rather want to do is to properly untie your tie.

However, this is where half the nation – yes, beginners and folks who have worn ties for quite some time alike – commit the second gravest sin when it comes to untying any tie. That is to just rip it off by the time you get home.

Paying a little attention is key here, though, as doing the opposite will definitely ruin your tie – rather sooner than later.

Instead of hastily tearing and yanking a tie from your neck, repeat all of the steps you followed to tie your tie but now do so in reverse order! Step #7 becomes #1, step #6 becomes #2 and so on…

While this process might not necessarily save you an extra minute each evening, it will definitely save you your precious tie and your hard-money that you would have to spend on new ties every couple of weeks.

Remember that as with all things precious, it is going the extra mile to make it last, to keep it coming, to keep happening!

“Instead of hastily tearing and yanking to remove your tie from your neck, take the time to repeat all of the steps you followed to tie your tie but now do so in reverse order!”
How to Quickly Get Rid Of Tie Wrinkles

After untying your tie, especially when your tie is made of thick and heavy silk, you will probably notice that there are wrinkles that make it look very worn and used – even though you have only worn that tie for only a couple of hours.

However, there is something you can do to get rid of that problem overnight. Basically, all you do is to wrap the tie around your hand, then put it onto a table or into a drawer and let it rest for a while.

To help you understand I took some pictures with a digital camera. Here is what you would do:

wrinkles

1) Hold the narrow end of your tie with your thumb as shown on the picture above, while letting the wide end hang down to the floor.

2) Wrap the wide end around your hand several times.

3) Take the wrapped-up tie and place it on a flat surface.

You will see that after only a few hours all of the wrinkles will be gone and your tie looks as fresh and new as if you had just purchased it at a store!

By the way, wrapping up your ties is also great while on travel to prevent the ties from being damaged in a tightly-packed suitcase.

To quickly get rid of tie wrinkles, hold the narrow end of your tie with your thumb, wrap the wide end around your hand and then place the wrapped-up tie on a flat surface for a couple of hours!”
How to Treat Tie Stains

One of the moments every tie-wearing guy worries about is to get food or beverages spilled on your favorite tie.

That is because chances are 9 out of 10 that that stain permanently ruins your tie as the majority of ties is made of silk, a very unforgiving type of cloth when it comes into contact with coffee, Coke or ketchup!

As silk is a very delicate material, applying stain-removers will only make matters worse. The only thing that I recommend you do is to take your stained tie to your local dry cleaner and ask them for help.

While dry-cleaning will remove the stain in most every case, there is one major downside to it: The shiny look and feel of your tie will be gone, too!

Therefore, really make every effort to protect your tie during meals, e.g., by covering it using a large napkin or removing it if appropriate.

Never treat tie stains with stain-remover! Instead, take the stained tie to your local dry cleaner and let them see to the problem. Keep in mind, though, that while dry-cleaning removes the stain it will also destroy your tie’s shiny look and feel.