What comes around goes around. That is the case with mens narrow and skinny ties, which appeared at the start of the 20^th century, only to reemerge in the 1950’s and yet again in the 1980’s. And they are making a comeback again with the likes of Leonardo DeCaprio, Jeremy Piven, Will Arnett and other actors opting for skinny black ties with which to accessorize their tuxedos at the recent Golden Globes Awards.

Skinny Ties of the 20's

It is generally agreed that skinny neckties range in width from 1 to 3 inches across the widest part of the necktie. Both pointed and mens skinny square end ties during the first ten years of the 20^th century were slender, varying from 2 to 2 ½ inches wide. Some ties measuring as narrow as 1 ½ inches, referred to by people at the time as string ties. Much didn’t change the following decade due to war shortages associated with World War I. Thin ties in the area of 2 inches were worn into the late 20’s, but wouldn’t resurface again until the 1950’s.

In the interim, as notes Sarah Gibbings, in her book "The Tie: Trends and Traditions", the austerity of World War II left no money, no available materials or manufacturing base in Europe. This compelled British soldiers to look to the United States for a change, something to reflect their positive postwar aspirations. They wanted bright and bold, anything happy and upbeat. The United States responded with a trend toward the wide, flamboyant and extravagantly colored ties which went on to dominate the 40's and early 50's. Suit jacket lapels became wider and suits were buttoned lower, providing the open space necessary to display such a tie.

Skinny Ties of the 50's

By the mid 50’s, the American reaction to the Cold War, the Korean War and a recession subdued the American psyche. A more somber attitude was reflected in men’s fashion. Suits became more conservative, with tapered pants, smaller lapels and slimmer ties to match. Bright and bodacious color combinations were substituted by subtle patterns and solid colors. Thus the quintessential skinny black tie was reborn.

Skinny ties of the rockabilly era were popular among teenagers who idolized stars such as Elvis who regularly wore skinny ties. By the mid 60's ties as skinny as 1 inch were worn by conservative men and college students alike.

Skinny Ties of the 80's

Skinny neckties made another appearance in the 80's, particularly in the new wave music scene, which was a rejection of the florid and excessive style of the 70’s.

Skinny Ties Are Popular Today

Skinny ties are popular again. Just the other night attorney Anthony Romero, executive director of the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) made an appearance on the Colbert Report sporting a dark skinny tie. During the segment Stephen Colbert challenged him to find something wrong with him. After a quick glance at the Colbert’s broad yellow foulard patterned tie, Romero quickly replied, “That tie is not my favorite”, which predictably brought plenty of laughs at the host’s expense.

While there is certainly room for all styles of ties to match one’s own taste and comfort level, there will always be something striking about the sleek and slender look of a well dressed man wearing a distinctive skinny tie.They are available online when searching for "vintage skinny ties". Try one today!

January 2009

Skinny Ties Are Making A Comeback by Strangelittlebird is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.