Ties have been ditched by politicians, princes and businessmen trying to appear as men of the people, but women are bringing the simple silk strip back to the forefront of fashion.
Nicole Kidman pushed the trend into overdrive at last month’s Critics Choice Awards, followed by Michelle Pfeiffer in the Saint Laurent advertising campaign, wearing ties with baggy suits and shirts. Now half-Windsor and four-in-hand knots are part of working and partying women’s getting-ready routine.
“More women are incorporating ties into their wardrobes, not just as an accessory but as a statement,” says Joshua Reyes, creative director of Oscar Hunt tailors. “It’s less about tradition and more about personal style.”
(From left) Melania Trump at Capitol Hill, Nicole Kidman at the Critics Choice Awards, Ayo Edibiri at the Golden Globes, and Rihanna at A$AP Rocky’s birthday celebrations suit themselves in ties.Credit: AP, Getty Images, Supplied
“People are embracing pieces that suit their character rather than convention. A well-chosen tie does that for everyone by adding polish.”
US first lady Melania Trump is on board, wearing a tie with a Ralph Lauren three-piece suit to Capitol Hill this month. Rihanna embraced the trend at her partner A$AP Rocky’s birthday celebrations, as did supermodel Rosie Huntington-Whiteley in the front row at Paris Fashion Week for the Saint Laurent show.
White-collar gender fluidity is helping to drive tie sales, with luxury e-tailer Mr Porter reporting a year-on-year increase of 26 per cent in 2024.
Women and men are making an equal contribution to growing sales for second-hand tie specialist James Nolen’s online business Mr Smart Melbourne.
“Women buying men’s clothing is just normal here,” Nolen says.
“Women are immersing themselves in ties again. For a long time, people were only interested in skinny seven-centimetre ties, but now they’ve returned to the more traditional nine-centimetre tie. I have an 11.5-centimetre Dior tie, but that might be too big.”
Melbourne designer Effie Kats in her husband’s suit jacket, shirt and tie at the AMG-Mercedes Lounge at the Australian Grand Prix.
Minutes later Nolen messages me to say that the wide Dior tie has been sold to a customer in Perth.
“Most women are after that classic, regimental preppy look, but once people start exploring ties, they can’t stop.”
The tie tentatively returned to the womenswear runway two years ago in Paris at the Valentino show, gathering as much momentum as the cerulean blue jumper in Meryl Streep’s The Devil Wears Prada monologue, before appearing in recent shows from Saint Laurent, Schiaparelli and Vaquera.
Like all things in fashion, its roots stretch back further. In the Edwardian era suffragettes adopted the tie as a symbol of equality. Marlene Dietrich enhanced her sex appeal with ties and suiting in the 1930s, while Diane Keaton in the 1977 movie Annie Hall revived their popularity for women.
At the Golden Globes in February actor Ayo Edebiri paid tribute to Julia Roberts’ famous red carpet suit and tie look from 1990, keeping the fashion cycle spinning.
“Sometimes a tie can make you feel powerful and grounded,” says designer Effie Kats, who specialises in ultra-feminine evening wear. “I’m obsessed with the masculine energy that has come into womenswear on the runway. All the cool girls in Europe are doing it.”
Kats donned a tie to attend the AMG-Mercedes Lounge at the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne.
“Everything from the waist up was from my husband’s side of the wardrobe,” says Kats, who paired corporate pieces with denim and high heels.
When it came to tying the knot, Kats needed no further help from her husband. “I was a Catholic schoolgirl. I have muscle memory. In fact, my knots are better than his.”
How to tie a Four-In-Hand Knot – the workhorse of knots
- Start with the seam facing down, the wide end on your right and the narrow end on your left. The wide end sits lower than the narrow end.
- Cross the wide end over the narrow end to the left.
- Cross underneath the narrow end to the right.
- Cross over the narrow end to the left.
- Bring the wide end under and over the neck loop.
- Bring the wide end down through the loop you’ve made to form a knot.
- Pull down on the wide end to tighten and then slide the knot up.
How to tie a Reverse Half Windsor Knot – a simple step up
- Place the tie with the seam up, with the narrow end on your left and the wider end sitting lower on the right.
- Cross the wide over the narrow end to the left.
- Bring the wide end up toward the neck loop.
- Bring the wide end through the neck loop and to the left.
- Bring the wide end across the narrow end to the right.
- Bring the wide end underneath the neck loop.
- Bring the wide end down through the loop you’ve made to form the knot.
- Pull down on the wide end to tighten and then slide the knot up.
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