Do I honestly *need* a black (long) tie?
I'm updating/adding to my ties for work. I feel like a black long tie is a funeral-only sort of thing, as it would clash with my navy suits and make for a really somber combination with my charcoal suit. Is it a "most own" piece?
7 Replies
hardly an authority on suiting but black knit might be a little more casual?
Unless the invite says "black tie only" and even then that's flexible now
I think I can count the number of black ties I’ve seen in the last 5 years on 1 hand (one of which was today). You don’t need one
they'll be back in fashion in like 5 years, lol
Definitely not. A plain black silk tie is a real oddball.
Black plain silk ties are kind of like black tailoring. You want black? Get charcoal, it'll do what you want and look way better, most of the time.
With that said, I love my black grenadine tie. I think it rides the line.
Furthermore, a black knit tie is fairly classic, even if I personally don't like them.
Further furthermore, you can get a black tie with a design. This is actually one of my favorites, it's a 7-fold black tie with orange paisley that I wear fairly casually / in a happy setting: https://imgur.com/x4j7n1M
So basically I treat black long ties similarly to black tailoring: either go charcoal, or add texture or other visual interest.
But overall you can skip the entire set of black long ties if they're not your thing, you will never need one in your life. There may be times for somber conservative ties but there are many non-black options.