How to Wear a Tie Clip or Tie Bar

I offer a choice of three lengths in my tie bars / tie clips currently. One of the questions I often get asked (most frequently by brides purchasing a surprise gift for their groom/groomsmen), is “what length should I choose?”. So I thought quick guide would be useful.

My tie bars are sized roughly ¼ inch wide by:

• 2.5 inches length for “Traditional old-style ties”
• 2 inches length for more “Modern ties”
• 1.5 inches length for “Skinny ties”

Below are two Steampunk tie clips which are 2.5 inch and 1.5 inch length:

Ties are generally sold in a range of widths, with the older style ties being the “fattest” or widest – which I call “Traditional” above. More modern ties that you will find in most department stores these days are generally in between these “fat” ties and “skinny” ties in width.

The best thing to do is to literally measure the width of the tie roughly where the tie bar is likely to be worn, and then choose a tie bar length that is about ¾ of this length - So that when the tie bar is worn on the tie, a little bit of the “tie” shows beyond the end of the tie bar (see pictorial below).

If you are not purchasing for a specific/bespoke tie, the "Modern style" 2 inch length tie bar is the most versatile and will suit most modern ties. This is also by far the length I sell most of. 

As always there is a lot of variation in how tie bars are worn. So there is no 'hard & fast rule'. This is simply a rough guide.