Reader Question(s)

Reader:

What's up man, 2 questions...

1. I'm feeling the whole tie bar look and just got a pretty sweet one off of amazon.com...The more I rock it, the more I am realizing that I could have gotten a much better one. Mine is a little lengthy and isn't the kind that snaps into place, thus sliding it over the tie is a little annoying. Can you link/recommend any better alternatives that wont break the bank?

2. When you get your suit pants/slacks altered do you have the leg taken in, and if so what width do you ask for, i.e. 8 inches, 9 inches?

SB:

Hey, thanks for reading!

1. There are thousands of tie bars out there, of all lengths and widths. Some have engravings, some are even "bejeweled". My advice is to keep it simple...as simple as possible. Go with a narrow silver tie bar, 2 inches long (ideally you want your bar to reach perfectly across the width of your tie, no shorter, no longer). The one I wear is by Tiffany & Co. It is 100% .925 silver which will last longer than I will, and will not go out of style any sooner. Find it here. J. Crew has a similar one which is a little cheaper. Some guys get it engraved with their last name or something inspirational, but in my opinion this looks tacky. If you feel the need to mark your territory do it on the underside where it is concealed but just as much "yours".

Photo via GQ.com

2. I usually try to buy pants that are already tapered down in the ankle, but if you find a pair that you really like and they are not slim enough through the leg, yes you can have them tapered by your tailor. Just make sure you go to a good tailor because it can be tricky to make the tapper look natural. I wear my pants slimmer than most American men at about 7-7.5" across the hem, I recommend to most guys to go with an 8" ankle to be "safe".

Hope this helps. Yours in style, SB.