What’s the most professional necktie knot?

Have you ever asked yourself that question?

Well, I’m sure most of you have at one point or another. And you are certainly not alone.

It is clear after all, that neckties have what we could call a professional origin.

I mean, from the moment the old cravat became what we currently call a necktie, it has always been considered a dressier item of a man’s wardrobe.

Is classier necessarily a synonym of professional?

Hmmm… perhaps not, so I may be mixing some distantly related terms here.

But one thing is for sure: nowadays, in the world we live in, neckties are 100% considered a professional accessory for men.

Having clarified that, in the most confusing manner I could, let’s get down to business and answer the question:

Which Necktie Knot Can Be Considered The Most Professional?

Okay, answering this will be a bit of an elimination game. And the actual final response I will be sharing in this post will be heavily influenced by my own personal, subjective and biased opinion.

I just wanted to you to point that out.

Not Any “New” Knot, For Sure

You have seen these fancy, crazy, new original knots that some men choose to wear.

The Eldredge. the Trinity and the Fishbone knots come to mind.

I don’t particularly love them, as I do favor the more classic, well-established necktie knots for my personal looks.

But I’m sure many men out there enjoying trying new things, yes, even within the classic menswear realm and we are not here to judge anyone else’s choices.

You buy a cool necktie, you want to come up with cool ways to wear it. I understand it.

One thing that not even the biggest fans of these knots can seriously claim is that any of these necktie knot options is the most professional-looking one.

Actually, they’re not even meant to be professional!

That is precisely the point of their invention, to live outside the realm of the ordinary.

So we can safely discard these knots and stick with our classics.

The Contenders For Most Professional Knot

So as we agreed in the previous section of this post, we will keep it simple and focus on three of the most well-known classic knots:

• The Windsor Knot
• The Prince Albert Knot
• The Four-In-Hand Knot

The Windsor Knot

Big and bold.

You can always rest assured that you will make an impact when choosing to wear a Windsor knot with your suit and tie combos.

Whether it’s in a professional setting or otherwise, you will attract a lot of attention.

Which can be a good thing, depending on the industry you work for.

Or it can be just a bit too much for other certain industries.

The thing is, the Windsor knot really doesn’t like going for balanced approaches. It’s just not its thing. It is not in its nature.

It’s all BIG and BOLD with the Windsor.

The Prince Albert Knot

Assymetrical and original.

Although easily overlooked for not being as visually impressive (see Windsor above), when you get a trained eye to identify the key features of a well-tied Prince Albert knot, you will discover why it is as popular as it is and understand its versatility.

It is not a large knot, but it is not a small knot either.

The Prince Albert knot asks for respect, but doesn’t demand it.

Looking for a balanced knot that can is professional but not too corporate? This may be the one.

The Four-In-Hand Knot

Last in this short list comes the Four-In-Hand.

A super famous knot. In fact, I think for most of us this is the knot we learned how to tie first. It is extremely easy to tie and takes no time to master it.

It is a rather small, very tight knot with not a lot of body to it (for lack of a better term here).

Small doesn’t necessarily mean bad. Not at all.

Although I do favor bigger, wider ties for Ed Ruiz Menswear designs, this doesn’t mean this is a style rule or anything, just personal preferences and idiosincracies are at play as well.

But speaking of business and other professional settings, the Four-In-Hand knot can indeed end up being a bit too underwhelming.

It seems to just be there. Sure, a tie is better than no tie and any knot will do the trick, but you might as well go one step beyond… and I’m not sure the 4-In-Hand does precisely that.

Read also: 3 Common Myths About Neckties Debunked!

Seriously, What About Other Knots?

I know, I know. Many of you will still feel like some other knots should be considered for this guide to find the most professional necktie knot, but I really feel these three were the ones that stood a better chance.

But hey, you can feel free to leave a comment proposing a different knot and explaining why you feel that is the best tie knot for professonal settings.

Having clarified that, it is time to declare a winner…

…and the winner of the most professional necktie is…

*drum roll*

THE PRINCE ALBERT KNOT

Granted, there is a little bit of a bias here since the Prince Albert has been my favorite knot for a very long time.

But it’s precisely the reasons why I love it so much that I can also safely consider it the most accomplished necktie knot for professional settings.

It is versatile, it has enough consistency to it, it packs a punch without delivering a full knockout.

It is balanced. Asks for respect in business-like settings and hints at other men’s style enthusiasts that you know what you’re doing.

No matter how many good reasons I give here to justify my response, this is after all, just my opinion.

What’s Your Necktie Knot Choice For Professional Affairs?

It’s your turn.

Leave comment below explaining which is your favorite tie knot to look your best when being and looking professional is key.

It can be either one of the three covered here or you can add another option in your comment. What matter is that we get the discussion going.

Thank you for reading.

 

Stay classy,

 

Ed.