For ties, does anybody else think Four-In-Hand knot looks so ugly?

I always thought the four-in-hand was ugly. It's small, asymmetrical, and just looks sloppy. I would never wear one myself, and I see people having this type of look in their LinkedIn profile pics, and arriving to superdays with this knot.

After researching more into it, I discovered that the four-in-hand knot is considered the simplest, most basic type of tie knot (requiring only 5 motions), and that it's supposed to be only for casual events, like a Friday afternoon.

Coincidentally, every person I've met, who favours the four-in-hand knot to the point they would use it for their LinkedIn pic, was also sloppy in other aspects of their appearance / work output.

Has anybody else shared these experiences? Maybe there's something I'm missing, open to hearing your thoughts on the four-in-hand knot, and why you might prefer/not prefer this look.

10 Comments
 

Yeah not a fan of the four in hand at all, but eh, each to their own. I usually wear a half windsor if I have to wear a tie (but would prefer suit no tie if up to me)

 
Most Helpful

It really depends, in my opinion. Four in hands work for some type of people who tend to favor narrower collars, where a full Windsor would look huge and a half-Windsor might look a little out of place. Knots with quality ties with more folds can also start to look big if you go full Windsor.

In my opinion, it all comes down to your body build, face structure, etc + preferences. Being relatively tall and slim, a larger knot just starts to look weirdly big on me where a four in hand often ends up falling in the right proportions.

 

The four in hand is a great knot....If you're in high school.

Realistically, a half-windsor is ideal for most people. It's neat, symmetrical, good looking, and understated. Some people with wider necks can get away with a full windsor, but most of the time it just ends up looking too bulky. Most novelty knots, like the eldredge mentioned above, end up making you look like a pompous d**che. (I know that comment was a joke, btw.)

I'm also a fan of skipping the tie. Since I'm buy-side and non client facing that is my standard, even in the rare occasion when I put on a suit. Seriously, I met a team from Goldman in khakis and a sweater once. That's a power move. A four in hand says, 'I don't want to wear a tie, but one of my superiors made me.'

The only difference between Asset Management and Investment Research is assets. I generally see somebody I know on TV on Bloomberg/CNBC etc. once or twice a week. This sounds cool, until I remind myself that I see somebody I know on ESPN five days a week.
 

Stabbing myself in the eyes with shards of glass, just after pouring acid into them only to rub sand in my eyes, would be less painful than to watch someone wear a four-in-hand.
I wouldn't even hang myself from a tree with a four-in-hand tie.

It's a very sloppy way of tying your tie, and 98% of people wearing a four-in-hand will look like a bum with their stupid uneven tie.

So yea, completely a no-go for me.

 

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