When working within the confines of a corporate dress code, it feels like our tie is one of the few fashion items we can use to show our personality. While colour psychology can say a lot about you as a person, is it possible that your brightly coloured, patterned or cartoon character tie is giving off the wrong vibe?

One of the key problems we find with ties is that they’re considered as a wardrobe staple and matched to your suits and shirts. How often do you go into a store and buy the ties you like the most without checking they don’t clash first?

Colour matching your ties is one of the best ways of ensuring they complement your business wear

 Matching your tie to your clothing, and not your clothing to your tie is the key advice we have for you here. That means shopping carefully with a good idea of the shirts and suits you’ll be teaming those ties up with (or better yet, buying everything from the same place at the same time!)

We know it isn’t always possible to shop in your suit, so there are some basic tips on getting it right with a little consideration.

Understand the principles of colour

A simple colour wheel is a great way of working out which colours work well together.

Similar colours are next to each other on the wheel. That means you can safely choose a tie either side of that base colour knowing it’ll work well.

Complimentary colours are those that are opposite each other on the wheel. It can be difficult to get these colour combinations right (bright orange against bright blue, for example). Take care when opting for complementary colours and consider lighter shades where possible.

Contrasting colours have three other colours between them, so blue and red is a good example. Opting for darker shades works better when opting for this approach as the true shades can be tricky to get right.

Get your necktie proportions right

We’re talking about the width and length of your tie in relation to your body build.

A larger gentleman is going to look best with a wider than average tie that’s long (down to the belt buckle) than a short tie designed for smaller men, and vice versa.

That means buying off the peg ties isn’t always the best option for everyone. Speciality online retailers are great for finding ties with the right proportions, but a good rule of thumb for an average sized guy is a width of 3 – 3.75 inches.

Next time you go shopping for ties bear our advice in mind to avoid creating a fashion faux pas in the office.

You can discover our range of handmade ties here and make sure you’ve signed up for our newsletter to receive your complimentary discount.

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