Taking Care of Your Ties: Pro Tips

Did you know that 94.6% of people who identify as butch also love ties?   I'll bet you didn't, because I just made that up.  But c'mon: ties are awesome.  My own partner's irrational distaste for ties notwithstanding, ties butch up an outfit, add color, and are just plain fun to wear.  I especially love plaid ones, and ties also happen to be the most popular section of the Butch Store, so I know I'm not alone.  

I don't know if it's because our fathers shared their fashion secrets with our brothers instead of us, but many butches have told me things along the lines of, "When it comes to ties, I don't know what I'm doing!  They seem so complicated to take care of!"  I'm here to alleviate your fears.  Check out the rest of this post and before you know it, your male friends will be coming to you for advice. 

First, because people are still asking me about the best ways to store their ties, I'll repeat a piece of advice I shared a few years ago.  There are only two good ways to store your ties.  ONLY two.  Here's an all-inclusive list:

1. You can roll them up and keep them on their side in a drawer.  This has the advantage of looking cool, but the disadvantage of making your ties a pain to put away.  You can use a tie box or some kind of drawer organizer.  
2. Even better, you can hang them, unknotted, on some kind of contraption designed for this purpose, such as an inexpensive tie hanger or a nice wooden rack.  

Here's a non-all-inclusive list of unacceptable ways to store your ties:

1. Hanging in your closet, knotted.
2. Lying on your bathroom counter, waiting to get toothpaste splattered on it.
3. Lying on your bed, waiting to be appropriated by your dogs for a tug-of-war match.
4. Bunched at the bottom of your satchel/briefcase/backpack.
5. Buried underground.
6. In the freezer.
7. Anywhere else.

And here are some other pro tips for keeping your ties in tip-top shape:

• When traveling, roll your ties and put them in the toes of your shoes to protect them.
• No tie tacks!  They put holes in your ties.  If you must use them, then put the tack through the little fabric keeper loop thing on the back of the tie and through your shirt. It'll still keep your tie in place.  
• You can dry-clean your ties, but they're likely to never be quite the same afterward, so try to avoid it.  
• For a heavily wrinkled tie, a handheld steamer is your best bet.  
• Never iron your ties (and don't let a dry cleaner iron your ties, either!), because it will mess up how the fabric lays and create little wrinkles on the sides of the tie.
• Avoid storing your ties anywhere that natural light can hit them.  Even though your ties will look awesome in a sunbeam, it will eventually fade the fabric and make your ties age more quickly.

Finally, dear readers, don't hesitate to thin your tie collection as your personal style evolves and changes.  If a tie is out of fashion, or you feel at all silly wearing it, or you feel like it would look better on your father, get rid of it!  There's something undeniably butch and lovely about having a bunch of ties to choose from,  but there's no sense in amassing ties that no longer fit your personality.  It's better to have 10-15 ties you like than a ton of ties you're just hanging onto and never wear.  If you don't love all your ties, you're much less likely to put effort into taking good care of them.

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