There Are (Only) Two Good Ways to Store Your Ties.

My DGF and I had Christmas dinner this year with our good friends, C&D.  C is the butch buddy I sometimes reference in my posts; D is her wife.  Since I met her a few years ago, C has been a mentor to me in many ways.  She, too, used to be married to a man.  She, too, appreciates a well-cut men's shirt.  We even work in similar fields.  But on Christmas, I learned something about C that left me aghast: After she wears a particular tie, she takes it off over her head, leaving it knotted knotted, and hangs it in her closet like that.

If a butch's butch like C is engaging in this kind of sartorial tomfoolery, I bet some other readers can benefit from a little tie storage advice, too. 

There are two acceptable ways to store a tie.  The best way is to unknot it and drape it over a prong on a tie rack right after wearing it .  You don't need anything expensive; I use this one, which is perfectly serviceable ($6.99).  Skip your morning latte for two or three days and treat yourself to one of these.  I hang it on a wall in my bedroom.  (Here's a more attractive version.)  If you're short on wall space and need something that will fit in your closet, this is pretty functional ($4.50).  I avoid this kind because ties slip off too easily (and don't put your ties on regular hangers--they'll slip off).  If you want to be extra butchy, make your own!

Hanging your ties will keep them crisp.  After three days or so, most wrinkles will begin to fade.  Storing your tie in its knotted form will create long-lasting wrinkles that will shorten the life of your tie and eventually look sloppy.  Yeah, I know you don't like tying your tie.  Suck it up.

Photo from www.closet-doctor.com.

The second best way to store your ties is by rolling them loosely and putting them in a box or drawer.  You can even buy boxes designed for this purpose.  And actually, if you happen to have any knit ties, this is how you should always store them, since hanging can stretch them out. 

There you have it.  Two acceptable ways to store your ties.  Not tied and hung on the bedroom doorknob, not hastily flung onto the bathroom floor (although occasionally it may be necessary to hastily fling a tie onto the bedroom floor...), and not wadded at the back of your sock drawer.  If you don't yet know how to tie a tie (and don't have a DXH or butch buddy to show you), these videos + a bunch of practice should do the trick.

---