52 of 100: Necktie knots

This book on necks (which I mentioned in yesterday's post) threw me for a loop today when it stated—astonishingly—that there are over a hundred ways to tie a necktie. What??? That's not possible! 

For one thing, in my (admittedly limited) experience (not ever having had to wear one), there are exactly two ways to tie a necktie: the what I will call "simple" way and the way that my husband favors, the Windsor knot way. 

But no: although I will still (after some research) not go so far as to say there are over a hundred ways, there are, indeed, many ways to tie a necktie. In a couple of mathematical modelers' findings, there are exactly 85 ways. But more reasonably, there are maybe ten, twelve:

I mean, granted, they all look pretty similar (until you get to that wacky bottom row). But yeah, I do find some of them sexier than others. And isn't that part of what a tie is all about? Getting you to look at a man's vulnerable neck? Whether to lust after it or to assess its worthiness for a fight to the death, who's to say.

This all comes up in the neck book when talking about the 2008 presidential candidates: 

Candidate Barack Obama sported a tie with a four-in-hand knot, “an awkward and asymmetrical cinch invented by 19th-century carriage drivers (who held four reins in hand).” He displayed “a knot for the masses.” By contrast, Obama’s opponent, John McCain, wore a symmetrical, triangular Windsor knot, which “screamed old-guard Washington establishment.” 

I do find myself admiring ties on TV and in the movies—the materials, the textures, the patterns. There are some really beautiful ties out in the world. I can't find any especially good examples online, but here's a set of four ties that Detective David Mills (Brad Pitt) wears in SE7EN, and they pretty much qualify as, well, eye-catching at least:

Though in all this time, I've never noticed the knots. I'll have to pay more attention.

Here's a video on the ONLY 5 neckties you need to own (and 3 to avoid):

(a) I find it amusing that people get worked up about this, and (b) check out the knots! They're different! 

And then there's the YouTube station "The Tie Tutorial," which presents 90+ ways to tie a tie, one knot at a time. That took dedication.

And really, that's all I have to say on the subject (because no, I'm not going to mention Trump and his ridiculous long red tie—and really, who cares what knot he favors).