Your Tie Guide
Fit & style

Tie bars and pocket squares

A tie bar keeps your tie in place, and a pocket square adds a little colour to your jacket. Both look best when they sit in the right place and work with the tie instead of matching it exactly.

A man in a grey suit and burgundy tie with a silver tie bar and a patterned pocket square

Tie bar

  • Clip it between the third and fourth shirt buttons, at about mid-chest. Worn higher, up near the knot, it competes with the knot and looks cluttered.
  • It should be a little narrower than the tie. A bar that sticks out past the edges of the tie looks out of proportion.
  • Clip both ends of the tie to the shirt behind them. Leave a little slack above the bar, so the tie falls naturally from the knot instead of being pinned flat against your chest.
  • Keep it plain, in silver or gold.
  • Wear it straight across with a suit. With a more casual outfit it can sit at a slight angle.

When to wear a tie bar

  • With a suit at work, to keep the tie in place.
  • At a job interview only if it is over a meal. Otherwise you have no need for one.

When to leave the tie bar off

  • With a waistcoat, unless the bar is hidden under it. The waistcoat already holds the tie.
  • Novelty bars with big logos or cartoon figures.

Pocket square

  • It should go with the tie, not match it. An exact match, or a tie and square sold as a set, looks stiff, as if someone else chose your outfit.
  • An easy way to link them is to pick a colour from the pocket square and repeat it in the tie, such as a burgundy tie with a square that has some burgundy in its pattern.
  • If the tie has a pattern, pick a plain pocket square, and the other way round. If both are patterned, make one pattern large and the other small so they do not fight for attention.

When to wear a pocket square

  • Any time you wear a jacket. A white linen square goes with every tie.
  • At the office, white linen or cotton in a crisp fold. Shiny silk can look too much in a formal office.
  • At a job interview, white linen folded straight across.
  • At a wedding, a little colour or pattern is welcome, in a neat fold.
  • At a funeral, plain white in a simple fold.
  • With black tie or white tie, plain white linen.

When to leave the pocket square out

  • Without a jacket. The square belongs in the breast pocket of a jacket.
  • At a job interview, if you would rather play it safe.
  • At an interview for hands-on work, where you leave the tie at home too.