# Ties and college students



## Groceryman23 (Nov 10, 2007)

I am a freshman in college. Very few other students wear ties, I on the other hand would like to wear a tie. What is a good way for a college student to wear a tie? Also, please keep in mind that I am on a rather limited budget. Is it acceptable to wear a tie with levi 501's? I appreciate any help that you offer.


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## Patrick06790 (Apr 10, 2005)

Since you're going to stick out, I'd stick to the recognized collegiate style of yesteryear - skinnier striped repp ties, buttondown collars, chinos, loafers, navy blazer or tweed jacket. That way you can just claim to be in "retro" or "throwback" mode. Crewneck sweaters, jeans, boat shoes for more casual times.

I've recently observed the modern college student in its natural habitat and all I can say is "Good Luck."


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## huysmans (Nov 5, 2007)

If you do not wish to say which school in particular you go to, at least mention what sort of school you go to. I went to college at NYU, in the heart of NYC, and while many people did not wear ties, no one batted an eye when I did, even when I wore three-piece suits to lecture. I wore what I wanted and what I felt comfortable wearing, you should do the same. As for a tie with jeans - I only do it with a blazer or a v-neck/quarter-zip sweater.


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## vwguy (Jul 23, 2004)

Get yourself some OCBDs (oxford cloth button downs) from Lands' End for 19.95 each (white, blue, blue & white stripe) and pick up some of their ties in the Overstock section. You could wear them w/ jeans, but khakis would be a better look.

Brian


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## southernstunna (Mar 14, 2007)

Other than pledges, I've never seen anybody wear a tie to class here and we're considered a very preppy school. Just wait and wear your ties out to the bars and to football games and stuff; I just stick with polos and button downs to class.


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## Groceryman23 (Nov 10, 2007)

I attend a state school in Kansas. Most students here dress in hoodies and jeans. What is a repp tie? Thanks for the help. Also, does one need to wear a jacket with a tie?


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## PJC in NoVa (Jan 23, 2005)

"Repp" is a ribbed type of silk weave, often used to make striped ties like these in college colors by Robert Talbott:

eBay is a good source from which nice ties can often be had cheap.

IIRC, students at Washington & Lee and Hampden-Sydney in Virginia were known fairly recently (perhaps still are known?) for wearing ties to class.

If you stuck with simple classics like this shirt:

and this tie:

and these shoes:

https://www.llbean.com/webapp/wcs/s...01656&cat4=9908&shop_method=pp&feat=501656-tn

I'd say you could wear them with Levi's 501s and bring it off. The tie might be a conversation-starter with the coeds, even--who knows?


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## Acct2000 (Sep 24, 2005)

In your situation, no one will distinguish a repp tie from any other tie. They will just know that you are wearing a tie. You will look good in the eyes of those on your forum, but you could set yourself up as being a bit eccentric to your fellow students. Only you know if wearing a tie to class is that important to you.

I suppose wearing it with jeans would be no less unusual than wearing it with khakis in the eyes of your fellow students. To look more like an adult, you would not want to wear a tie with jeans unless it is truly a conscious fashion statement.

But you are young and have room to experiment. You probably are already aware that you might get some static from the rest of your herd.


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## Southern Comfort (Jul 25, 2007)

I think it also has a little to do with the climate. I went to school down at Texas, where 99% of the time it was too hot to wear anything other than shorts and polo. The MBAs always looked miserable and sweaty in their suits. Kansas can get some cool weather so I think you could pull off the OCBD and tie, even with jeans. I would opt not for the blazer though, seems a little pretentious, but that's just my opinion...


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## Groceryman23 (Nov 10, 2007)

The weather in Kansas gets cold enough that wearing a tie would present no problem. I will not wear a tie everyday, I just want to be able to know how to properly wear a tie. Thanks for the help.


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## septa (Mar 4, 2006)

If you want to "dress up" for class I would go with a tweed or corduroy jacket before I would put on a tie. An oxford cloth shirt, shetland sweater in a fun color like sky blue or light green, clark's desert boots and tweed or corduroy jacket worn with some dark wash, straight leg jeans (no light stonewash relaxed fit 'dad' jeans), and maybe a rakishly knotted scarf when it cools down will have the ladies flocking to you in no time, the guys will think you are cool and your profs will think you quite the "innalecshul". If you wear a tie thay may, may, think you are a little odd. You can wear proper trousers if you like, but I think this shifts the look from that of nonchalance to carefully studied something I, following the lead of Castiglione and his "Book of the Courtier", avoid at all costs. This was my everyday uniform for four years of college. Although I did go to a "preppy" liberal arts college in the notheast, I don't think this look would be out of place on any campus.


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## Acct2000 (Sep 24, 2005)

Someone better at posting links can probably give you the basics. 

Solid colored shirts are the safest. Most of the time, you would not wear the tie with jeans.

If you are going for the conventional look, the tie should hang down to your belt buckle.


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## Thomas (Jan 30, 2006)

I’m all for looking nice in class, but wearing a tie to one for no specific reason is just plain weird. More important than that, the chicks will think you’re weird. 

Just wear an oxford button down tucked into khakis with boat shoes or weejuns and you’ll be the best dressed kid in class.


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## Danny (Mar 24, 2005)

I wore ties in high school [by choice] and when I got to college I wore a bow tie to class the first day. Someone came up to me and asked what fraternity I was rushing for. I told him "None" I was just wearing a tie. He looked very confused.

The funny thing is that we got to be great friends and are still great friends.

Danny


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## Brownshoe (Mar 1, 2005)

I see you're in Wichita.

My condolences.

(Kidding--grew up there. I kid because I love. Well, "love" is a strong word...)


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## Thom Browne's Schooldays (Jul 29, 2007)

It really depends on the school, outside of frat/athletics picture days I can safely say that nobody at my large Midwestern school wears a tie.
I'd love to but you get too much guff for it, not pleasnt joking remarks from friends, but "what the hell are you thinking"-type ones.


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## tripreed (Dec 8, 2005)

Having started grad school this fall at a large public school, I've been doing a wardrobe assessment of my own. I was used to wearing ties several times a week and my job, and frankly, enjoyed it. I've been hesitant to do so lately, been have begun to try to work them in. 

I think the best way to start is by pair them with fairly casual items where they can be minimized. I wore one a couple of weeks ago with a v-neck sweater and that seemed to work pretty well. This past Saturday for the football game I wore one with an OCBD and wore a down vest over top. Since the weather has gotten colder and I don't have to worry about sweating on my way to class (unlike the first month and a half of school) I anticipate wearing ties more often.


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## Falstaff (Oct 18, 2007)

PJC in NoVa said:


> IIRC, students and Washington & Lee and Hampden-Sydney in Virginia were known fairly recently (perhaps still are known?) for wearing ties to class.


Unfortunately, no one wears ties at W&L anymore. People wore them through the mid 90's, but very, very rarely after that. That said, coat and tie is still required for many events on campus. But it is sadly not the bastion of formality that it once was, though students continue to dress up a great deal more than students on the vast majority of campuses.


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## tflaker (Jul 27, 2006)

Thom Browne's Schooldays said:


> It really depends on the school, outside of frat/athletics picture days I can safely say that nobody at my large Midwestern school wears a tie.
> I'd love to but you get too much guff for it, not pleasnt joking remarks from friends, but "what the hell are you thinking"-type ones.


+1 I would love to sport something similar to the look of Russel Crowe as John Nash in _A Beautiful Mind_ on the Princeton Campus, but at Mizzou, it would be equivalent to wearing a tuxedo to church. I get enough strange looks wearing jeans and a sweater or polo shirt. A tucked in button down with khaki shorts (in summer) is nearly suicide. Such is the nature of the beast.


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## Andy Roo (Jan 25, 2007)

Thom Browne's Schooldays said:


> It really depends on the school, outside of frat/athletics picture days I can safely say that nobody at my large Midwestern school wears a tie.
> I'd love to but you get too much guff for it, not pleasnt joking remarks from friends, but "what the hell are you thinking"-type ones.


You'll only hear compliments from strangers; the guff will all come from your friends. My friends already know I'm a weirdo, so I'm more likely to hear "Why _aren't_ you wearing a tie??"

Do as Patrick suggests. Ivy is the way to go, clothing-wise, anyway. Comfortable and practical.


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## tflaker (Jul 27, 2006)

I should mention though that, in my mind, the best time and place to start experimenting with casual tie wearing is when going out at night. Wearing a tie to class can almost say "Hey this is the coolest thing I'm doing today, so I got dressed up," whereas dressing up (albeit in a more casual manner) to go out is not viewed with such negative connotations.


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## Thom Browne's Schooldays (Jul 29, 2007)

Honestly, I'll tell people "oh I have to dress like this for work and didn't have time to change" even though I'm a sell-employed artisan.


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## marlinspike (Jun 4, 2007)

There's always Tie Friday (apparently several colleges have rings of students who do this). I say don't do it with levis though. If you're going to do it, do it all the way (suit is a bit much, but sport coat, dress shirt, slacks I think is good with a tie...I normally forgo the tie, but every now and then it comes out).


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## browning806 (Sep 4, 2007)

If you aim for more of a frat/prep then you can probably pull it off. 

Unfortunately Navy blazer and tie to class = pledge

A tie underneath a sweater and khakis at the bar could go over better.


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## Harry96 (Aug 3, 2005)

Groceryman23 said:


> I attend a state school in Kansas. Most students here dress in hoodies and jeans. What is a repp tie? Thanks for the help. Also, does one need to wear a jacket with a tie?


I did too, not that long ago. I wore a suit and tie or sportcoat/blazer and tie to class almost all the time, and no one really batted an eye; the most anyone said was to ask if I had a job interview or if I had to go to work later. I even wore seersucker suits in Spring and Summer.

I strongly suggest shopping for ties in thrift stores. If there's a certain color/pattern you want, try ebay.

This article is a good place to start for the basics:

https://www.lewrockwell.com/tucker/tucker38.html


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## Naval Gent (May 12, 2007)

Rent "Animal House". Watch it. Imitate.

Scott


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## sweetness360 (Dec 13, 2005)

I'm at school at Cornell and I wish we had opportunities to wear ties to class, but I've never seen it done except when kids have job interviews or presentations. That said, you can wear anything you want as long as you do it with confidence. More power to you if you can pull it off.


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## ignatiusofloyola (Nov 9, 2007)

A young technology manager at our firm had been coming to work in a white polo big shirt, jeans, and beat up shoes for some time. He began to make the transition to dressing like a grown up by buying a bunch of sport jackets at Banana Republic. Granted, this is not traditional casual dress but this kind of look goes well with jeans - and can help a person in a college millieu incrementally transition from hoodies in a manner that might not alienate his peers.

https://www.bananarepublic.com/browse/category.do?cid=14845


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## rsmeyer (May 14, 2006)

PJC in NoVa said:


> "Repp" is ribbed type of silk weave, often used to make striped ties like these in college colors by Robert Talbott:
> 
> eBay is a good source from which nice ties can often be had cheap.
> 
> ...


Some friends from Washington and Lee (recent grads) confirm this.


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## tew (Oct 30, 2005)

With jeans, if you feel like wearing a tie, I think sticking with a knit tie is best.

I'm a big fan of the zip-up hooded sweatshirt as campus wear, on top of an oxford button down with jeans. Semi-classic, and can be switched out for a tweed/cord jacket if things take a right turn.


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## PJC in NoVa (Jan 23, 2005)

Naval Gent said:


> Rent "Animal House". Watch it. Imitate.
> 
> Scott


Otter's light-blue Baracuta-style blouson jacket is outstanding (I think it was Otter who wore it). I started college a month after "AH" hit the theaters, and in between the food fights and toga parties was proud to wear a jacket just like it, except in a more practical and stain-hiding navy blue (food fights can get messy).

Another film worth a rental is_ Eddie and the Cruisers. _Not for Michael Pare's _faux-_Springsteenesque leather jackets and white T-shirts, of course, but rather for Tom Berenger's light-tan Baracuta windbreaker and BB ocbd shirts. TB was actually in his 30s when the film was made but in many scenes he was supposed to be somebody far younger, _and_ he was the band's resident literary intellectual (his character taught me the word "caesura," which I now use just about all the time), so a campus/Ivy look was a natural choice. You could do worse than school on him.


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## septa (Mar 4, 2006)

PJC in NoVa said:


> Another film worth a rental is_ Eddie and the Cruisers. _Not for Michael Pare's _faux-_Springsteenesque leather jackets and white T-shirts, of course, but rather for Tom Berenger's light-tan Baracuta and BB ocbd shirts. TB was actually in his 30s when the film was made but in many scenes he was supposed to be somebody far younger, _and_ he was the band's resident literary intellectual (his character taught me the word "caesura," which I use just about all the time), so a campus/Ivy look was a natural choice. You could do worse than school on him.


Also, this was filmed at my alma mater. The college where the Cruisers play their concert and which is disparagingly referred to as a "finishing school" is Haverford.


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## Untilted (Mar 30, 2006)

I wear a skinny repp or a knit tie under shetland crewneck when I feel like doing it. Maybe once a month.

Lately, I've been surprised by how frequently I _have_ to wear coat+tie.


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## kgsmith1 (Jun 3, 2007)

Patrick06790 said:


> Since you're going to stick out, I'd stick to the recognized collegiate style of yesteryear - skinnier striped repp ties, buttondown collars, chinos, loafers, navy blazer or tweed jacket. That way you can just claim to be in "retro" or "throwback" mode. Crewneck sweaters, jeans, boat shoes for more casual times.
> 
> I've recently observed the modern college student in its natural habitat and all I can say is "Good Luck."


This reply is brilliant. The real question to ask yourself is, "how self-concious am I?", because you will be noticed; especially by the women.


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