hello this is the offshore organ builder and this is a video about tying and wearing three separate items of neck wear the day cravat the Ascot and the roof tie this presentation is in four parts the six minutes explanation which you're listening to now followed by the instructions as to how to tie the three different kinds of tie if you have not seen this video before listen to this first part so that you will understand the basics then either watch the whole thing through or if you know which tie you want to be able to tie skip to that particular section look in the show more section under the video to see where each part begins if this video is new to you you really ought to stick with the explanation as the whole question is a minefield of fashion selection and tying techniques these days there is complete confusion about the names of these three quite different ties this for example is an ascot the Ascot is formal day wear as opposed to formal evening wear formal eveningwear is the kind of thing you might have seen bela lugosi wearing in his role as Count Dracula they can't never appeared during the day of course but if he had he might have worn formal day wear and his necktie might have been an ascot formal day wear is worn only on special occasions these days such as some weddings and maybe in theatrical performances are say part of a Victorian costume so the Ascot is formal wear and is worn over a buttoned-up shirt color often secured with an innate type in the ruched eye on the other hand is very much like an ordinary necktie such as might be worn today but elect eye with a very wide blade which means that when you tie it the front of the knot forms folds which is where it gets its name ruch meaning folded likely Scott and the modern-day necktie it is worn over a buttoned-up shirt collar Oscar Wilde was a devotee of the ruched eye and he's quite often worn today at weddings though usually the ones seen our false that is pre tied they clip on and go back to the higher shop once the wedding is over these days the ruched eye is never seen in everyday use but I suppose you would have to call it semi formal wear now in this video I'm going to start with the day cravat the day cravat has never really gone out of everyday use probably because it is leisure wear like all forms of necktie it is derived from a scarf and like a scarf it is worn next to the skin and because it is leisure wear and meant to be comfortable it is most usually worn underneath an unbuttoned a shirt collar it was a favorite with the fighter pilots of World War 2 who wanted something stylish and not restricting and these days you can wear a day cravat with or without a jacket with or without a sweater and on any occasion which requires a smart casual dress code a drinks party a barbecue driving your open-topped sports car staying at a smart hotel at the Country Club on the beach or on the golf course in fact anywhere where you would expect to wear a clean shirt with an open collar and therefore don't want to be wearing a conventional tie one of the very few fashion limitations on the day cravat is that when worn with a shirt it is worn with one button not two undone actually even the rule about the one button can be relaxed allowing you to wear your day cravat under a v-neck shirt or sweater or if your shirt has color buttons which are very close together finally a word about choice of materials there are many suppliers of deco vats using all kinds of materials in every kind of color and pattern some cheaper than others the material used does matter silk a common choice and when the silk is of good quality there is nothing better but high-quality silk comes at a price and some suppliers use lesser quality silk to keep costs down there cravats made from cheaper silk tend to fray easily they look good when new but soon become worn I have found cotton to be a good substitute for those who don't want to start with a high end and therefore high price product remember also that in the case of the de Gravette you will wear this next to the skin so it will need occasional cleaning silk there cravats must be dry-cleaned cotton ones can be hand washed at home and if you're telling an ascot although high quality silk is probably the best looking option cotton looks very well indeed and has the considerable advantage that it is least likely to show marks from the type in which is always needed the ruched eye has to be made from some material which is smooth enough to form folds so that limits you to either silk or it's artificial equivalents in order to make this video I asked the pocket watch waistcoat company to send me a selection of their deck robots they can also be tied as ascots as you'll see all but one of my choices is cotton and if you want to follow up on this particular supplier you'll find a link to them in the show more section under the video YouTube videos show three ways of tying add a cravat but only one of them results in a defect which will stay in place and not slip down during the day so this is the one I'm going to show you now the thing cravats from the pocket watch waistcoat company have a narrow band which is the part that lies around your neck and they spread out into two wider identical blades or ends open up your shirt by undoing three buttons put the around your neck hold your right hand across the widest part of the blade on left side the narrower band as you can see spreads out to form a sort of shoulder and this is the part which you hold with your right hand hold this up against the bottom of your neck with the left hand slide the band around your neck so that it now lies smoothly this gives you the starting point for the tying and I think it helps at this stage to fold the material in half pass left over right pinch the two parts together with your left hand and be sure to keep your left hand in place as you throw the part in your right hand under and over leave a small gap by the way between the material and your neck and do not move your left hand now make sure that you have three fingers under the material as it lies on top of them before you pass the material up and through the gap between the cravat and your neck now pass the blade down through the large gap with your fingers have created the fingers of the left hand now pull on the material at this stage but nothing like as firmly as you would if you are actually tying a tie and if necessary you can straighten out the knot at this point you want a large knot which is just firm enough not to slip back hold the lower blade that is to say the blade of the cravat which is nearest your chest and slide the knot up to your neck but still leave a small gap at this point we ignore the upper blade it takes no further part in the cravat tying instead concentrate on the lower blade and spread out the material when you've done that find the bottom of the lower blade the actual point of the bottom and turn it in once towards your chest pass it up through the gap between your neck and the cravat and spread it out fully now that is here pull only as much through as you will need to show on the front of the finished cravat this is surprisingly little you only need to pull as much as is needed to lie under the open neck of your shirt with one button undone and you'll get used to how much to pull through very quickly after a couple of times but it's nothing like as much as you might think now having spread everything and got everything as smooth and flat as possible you can give your knot its final tightening you tighten it against your neck without holding the upper blade not this one don't hold this part instead finds the material of the lower blade which has not yet been pulled through your right hand then slide the knot upwards but only as tight as is comfortable remember this is leisure wear and not the hangman's noose and of course you want to be comfortable now do any final spreading out of the blade and fold it down over the knot tuck everything into your shirt and button up all but the top button you can see now how little material needed to be pulled through it's the opening of the shirt which creates the smart stylish shape and the large knot which is underneath books out the material which also adds to the finish just check that the band is even around your neck and not too high up it doesn't matter if it remains its full width or it's folded over it that's irrelevant to take your cravat off you simply undo your shirt and reverse it or feed the blade which is showing now across the front of the knot down in front of your neck and placing your left hand lightly around the top of the norton poking a finger over gently pull the material of the band on your right hand side through notice do not under any circumstances hold the other blade don't hold this part as this will tighten the knot and it will make it impossible for you to remove your cravat the blade should slide easily through the loose knot with no stress at all on the material the Pocket Watch waistcoat company have a wide range of colors and patterns to suit your tastes here is my choice from their catalog and in fact they will supply a matching or contrasting pocket square in the same material if you wish see my other video on folding pocket squares if you're interested a pocket square is actually an essential accessory for a shirt or jacket it may seem a little over-the-top until you try it then you'll find that a shirt or jacket without one looks lacking in something and anyway it's a fun thing to wear there are many different ways of folding pocket squares and it gets you noticed by the way there is a convention that the pocket square should match your shirt and not your tie and this may extend to prevents but there's no logic to fashion of course and if I want to match my cravat to my pocket square well I'll do it anyway the de cravat is worn by anyone of any age who wants to look smart without being formal and without being conventional so the next time you're staying at that five-star hotel on the shores of Lake Como relaxing by the pool taking your latest Maserati for a spin or at any rate if you want to look the part try a perfectly ironed shirt and add a profit of your choice you the Conde Kravitz from the pocketwatch waistcoat company can also be tied as a Scots and although you never see these now is everyday where there are certainly something different to wear for a wedding or a party and they'll get you noticed this is a must by the way for anyone who likes to wear a waistcoat an ascot always needs to be pinned in place either with a stick pin as you see here or with a tie tack personally I don't care for the tie tack well it's two parts the one fitted into a buttonhole in your shirt and the other a sort of ornamental drawing pin pushed through the Ascot and into the little stud on the end of the chain there altogether too fiddly I prefer the purl ended stick pin these are easy to obtain from florists just make sure you get the larger kind and bend it in the middle slightly before you start the deer cravat with its two broad blades should be folded in half you can see how for each blade the narrow neck band widens into a shoulder before the widest part the overall lengths must be reduced to fit your collar size as follows find the center of the narrow band and fold it over on itself put in a safety pin about three inches from the end is right for a 16 inch collar less if your collar size is larger there are only two knots needed in tying an ascot and the first is a simple parcel not reduce your de cravat so that the shoulder of the lower blade the one nearer your shirt looks like this which is correct and not like this which hangs too low when the upper blade is brought forward and folded down its shoulder should look like this and not like this which is too high it doesn't take long to find the correct length for your collar just keep moving the safety pin a little until you get it right what you're after is a fairly large CIMMYT not like a rose and if your dare cravat starts off too long the knot will be too small once you have the correct length you can keep the safety pin in place folding it under the rest of the neck band where it will not show or you could make the length permanent with a few stitches now for the actual tying in this demonstration I did not have the length quite perfect but you will see that the final result came out well anyway this is what you will see in your mirror as you are tying this is a mirror image for the Ascot around your neck with the points of the shoulders outwards the left blade can be very slightly longer than the right cross left over right hold everything in your left hand as the right hand pushes its blade up through the gap tighten the simple parcel not the lower blade hanging down is actually a little too long in this tying but I still managed to get an acceptable Rose knot at the end place a finger behind the lower blades as shown and lift it into a horizontal position make sure it's fold is kept as smooth as possible at all times slide the upper blade into the center and smooth it down with the left hand hold everything together the right hand reaches down through the loop and pulls the other blade through smooth the horizontal fold here if need be pull on the two blades and as the lock forms turn it over to show the underneath you you should end up with asymmetrical rows not just in front of your collar now open up the two blades and spread them fold one over the other it doesn't matter which but this area of your shirt must be covered which is where the tie tack or stick pin is used placing it just under the knot to keep the two blades in place if a stick pin is used start by holding it horizontally just under the knot placing a thumb behind the point twist the head of the stick pin backwards or forwards and it will soon make its way through the fabric here I have lifted the upper blade aside so that you can see the point on the edge of the upper blade passing into the lower one once it is fully through turn the pin vertically and pass it back through the lower blade to the front surface and once again through and behind this way it stays in place without the need to damage your dress shirt in order to wear the Ascot successfully you need to be wearing a waistcoat or something which will act like one to form the stylish pointed shape and the Ascot certainly comes into its own when it's worn with the right kind of jacket and even with a matching pocket square see my video on folding pocket squares if you're interested the pocket watch waistcoat company as you can see here supplies matching pocket squares and asked us if you wish and though some people would object to matching the Ascot with the pocket square on grounds of fashion I think these days the Ascot would only be worn at a party or at a wedding perhaps on those very rare occasions when the Ascot is worn as formal day where you would have a complete outfit and the Ascot certainly wouldn't match the pocket square worn to attend a party is a bit of fun or to attend a wedding I see nothing wrong in matching the Ascot and its pocket square and it's a pity the Ascot isn't more widely used these days it certainly deserves better recognition between the day cravat the Ascot and the ruched I the ruched eye has to be the easiest to wear because it's no more than an oversized necktie with a very broad blade I didn't have a ruched eye to demonstrate this for you so I cut out its shape in a piece of polyester satin which works fine even though it is a bit frayed around the edges you tie the ruched I exactly like any other necktie using the so-called foreign hand knot as usual I'm showing you a mirror image this is what you will see in your mirror as you tie your own roof tie start with your collar buttoned up putting the tie around your neck with a wide blade on the left settle the tie on your neck find the widest part of the blade and hold it just under your collar button then pull the rest of the tie around to suit now pass left over right and hold the material at the crossing point with your left hand the right hand now takes the wide blade and throws it under and over straighten everything out at this stage but make sure that you have three fingers of your left hand under the material as it lies over them hold the blade in place with your little finger if you like with your right hand take the material and push it up between your collar and the tie pulling it through and straining it out the three fingers of your left hand have made of space through which you took the wide blade and you can now hold the narrow blade as you pull the wide one through to tighten the knot but make sure that you smooth out the front of a not as I have done here as you tug on the wide blade you will see the folds starting to form slide to the not up to your neck get it roughly in position and put your color down if as here there is a gap at the top showing your collar hold the narrow blade and push the knot up a little higher if need be pull down the lower edge of the knot and spread out the blade before tucking it into your waistcoat or jacket all you need now is to make any final adjustments to the blade and to arrange the folds in the knot in whatever way you want and that's all there is to it it's really quite simple to tie and with a matching pocket square it does look smart now I know that you're not supposed to match your pocket square to your tie but just like the Ascot if you are wearing this to a fun event probably a wedding or a party I think it's fair enough to do the logical thing and match the two that's for you to decide this is the offshore organ builder I hope you found it useful have fun and good bye