Christmas time advertisement for Duffy-Powers store, Rochester, New York. Democrat & Chronicle, Pg. 7 December 18, 1930.
In 1992 I bought my first vintage necktie at a hospital rummage sale in Damariscotta, Maine. The tie dating from the late 1940s or early 1950s, has a bold design of polka dots in light tan, white and pale orange on a brown and celadon background. Costing only 10 cents, it was coming home with me. For many years it remained my only vintage necktie. Then I started to pick up more old ties, mostly from the 1940s, at local thrift stores. They were cheap (never more than $2.00) and they were colorful. It wasn’t until around 2007 that I started to concentrate on finding neckties from the 1920s and 1930s.
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The tie that started it all. My 10 cent purchase from a rummage sale in 1992. Vintage very late 1940s or very early 1950s.
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Detail of the label on the back of the tie. Also notice that the tie is lined. That is one way to date the tie.
Common 1920s & 1930s Necktie Misconceptions
Wide neckties with bold designs over a solid color moire background date from the 1940s and 1950s. This is what people erroneously think 1920s or 1930s ties are like. A misconception readily apparent in the costume design of contemporary TV shows and movies set in the 1920s and 1930s. The Netflix series Damnation (2017) is set in the United States midwest of 1931. But some of the cast’s neckties date from the late ’40s or early ’50s.
Cast member sporting a very nice early 1950s necktie, with a bold and colorful design. Image from Netflix.com
There’s a lot that the costume designers get right in the Amazon Prime series The Last Tycoon (2017). And most of the neckties seem to be from the 1930’s or are very, very close approximations. But sometimes they get it wrong as in the image below, showing a nice skinny tie from the late 1950s. They also make one very big mistake with some necktie jewelry, but more on that later.
The 2017 Amazon Prime series The Last Tycoon. The gentleman in the back is wearing a skinny necktie, but it dates from the late 1950s and not the 1930s. Image from Amazon Prime.
1937 Botany Tie advertisement. Esquire Magazine, September, 1937.
Common Necktie Characteristics
So what are the clues that can help you date a tie from between the two World Wars?
1: Lining; look at the back of the tie. The tie below does not have a lining. Most neckties made before the 1940s will not have one. The exception to the rule are expensive silk ties, they were either partially or fully lined.
2: Bell Bottom Flare; the part of the tie that hangs in back will usually flare out towards the bottom, like bell bottom trousers. Neckties from the mid-1920s and the late-1930s have less flare than on ties from dating from around 1928 – 1936.
3: Width; Most ties were on the narrow side. In the mid-1920s neckties were only 3 inches wide. The width started to increase by the end of the decade. By 1930 the width increased to 3 1/2 inches, it would continue to widen for the next couple of years reaching 4 inches by 1932. The Depression brought on conservative times and wide flamboyant ties must not have been proving popular as the width started to go back down to between 3 1/4 to 3 1/2 inches for the rest of the decade.
4: Length; necktie length of the 1920s & 1930s is short when compared to today’s ties. When knotted the bottom point of the tie is just below the sternum. A vest was part men’s fashion so the length of the tie did not need to be long. Plus in the era before the Second World War seeing the bottom of a necktie was considered a fashion faux pas.
5: Design; stripes and plaids dominated necktie patterns between the World Wars.
6: Fabric; most neckties made in the 1920s and 1930s were: Rayon, cotton and wool. Silk dominated the more expensive tie market. While for more casual or sporty occasions knit ties were a good choice. In the 1920s one could even buy seersucker ties for summertime wear.
An unlabeled wool, plaid necktie from the late 1920s.
Some of the Neckties in my Collection
1920s
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A mid-1920s plaid seersucker necktie. 3 inches wide.
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Striped rayon tie from the late-1920s with a moire diamond pattern. 3 1/2 inches wide.
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Mid to Late-1920s Palm Beach wool tie. 3 1/8 inches wide.
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A 3 1/4 inch wide wool, plaid necktie from the mid-1920s.
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Blue, orange and silver Paisley necktie, circa 1927. 3 1/2 inches wide.
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Abstract designs of pink and silver over a blue background. Late-1920s necktie 3 1/2 inches wide.
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Red, white and blue abstract pattern over a brown background in this late-1920s necktie. 3 1/2 inches wide.
1930s
Lansburgh’s Store advertisement for shirts and ties. This ad shows how wide ties were getting in the early-1930s. Image from The Washington Post, January 31, 1931, Pg. 11.
Stripes
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1930s brown, orange and white stripe rayon necktie. 3 1/4 inches wide.
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1930s rayon blue stripe tie. 3 1/4 inches wide.
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A 1933-1934 Melbroke wool spring and summer necktie. 3 3/4 inches wide.
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Late-1930s Botany red wool tie with gray stripes.
3 1/3 inches wide.
Plaids
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A 1930s wool plaid necktie that I bought from the Markle 286 Antique Mall in Markle, Indiana. 3 1/2 inches.
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A brown plaid necktie with yellow and green stripes from the 1930s. This tie I picked up at the NYC Pier Antique Show in 2015. 3 1/2 inches wide.
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Mid-1930s Rayon necktie in a plaid moire pattern with white, green and red squares. 3 1/4 wide.
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Late-1930s Rayon plaid necktie. 3 1/2 inches wide.
Early-1930s Patterns
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An early-1930’s hand-painted necktie with a snakeskin pattern with white curves and blue triangles. 4 inches wide.
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A very bold Rayon tie from the early-1930s with blue, orange, brown and white circular pattern. This is my widest necktie at 4 1/8 inches. And it was my most expensive, $45.00. Purchased at Bygones vintage clothing store in Richmond, VA.
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A conservative silk necktie from the early-1930s with silver and green diamond shapes over a brown background. 3 3/4 inches wide.
Mid – Late-1930s Patterns
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Late 1930s Crosley Cravat blue necktie with red and silver swirl pattern, made of Rayon. 3 3/4 inches wide.
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Late-1930s silk necktie with and orange and silver circular and trapezoidal shapes over a green background. 3 1/4 inches wide.
Knits
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1930s Monterey stripe knit necktie. A common feature of knit ties of the ’30s is the fringe coming off of the bottom points. 3 2/3 inches wide.
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1930s yellow, red and blue plaid necktie. 4 inches wide.
Vintage Necktie Prices
What can you expect to pay for a vintage necktie? Prices will vary greatly. When buying a necktie from a thrift store (Goodwill, Salvation Army, etc.) they should be in the $1.00 – $2.00 range. At a flea market expect to pay from $1.00 – $10.00. But at a good vintage clothing store or an antique or vintage clothing show the price goes up considerably. In these venues $20.00 – $50.00 is the general going rate for a nice 1920s or 1930s necktie in excellent condition.
Condition
A vintage necktie in excellent condition should last a good number of years. So before buying one, look it over carefully. Any wear and tear (shredding silk, rips, stains, etc.) will only get worse fast once you start to wear it. Rayon and silk neckties tend to wear out faster than wool or knit ties. Wool ties can suffer from moth damage. If the tie is inexpensive enough and the damage is in not too visible spot, buy it and enjoy it. But if you are going to spend over $20.00, the necktie should be in excellent condition.
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Late-1920s silk necktie. The silk is starting to shred in the orange and green pattern.
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Tiny hole in the wool of early-1930s striped necktie.
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Worn wool and staining in mid-1920s plaid necktie.
Finishing Touches – Necktie Jewelry
While there aren’t many types of jewelry to accompany neckties, there are a few typical pieces one can and should wear with neckties. Starting from the top (neck) down (chest) –
1: Collar bar or collar clip. These clips attach to the collar bringing it in to frame the knot and also pushing it forward. Coming into popularity in the late-1920’s, use of collar bars started to wane by the late-1930s. They enjoyed a revival in the late-1970s through the early-1980s.
These are my three go to collar clips. All made by Swank.
2: Tie Tacs: Tie Tacs are little pins, often topped with a pearl or gold ball that one pushes through the tie and fits into a back piece. The back piece usually is attached to a chain and bar. The bar goes through a button hole and if the two pieces separate, the bar in the button hole prevents it from falling. While very stylish, I personally do not like them as they put a hole in the tie, which is not good for nearly 100-year-old fabric.
Pearl topped tie pins.
3: Tie clip: This is exactly what it sounds like. It’s a clip that attaches the necktie to the shirt to hold it in place. In the 1920s and 1930s they did not have moving part and one just slides it onto the tie and shirt. Later ones (1950s and later) have a moveable clip on a hinge with teeth in the back that clamps onto the tie and shirt.
My five favorite tie clips. The one at the top is from the 1933 Century of Progress Exposition in Chicago.
4: Cravat Chain: This is my favorite type of necktie clip. The clip portion attaches to the shirt under the necktie. Then the tie goes through the chain, which hangs down in front. Cravat chains usually have a fob with one’s initial(s). Sometimes they are souvenirs from a world’s fair or other tourist site.
Cravat chains. The the left one is a souvenir from the 1939 New York World’s Fair. The other two are from Swank.
Swank advertisement, circa 1937. This ad shows the correct way to wear a cravat chain. Image from Pinterest.
How not to wear a cravat chain –
The incorrect way to wear a cravat chain. The clip should be attached to the shirt, not the tie. Image from the Amazon Prime series, The Last Tycoon.
Of course if you ever need vintage necktie inspiration or really want to know what was popular in the 1920s or 1930s, just watch a movie from back then or flip through an old magazine, it will be your best guide.
Anthony (One half of the Freakin’, ‘Tiquen’ Guys)
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