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A tie, just like any article of clothing, is subject to direct and must occasionally be cleaned. But how do you clean it? Do you use a washing machine? Dry cleaning?

 
First, using dry cleaning is definitely an option. Any professional dry cleaning service should be able to easily clean your tie. It is important to note that silk ties are a bit more problematic as cleaning them using dry cleaning makes their color lose its luster.

 
A useful piece of advice with regards to dry cleaning (that’s not limited for ties): if you tell them the source of the stain on your article of clothing, they are much more likely to remove it and are less likely to cause damage to the piece of clothing as well.

 
Second, you can try and remove it yourself. Simply take a clean piece of cloth and gently dab it (never rub it – it may just make the stain spread) – do not use water! It’ll also make it worse.

 
If this doesn’t work, there are various methods of attempting to remove the stay, but these depend on its origin (is it butter or grease?, Is it ink? Coffee? Juice? Tomato sauce?). For the really tough stains, a stain remover should be used, and an additional solution with white vinegar might be applied as well. I deliberately do not elaborate on the specific methods that should be used for each type of stain because personally, I would not risk ruining a tie I like to save $2-3 (and some ties can easily cost $100 or more). Therefore, if you want to search for tie cleaning methods, the internet is full of those – but personally, I would go with a dry cleaner.

 

The Windsor knot is one of the most popular method of tying ties. In general, it is a large and symmetric tie knot that is particularly appropriate for usage with wide collar shirts and is not suitable for narrow collar shirts. Furthermore, a tie that is made out of thick wool is not appropriate for this method – the knot will simply be too large.

 
Here are the instructions for tying the Windsor Knot:

 

1. Start from your right side and take the wide end of the tie. Extend it roughly a foot underneath the narrow end of the tie.
   

2. Take the wide end and cross it over the narrow end of the tie.
   

3. Take the wide end and pull it through the resulting loop.
   

4. Take the wide end above the narrow end, and insert the wind end through the loop (personally I find this step confusing, I hope you are not).
   

5. Wrap the wide end of the tie around the tie’s front.
   

6. After you finish wrapping around the front of the tie, take the wide end of the tie and pull it through the loop. At this point the tie knot should look like a triangle when you tighten it.
   

7. Finally, pull the wide end through the knot in the front of the tie. Make sure the knot is tightened by pulling the wide end while holding the knot in place.