Welcome back to the Gentleman's Gazette!
In today's video, we discuss whether Hermès
ties are worth it.
We talk about the famous printed ties with animal prints, horse prints, the woven ones
as well as scarf ties, the pros and cons, and whether they're worth your $180 or not.
In a world of iconic menswear, men's ties are certainly up there with the Burberry trench
coat which by the way, you want to know if a Burberry trench coat is worth it or not
,please check out this video here.
Generally, you know you're doing something right even an entire industry is here to fake
your products and that's the case with Hermès ties.
Finding a used one is almost like a gamble if you don't know what to look for and stay
tuned for another video where we discuss how you can identify a fake Hermès tie from a
genuine one.
For this video, we'll assume you buy one directly from Hermès so you know what you get is the
real deal.
In the US, Hermès ties have a price tag of a $180.
In Europe, it's a little less.
In Australia, it's a little more but overall, it's right around that price point.
By the way, the brand is called Hermès , not HERMIS and to learn more about how to pronounce
luxury brands please check out this video here.
In order to be able to determine if an Hermes tie is worth it or not, we briefly have to
take a look at the history of the house.
Hermès is a brand who was founded in 1837 by the German born Thierry Hermès .
Initially, it was a manufacturer of harnesses and Brittles for the carriage trade.
By 1855, they won their first prize for their quality merchandise and soon thereafter, they
would start to expand their products and include things like saddle and leather goods.
Now I could fill hours with the intricate history of Hermes but in terms of ties and
silk, the home of the Hermès silk since 1937 has been the city of Lyon.
The first silk design Hermes created was actually not for a tie but for a scarf.
They are probably even more famous for women than the ties are for men.
They're typically in 70 centimeters by 70 centimeters.
The very first pattern showed some women playing a game; the pattern was called Dames Blanches.
In 1978, the fifth generation of family owners came in and Jean-Louis Dumas became the chairman
of Hermès as well as the creative director.
Under his reign, Hermès switched to focus on silk products, leather goods, and ready-to-wear
goods.
Over the years, Hermès has produced thousands of designs and they've become iconic, very
recognized and worn by Wall Street bankers, London businessmen, Russian oligarchs, or
emerging Chinese upper-class men.
So with that being said, is an Hermes tie worth $180?
Well, first we have to determine what you get for that money.
The tie production, especially for the printed ties, is vertically integrated.
Hermès has their own silkworm plantations in southern Brazil and there they control
the spinning of the yarn, the weaving of the yarn, the designs of the silk, the printing,
as well as the sales, all the way to the customer.
All designs are exclusively designed for Hermes and you can't find them elsewhere unless they're
knockoffs of course.
Every season, 10 new ones are added as well as old ones are reissued and overall, they've
probably created more than 75,000 different color schemes.
So between the designs and the colors, there's really a rich archive.
Hermès is known for their printed ties especially for their often whimsical animal print ties,
horse-inspired prints, as well as geometrical prints, and small micropatterns.
All their ties are silk screen printed which is an old way to do it.
Back in the day, it was actually done with hand blocks, today, that is not done anymore.
Today, they use screens which are a lot more labor-intensive and therefore more costly
than digital printing.
So why does Hermès still use silk screen printing?
They believe it produces richer colors in a more high-quality product and I couldn't
agree with them more which is why we, at Fort Belvedere, make all of our silks in a screen
print and not digital print.
All famous Hermes ties are printed on a rather lightweight silk twill that has a little bit
of gum added back to it so it has a really soft touch that is not dry at all.
When you touch an Hermès tie, it has a very typical feel, it's not super gummy like old
madder silk ties, but it's also not like a jacquard woven tie.
It's something in between that is special for Hermes and that they want to keep secret
which is one of the reasons that's vertically integrated.
A true connoisseur will likely always be able to determine whether it's a fake or not based
on the way the silk feels in their hand.
It's hard to describe but it's something you have to develop over time.
Again, stay tuned for a guide on how you can identify a fake Hermes tie from a real one.
Every Hermès tie is made out of two panels of silk, not three, like most ties
but also not like one like very expensive ties.
The only difference is basically that you need more silk, the fewer pieces you use for
each individual tie.
Making a tie out of two pieces is totally fine and has no impact on the quality.
The next step the fabric is cut.
Hermès ties often feature specific model numbers with the logo printed in the silk and because
of that, they have to be cut very accurately otherwise, the finished product won't have
lines that are very neat.
That's another way to make it difficult for fakers because often times, they get these
little details wrong but Hermes always gets them right.
Once a tie is cut, you add two layers of interlining that gives the tie the feel and the springiness.
Hermès ties are three fold ties and they're hand sewn with a thread that is a hundred
and seventy centimeters long, that's about five foot and seven inches.
All Hermes ties contain a little loop at the bottom and because that loop stitch ties are
flexible.
Many quality ties are sewn in that way so I'm not surprised to see that from an Hermes
tie.
Overall, if there's one thing about Hermès ties, I would say that they pay very great
attention to detail and they focus on quality.
It's even little things such as the label which sits eight inches from the bottom and
is sewn on in four spots or the model number in this little box which is neatly aligned
with the edge and not crooked.
Also that keeper tag is woven and not printed and has very specific elements that are different
with the different ties.
So a woven tie will have a different label than a printed animal tie which is different
again to a heavy printed twill silk.
The same is true for the backside tip lining of the tie; with printed ties, it's a solid
color versus with woven ties, it's a kind of golden H symbol that you see and again,
every tie is slightly different and only Hermes knows what they do for each specific tie.
Fakers on the other hand don't and so they often get it mixed up.
So objectively, when you get an Hermès tie, you get a high quality product.
What you don't get is a sevenfold, eightfold, nine-fold, or tenfold tie.
You also don't get a tie that comes in very many widths.
By default, most Hermès ties are eight centimeters wide, they have some that are seven centimeters,
and some ties that are less and in this day and age, it's hard to find a nine centimeter
Hermes tie.
Also in terms of length, Hermès ties are rather limited.
Their general tie is about 60 inches long or 152 centimeters, I say about because a
tie is always cut on the bias which makes it very flexible but when you lay it down
it's a little stretchy and so you never get the exact measurement from each tie to another.
Online, in the store, they have a very small section of ties that are longer but they do
not have ties for shorter men which is a shame because if you're a shorter man, you need
a tie that it's shorter otherwise you end up with a large tie knot that simply doesn't
flatter your silhouette.
Because of that at Fort Belvedere, we created ties in short regular and long and not just
for certain models but for all the models.
You're also somewhat limited in terms of variety with Hermes ties.
Yes, they have many patterns, many prints, they come in quite a few colors, at the same
time, they always print it on the same silk twill.
If you look at Hermès' woven ties, they're usually small jacquard patterns, some geometrical
patterns, the occasional stripe, but you don't find elaborate stripes there, you don't find
rep ties, you don't find grenadine ties, or mohair ties, wool
ties, they sometimes have cashmere ties, but again, it's very limited.
On the other hand, if you want to experiment more with your tie silks and maybe have a
shantung Hermès or a grenadine wool silk mohair blend, Hermès is not the brand for you.
So are Hermes ties worth it?
Of course the answer is it depends!
If you're someone who really likes printed whimsical motifs, these little animal prints
then Hermès is definitely the way to go.
Also, if you're looking for more unusual colors such as fuchsia ties or chartreuse green maybe
some orange tones, Hermès will likely have a shade that you can get.
Also, if you're a Wall Street banker or if you work in finance and you want to fit in
with your company culture, an Hermès tie is certainly the way to do that.
That being said, personally, I'm not a big fan of whimsical motifs on ties and I prefer
different textures so Hermes ties are not the ideal tie for me.
I have a bunch of them including vintage ones and new ones but frankly, I don't wear them
a whole lot anymore.
The ones I wear the most are probably the woven ties, they are somewhat simple and don't
look like a typical Hermès tie.
With many other luxury products, you pay a lot for the name but you get average to mediocre
quality.
On the othe hand with an Hermès tie, you certainly pay for the name but you also get a quality
product.
On top of that, genuine Hermes ties usually yield quite high prices even when they're
used.
Of course, they have to be in pristine condition which ties rarely are if you actually wear
them and on top of that, you have to prove that it's actually a genuine product which
can be very hard unless you have the specific receipt with a photo of the tie.
Of course, if you give all the Hermès ties you don't want any longer to a store, they
have to mark them up and ultimately, you don't get much for used Hermes ties anyways.
Also if you're shorter than 6 foot or 183 centimeters ,Hermès ties may be too long for
you and all you can do is tie a really big knot which may often not work with your head
size.
Also if you're really tall men and you want more variety in your ties, Hermes is not the
right place for you.
I also think they're not worth buying used unless you know very well what you're doing
otherwise, you may pay top dollar for what turns out to be a fake.
Personally, I also like ties to have different widths, my favorite width is about nine centimeters
or three and a half inches and it's not a niche served by Hermès at all.
Also building up an entire Hermes tie collection can be rather expensive.
If you buy 12 ties you're already down more than $2,000.
Now they certainly use high quality materials including their silk but when I was looking
for silks for our Fort Belvedere ties, I met Weavers who would actually produce jacquard
woven silks for Hermes and we get ourselves from the same vendor at the same quality standards
yet Fort Belvedere ties cost a lot less especially if you buy more and get the volume discount.
Hermès on the other hand doesn't offer any volume discount.
At the end of the day, to me personally, Hermes ties are mostly not worth it simply because
I prefer a 9 centimeter width and I prefer different textures.
On top of that, I want ties in different lengths because depending on an outfit and the rise
of my trousers I don't always want a consistent tie length and Hermès is not able to deliver
that to me.
That being said, if you're about 6 foot tall or 180 centimeters, Hermes ties will work
for you in height and if you like their motifs and their flashy colors it's definitely an
option for you.
Bear in mind that you can always sell them at a higher price if you don't like them anymore
of course only if you can prove that it's a genuine product and not a fake.
To learn how you can identify the real deal Hermes tie from a fake, please check out this
video here soon.
in today's outfit I'm of course wearing an Hermès tie however it's not a typical printed
one but a jacquard woven one in a larger herringbone with yellow and grey it changes the color
with the light in a very sophisticated way and because of that I liked the tie quite
a lot it ties a nice knot and it's overall a good product that being said it's a vintage
tie and they no longer produce this anymore I'm combining it with a typical Finance or
Wall Street banker outfit that consists of a white soft striped dress shirt with French
cuffs and wearing gold monkey fist knot cuff links from Fort Belvedere as well as a ring
with a citrine stone that is also yellow gold it works well with the cufflinks the suit
is from Ralph Lauren purple label it is kind of power-suit inspired with a softer silhouette
it was made by Chester Barrie several years ago and it is a typical business suit in the
sense that it has these kind of rope stripes that are bold they're light on a navy background
it is double-breasted with wide lapels that have a certain amount of belly the pants are
cuffed and pleated the socks are shadow striped in yellow and blue so they work together and
create some contrast to the black oxford shoes at the same time they pick up the yellow tones
of the tie and a citrine ring the Hermes tie is no longer available and neither is a suit
but you can still find the monkey fist knot cufflinks the white linen pocket square the
TV fold as well as the boutonniere and the socks in our shop right here