A check tie is one of those pieces that rewards the man who actually looks at it. Get it wrong and it fights everything around it. Get it right and it adds a layer of considered dressing that a plain tie simply cannot. The problem is that most check ties are wrong before they even leave the factory. The scale is off, the colours are muddy, the weave is too thin to hold a decent knot. We’ve spent time with a lot of them to find the ones where none of that applies.

What we’re looking for is a tie where the pattern is scaled to sit well in a half Windsor without the check disappearing into the knot. Wool and wool silk blends are where most of the interesting work is happening. They tie better, drape better, and photograph better than the cheap polyester alternatives. A check tie at this level stops being a risk and starts being the reason the whole outfit works.