If you’re like me, you probably don’t want to pay more than around $30 for a tie. Let’s be real: ties are some of the most marked-up in price pieces of clothing a guy will wear. That said, finding a slim and modern-shaped tie for $30 or less is often a challenge because modern and trendy almost always means, “expensive.” It’s just supply and demand, right? Never fear, though, Skinnyfatties (skinny fat ties) is here to save the day.
One of my favorite things to do is to hit up bargain stores and Goodwills for $1 ties. The problem is, they’re fat. Hopelessly fat. So fat that they are hard to wear sometimes. This usually means I don’t walk out with anything because there’s nothing worth buying. However, with Skinnyfatties, you can buy that fat tie and get it tailored to whatever size you’d like, much like you would with a jacket. The best news, it’s $34 for any size between 2-3 inches. That means you can buy that super cheap tie and get it sized down exactly how you’d like.
This process is novel, unique, and to my knowledge not down anywhere else. I had to give it a test. I decided to send in about a 4 inch Chaps paisley tie, and a 4.5 inch Brooks Brothers reject “irregular” tie–both of which I bought for almost nothing. I mailed them in, and about 2 weeks later…boom! New ties.
The ties arrive in some really nice tins that I will probably keep around just because I like how they feel. This is a nice touch, considering how poorly-packed the ties were when I mailed them to New York–basically stuffed in an envelope. They came back ironed, flattened, and basically pristine. That said, it took me like a month after ordering the service to get the ties to New York because I had to find an envelope or go to the post office. This small errand was kind of a chore considering how early my local post office closes and how late in the day my full-time job obligated me to stay. This might not be a problem for others, but if you’re a busy guy during the week, it might prove a bit of a hassle to mail a tie. Full disclosure: I was planning a wedding and studying for the bar exam during that time, so I was probably busier than most. That said, it would be awesome if Skinnyfatties would mail out a self-addressed tin or envelope upon ordering the service.
Skinnyfatties replaces the tie’s branding with their own, which I think is pretty neat. If you really care who made your tie, you probably aren’t sending it out to get tailored. However, they still keep the original tag, but they just move it to the small end of the tie.
Overall, this work is clean and neat. No broken stitches, no stray string, and no uneven sewing. It’s almost like the tie was originally that size. I also appreciate how Skinnyfatties paid attention to the patterns of these ties and tried to center the remade tie in a way that doesn’t look like someone just cut the tie and made it smaller.
Skinnyfatties is the best (and probably only) way to slim down your fat ties, and I highly recommend them. Getting your tie back at around half the size you mailed it out is highly satisfying, and can save you a lot of money if you’re a vintage tie lover who wants a modern touch.
