A short guide to regimental ties

Regimental ties identify a wearer with a particular British Army regiment, Royal Navy ship, RAF squadron, school, university or club. They are some of the most personal items of dress a serving or former member of any institution can own, and they make excellent gifts.

How to "read" a regimental tie

Most British regimental ties follow the same convention: diagonal stripes in the regiment’s colours, usually running top-left to bottom-right (in the UK; the Americans flip the diagonal). The colour combination is fixed for each unit — for example, the Royal Navy uses dark blue with two narrow gold stripes; the Royal Air Force a dark navy with crimson and pale blue stripes; the Royal Marines dark green with stripes of red and yellow.

Some ties carry a small embroidered motif at the bottom or on the lower blade rather than (or as well as) the stripe. Cavalry and corps ties often include a crest, badge or cipher; Royal Engineers, Royal Signals and the like also use motifs to distinguish their stable belts and ties from one another.

Silk vs polyester

Original-pattern regimental ties are most often made of woven silk — either pure silk for a soft drape, or silk with a polyester backing for body. Polyester-only ties are usually cheaper and avoid creasing, but they don’t carry the depth of colour of silk. We’ll tell you which is which on the product page.

Standard sizes

A standard British tie is roughly 147 cm (58″) long and 8–9 cm wide at the blade. Schoolboy and women’s ties are shorter; "skinny" ties run 5–7 cm wide. Bow ties tied by hand come in a fixed neck size or as adjustable; ready-tied bow ties suit those who prefer them.

Reproductions and "in the style of"

Not every diagonal-striped tie that looks like a regimental one was made for that regiment. Many makers produced "in the style of" or "club-style" ties throughout the 20th century. Where the tie originated from the regimental tailor (Gieves & Hawkes, Benson & Clegg, the regimental quartermaster) we’ll say so. Where it’s a third-party reproduction, we’ll say that too — both are valid, but the price reflects it.

Browse the collection

See our full ties department — or call us on 01723 365221 if you’re trying to identify a tie from a photograph. We’re happy to take a look.