Ok so recently on our Facebook Fan Page we posted our daily Stylistocrat Look of the Day. This particular days look happened to feature Lebron James natily clad after winning his 2nd NBA MVP award. This was great until a question/statement concerning this picture arose…”I notice he’s wearing a tie clip…right? I always wondered about those things. They seem so old deacon-ish. Are they en vogue? Yay or nay? Some are kinda jazzy.”

Well to our readers its really quite simple. Anyone wearing a tie bar post-1950 (who isn’t a cheesy used car salesman or style-challenged English teacher) deserves instant recognition! As with any newly discovered accessory, men need to be trained on the do’s and don’t of all accessories let alone tie bars.

There are several important rules that must be heeded in order to do the tie bar justice. First, it should be simple, not a gaudy, bedazzled piece of jewelry for your tie; The Slide-On Tie Bar is just a slick piece of silver that makes your tie stand out! Second, tie bars are usually worn with slimmer ties and should always be shorter than the width of the tie. Even one that is the same width will look too big and needlessly break-up the natural line that the tie creates on the body. Finally, wear a tie bar not as an unnecessary accessory, but as a furnishing with a purpose: It should gently affix to your shirt to prevent it from flapping around — a helpful feature as we begrudgingly roll into those summer breezes.

The tie bar may have taken a sleeping pill that lasted about 30 years (i.e. our readers comments about it being old deaconish), but you can rest assure that it never left Stylistocrat by R&R minds. In reality, men’s accessories like a vintage aesthetic never really lose their luster, because success with something like tie bar rests solely on how you wear it.

A baggy banker suit and a bulky tie will not only make a tie bar appear uber-dated (see Bren I told you I’d use UBER in a blog), but it will also end up seeming completely out of place. In the end, the right accessory is only as good as the person who styles it — and folks Stylistocrat by R&R is ready to school you!

Class dismissed and enjoy your silver mid way down your shirt