A necktie is an essential accessory to wear with a suit. If you're getting dressed for a formal event or occasion, you shouldn't overlook a necktie. While small in size and simple in design, it helps to balance the appearance of your suit jacket and trousers while enhancing your overall image. Whether it's made of cotton, linen, silk or polyester blended fabrics, though, you may discover that your necktie has wrinkled. Rather than trying to wear a wrinkled, messy necktie, consider the following tips to smooth it out and eliminate stubborn wrinkles and creases.
Drape It Over a Clothes Hanger
Assuming you aren't crunched for time, you can try to de-wrinkle your necktie by draping it over a clothes hanger. When draped over a clothes hanger, gravity will pull down your necktie to naturally smooth out any wrinkles. This won't happen immediately. Rather, it may take several days until the wrinkles have smoothed out to the point where you can no longer see them. But if you have the available time, this is one of the safest and easiest ways to de-wrinkle a necktie.
Press Out the Wrinkles With Your Hands
Another safe method to de-wrinkle a necktie involves using the palms of your hands to smooth out the wrinkles and creases. Start by placing your necktie on a flat, smooth surface. Next, use the palms of your hands to smooth out any wrinkles or creases. Work your way from the top of the necktie to the bottom, after which it should be wrinkle free. Prior to doing this, though, it's recommended that you thoroughly wash your hands with soap and warm water to ensure there's no oil or dirt on them. After all, you don't want to get your necktie dirty while attempting to de-wrinkle it. Otherwise, you may not be able to wear it, even if you smooth out the wrinkles.
Use a Garment Steamer
You shouldn't use a steam iron to de-wrinkle your necktie. Traditional steam irons expose garments -- as well as accessories like neckties -- to hot temperatures. And the delicate fabric of a necktie may singe or otherwise succumb to damage when exposed to such heat. But a garment steamer is a gentler, safer solution. It still uses steam to smooth out wrinkles and creases but without damaging your garments and accessories. To use it, place your necktie on a clothes hanger and run garment steamer over the surface of it. It should only take a few minutes, and when you are finished, you'll have a wrinkle-free necktie that's ready to wear.
Get It Dry Cleaned
A safe and effective way to de-wrinkle your necktie is to get dry cleaned. Some people assume that dry cleaning is literally dry, but this isn't necessarily true. It's called "dry cleaning" because it doesn't involve the use of water. However, it still uses other liquid chemicals to clean garments and accessories. Regardless of what fabric your necktie is made of, though, it should be safe to dry clean. Just take your wrinkled necktie to a local dry cleaner, and they should be able to clean and de-wrinkle it.
Wedge It Between a Stack of Books
A truly creative way to de-wrinkle your necktie is to wedge it between a stack of books. Make a stack of about four to six medium-thickness books, and then place your necktie in the middle of them. The weight of the books will press down your necktie, thereby smoothing the fabric and eliminating any stubborn wrinkles or creases. With that said, you'll have to keep your necktie wedged between the books for at least several hours if not days. If you have the available time, however, this is another safe and effective way to de-wrinkle a necktie.
Hide the Wrinkles
This won't eliminate wrinkles from your necktie, but it may allow you to wear a wrinkled necktie nonetheless. Basically, you want to hide or conceal the wrinkled portion of your necktie. If only the bottom of your necktie is wrinkled, you can try buttoning up your suit jacket or coat so that you can no longer see the wrinkles. Of course, this only works if the wrinkles are at the bottom of your necktie. If they are at the top, buttoning up your suit jacket or coat won't conceal the wrinkles, in which case you'll have to use an alternative method.
Use a Hair Dryer
Another way to de-wrinkle your necktie is to use a hair dryer. Start by placing your necktie on a flat, even surface. Next, turn your hair dryer to the medium-heat setting, at which point you can slowly run it over the surface of your necktie. The hot air produced by your hair dryer should naturally smooth out most wrinkles. Just remember to keep moving the hair dryer over your necktie. Allowing it to remain in any single spot for too long may damage that area of your necktie. To prevent this from happening, keep moving the hair dryer across the surface of your necktie. When you no longer see wrinkles, turn it off and wait a few minutes before wearing it.
Hang It in the Bathroom With the Shower Running
Finally, you can de-wrinkle your necktie by hanging it in the bathroom with the shower running. Simply place your necktie on a clothes hanger and hang it somewhere in your bathroom. Now turn on the shower using the hot water setting and wait patiently for your necktie to smooth out. The hot water produced by your shower will release steam. As your bathroom fills with steam, some of that steam will smooth out your necktie.
You don't have to discard your favorite necktie just because it's wrinkled. All garments and accessories can develop wrinkles. It's a natural phenomenon that occurs when the shape is deformed. By using one or more of the methods described here, however, you can smooth out wrinkles to create a picture-perfect necktie.
