While I (almost) never wear a tie, it may seem surprising for me to write about the Howard's brand. But its history, and above all the enthusiasm and passion of Frédéric, mean that any lover of elegance cannot reasonably miss the offer of this dynamic house .
When Parisian Gentleman introduced me to Frédéric, the founder, I was very intrigued by his story, because Fred was not at all intended to be known for his ties...
The History of Howard's Ties
From automobiles to ties: Frédéric’s journey
Indeed, Frédéric is basically a car enthusiast (I would even say just an enthusiast).
He left school at 16, which did not prevent him from applying to Ferrari a few years later. When it's time for the job interview, he realizes that he can't find the ultimate tie he wants to wear.
The Ferrari tie clip, showing that there are synergies between fashion and cars 😉
His parents then encouraged him to launch into entrepreneurship. Still frustrated at not having found the desired tie for his interview, he literally went to the mountains - near Como in Italy - to discover the technique behind this accessory.
It is also the sense of detail, and the technicality found in a tie, which pleases him very much ; reminding him of his past as an engineer.
Made by hand, Howard's ties require a certain amount of know-how (I'll come back to this below). Credit: Parisian Gentleman
When I asked Frédéric what were the determining factors in the success of his project, he told me that it was his absolute love and respect, both for the product and the know-how behind it .
He also told me that he had always shown an insatiable curiosity, because he did not hesitate to call the best "cravats" to ask them a whole bunch of questions, with their nerve. And guess what? Most of the time, he had answers provided and complete. But the story is not over...
Howard's ties: a truly French house
We had to find a name for our brand. At the time, Frédéric was barely 20 years old, and it was common for people to mistake him for the son of the owner, even though he worked alone in his brand. So we needed a name that was reassuring .
This was the time when English names were fashionable : Weston , Wicket , Hartwood or Hartford , among others. Its brand was therefore called Howard's, even though it is 100% French.
Frédéric carefully chooses the fabrics that will become beautiful ties. Credit: Parisian Gentleman
Very quickly, he began to develop his own ties, but he felt limited in the choice of colors and finishes from manufacturers. He wanted to make a product that looked more like him, and he began to develop his own colors .
To understand Howard's, you need to know that Frédéric loves having choice : he is the type to develop 20 colors and textures, when others will only offer five variations.
This explains the profusion of colors when you enter the store, but it has an advantage: there will necessarily be one for you.
Ties with a bias towards originality
And yet, Frédéric begins to get tired...
He deplores the lack of novelty in the world of ties, and is increasingly thinking of finding another activity. But first, he decides to make a final series of ties, which totally resembles him , without putting any constraints on himself in terms of price or finishes.
Even if it means stopping, you might as well do it while having fun, hence the more fanciful colors.
The color palette used by Howard's is particularly sought after. Credit: Parisian Gentleman
Why Made in France ties? He explains this choice above all by a lot of pragmatism: he works in very close collaboration with experienced people, very flexible on orders, with very reasonable deadlines, since he does not need to wait 3 weeks for a production arrives.
For him, working with French people allows him to precisely express what he really wants in terms of technical details.
It is precisely this series which was a success, and which put him at the forefront of the small world of the sartorial blogosphere, where Hugo de PG is one of his biggest promoters in France, alongside Julien Scavini .
Exactly, let's see the particularity of his ties.
Test: the Howard's tie in detail
The Howard's tie in action, with an Office Artist shirt! I made a double Winsdor knot, because I like them imposing and symmetrical.
As someone who loves well-textured fabrics, I am served here with silk grenadine. Please note, this is woven silk , which is even different from a silk knit tie (which I also really like). To achieve such a complex texture, silk is woven on old looms, because modern looms move too fast.
So I opted for a lined three-ply tie, with a wool interlining. The Howard's offering is plentiful, there are also unlined seven-ply ties which I present later in this article.
Here we see the magnificent texture of silk grenadine. It’s a complete change from a stiff “smooth” silk tie! The hand rolling on both sides of the tip gives this characteristic roundness that purists love so much.
The finishes are obviously impeccable, with many details that you rarely come across in this price range:
The button is a little nod to Howard's shirts. If you open it, you can see the interlining.
We can clearly see the work on the folds of the tie here. You obviously don't have such work at the entry level.
It's the little embroidered daisy that is the signature of Howard's.
It is also found at the other end of the tie.
The yellow cross stitches allow the tie to regain its shape after wearing it. We also see the logo which represents a golfer, but Frédéric readily admits that it is quite complicated to decipher...
We are faced with a very beautiful product, at a price accessible to all, which does not have to be ashamed of what the major luxury houses offer. It is surely one of the best value for money ties in this price range (from €70 to €160 for 7-ply cashmere models).
Besides, I would like to take this opportunity to tell you that as long as you wear a suit in shades of gray or blue, with a white or very pale blue shirt, you don't really have to overthink about the color of the tie, because they are such neutral color bases that they will support almost any shade.
Also consider wool ties , which are an excellent alternative:
And if you like textures even more, and want something more raw, but also more original, Howard's recently released "Shantung" silk ties , with this very characteristic irregular side:
Shantung silk has a "fluted" appearance (Hugo from PG also speaks of a "scratched" appearance), due to the irregularity of the weft threads used for weaving, because they are rougher threads. The result is a richer result, it is a bit the same philosophy as Japanese materials which see in the irregularity of manual work a superior beauty because it is imperfect ( wabi-sabi ).
It is therefore an original material, which gives a certain character to an elegant outfit.
Why invest in a tie?
Indeed, between a tie for €50 and one for €100, we can wonder what the differences are, and what justifies the price.
There is obviously the material itself . You can imagine that a tie in grenadine silk, or made in a color specifically developed for the brand, will not cost the same price as an ordinary entry-level polyester...
But the whole art of a tie consists in choosing the interlining , which is a bit like the backbone of the tie. It's this slightly stiff fabric that you can't see, but which gives "hand" to the tie.
A beautiful tie has a certain fluidity in its drape , it falls and moves nicely with its wearer, unlike polyester ties which are sometimes too rigid.
This is why unlined ties are very appreciated by Italians, because they have a very particular lightness, very... Italian ultimately.
Then there are the famous seven-ply unlined ties, praised on blogs. They are made from a single piece of silk that we fold... seven times to give the shape of a tie. The result is very technical and spectacular :
But this type of product is aimed above all at connoisseurs, lovers of crafts, and more generally beautiful objects , those who are sensitive to handmade products. Because in fact, a three-ply tie is at least as intrinsically good as a seven-ply tie, if we base ourselves on usual criteria: duration over time, seams, etc.
It is for this reason that there is ultimately little sense in asking ourselves whether such brand makes quality ties. What you need to look at is rather the choice of materials ( is the color worked? Is it pretty? ), and the technicality of the assembly.
It's up to you to decide whether you are sensitive to this artisanal work or not. Personally, it matters more and more to me.
Howard's shirts
The brand also offers shirts made in France, between €105 and €120. The finishes are very classic, but Frédéric showed me an extremely promising prototype, with very beautiful English seams on the sides, and very fine seams.
I haven't been able to try any, I know that they exist in two cuts (straight and fitted), but knowing the passion that Frédéric puts into his products, I am very confident about the quality.
Besides, if you have the time to talk about it with him, the story of the choice of the workshop for his shirts is incredible, and was an adventure in itself, as he had to fight against the difficulties of Made in France (namely: unenthusiastic workshops, not very open to new products, difficult purchasing conditions, and so on).
So much so that he thought about outsourcing the manufacturing of his shirts to Morocco, Portugal or Romania (with constant quality), until he told me: “Benoit, finally, I stopped everything. I didn't succeed in relocating, because I didn't want to leave them (he talks about his current French workshop), not after all the relationship we had built together .
In fact, the workshop knows it very well now, and it now benefits from great flexibility in terms of order quantities. More than ever, he is determined to develop new things with him, notably the famous English seams!
Howard's scarves
At the time I met Frédéric, he had some scarf prototypes to show me. His reasoning was the same as for the creation of his ties: what novelty could he bring to this accessory? How to inject Howard's paw?
Instead of moving towards knitted wool like 99% of other scarves, he continued to use precious and original fabrics from Vitale Barberis Canonico, adding his usual finishes (like his ties): rolling by hand, embroidered daisy, and travetta which finishes the seam.
The travetta is the small pile of thread that we see at the end of the cross seams in this photo (at the corners, under the flower).
For those most interested, know that Hugo Jacomet talks about it much better than me in his last article on Howard's .
The Howard's store in Paris
So you understand that we highly recommend this brand, especially if you have to wear a tie every day. These are very beautiful pieces, with real personality. And the kind of gift that makes sense for a connoisseur.
Note that Howard's has a single store at 45 rue d'Amsterdam in Paris , where Frédéric will welcome you personally. He is someone who is passionate and gives very good advice, who will be happy to advise you on shirt/tie/pocket pairings.
There is also an eshop on the brand's website, which can be very valuable for a last minute choice for the New Year.
