Fat ties, skinny ties, loud print ties, subtle ties, Foulard ties, reversible fabric ties, hand-painted ties, screen printed ties, four-in-hand ties, bow ties, knit ties, square bottom ties, scarf ties, bolo ties, Western ties, clip on ties ... and the list goes on.

You see a big fat 5" wide tie and immediately think of the Zoot Suit era of the late 30's & most of the 40's.  But they were also very popular in the 70's.

You see a skinny 2" tie and think of the late 50's to early 60's beatnick or rockabilly era.  But they were also worn in the late 20's, and  made an appearance in the 80's. 

Because of the standard 3 - 4" width of neckties from the 30's to now,  this guide will help you with basic dating of mens neckties: 

In the 30's, neckties ranged from 2 1/2" wide to 5" wide and when tied ended about 2/3 of the way between the top of the collar and the belt.  For the most part, ties were unlined, and Rayon and Silk were popular fabrics.  In a lot of ties, the "tag" was stamped on a black fabric attached to the inside back center - as shown below.  

The Towncraft tie shown with it was dated to pre-1938 by using the way J.C. Penney was written on the attached original price tag (which, by the way, was $1.49)  Beside the tags are four examples of fabric, print & color of  Thirties ties.

40's Wartime and thru the rest of the decade I like to think of as "Happy Ties" with bright colors, leftover Art Deco styling or the up and coming Atomic patterned fabric, and those marvelous hand painted and Hawaiian ties from the last half of the decade.  Widths ranged from 3" wide to 5" wide, worn a just little longer while the pants were worn higher on the waist, and linings were added. 

Here's a few tag examples from the 40's & into the mid 50's:

The 50's continued with what had been done fashionwise in the late Forties until a big change came in the middle of the decade.  Some jacket lapels got skinnier, so ties followed the trend; At that time, a well dressed gentleman always wore a tie the same width as his jacket lapel.  But remember that 3" to 4" jacket lapels and ties were still offered along with the skinny trend.

Red and Pink became popular colors for Fifties neckties which you wouldn't have seen in earlier years or times;  The Forties showed variations of these colors in Wines, Burgandies & Maroons. 

In the late 50's and into the early 60's, neckties got as skinny as 1" and then widened as the Sixties progressed. 

Tag examples:

I have found that one of the best ways for dating neckties is the overall length:

1. 1930s - ties were a/ 44" long
2. 1940s - ties were a/ 47" long
3. 1950s - ties were a/ 51" long
4. Late 1950s, Early 60s - Tall Man / Xlong ties introduced which added 4-5" of length
5. 1970s - ties were a/ 55" long
6. 1990s - ties were a/ 58" long

Other dating clues appear in the picture below:

Upper left is a dry cleaners tag from the late 40's thru the 50's affixed with a thick U-shaped staple;

Upper right tag is for a Milkmans Uniform - 40s thru 60s, Garbardine popular in late 40's & 50's which narrows it down some;

Lower left is the store that sold the tie which I researched and found out was in business from the late 30's thru the 60's; 

Lower right is a fabric content and care tag which became mandatory in 1971, so tie has to be later than that date.  

If you use dating clues along with length, width, color(s), design, and tags, the job of dating Vintage Neckties should be much easier.