St George by Duffer tie - a definitive comparison

I’ve spent the past couple of days visiting various high street branches of Debenhams, seeking out the St George by Duffer tie that the Tenth Doctor will be wearing in the upcoming 50th Anniversary Special.

Some things have come to light which I think it is worth mentioning to help clarify the situation and dispel some myths circulating online.

First up, the correct tie being worn is the Blue Jacquard Floral Tie, which I gave the link to a couple of days ago.

This, as many people have now discovered, is out of stock on the website and several people I know had their orders cancelled even when it was in stock, citing insufficient items. Basically they oversold it.

However, there is an alternative, called the Brown Jacquard Floral SLIM Tie.

On the website it looks to be the same pattern, but with a darker background.

You can see by putting the two side-by-side they are notably different.

With this in mind I was looking out for the two versions of the ties in-store.

When I did find them, I discovered the following:

• The wider screen-worn tie is way rarer than its narrow counterpart. I saw a dozen narrow for every one wide.
• The narrow tie is made from exactly the same fabric as the wider one, in precisely the same colour. 
• There are subtle differences in manufacture between the two, but only cosmetic and nothing that notices once worn
• The slim tie is only narrower by 1cm at the widest point

Here are some proper side-by-side comparision pictures to show you. The slim tie is on the left, the screen-worn on the right.

As you can clearly see, the two versions of the tie are made from exactly the same fabric. There is no difference in the pattern at all.

The labels are identical on both, but the slim tie has a loop in jacquard fabric, whereas the screen-worn has a loop made from some light blue ribbon.

The one thing that is a dead giveaway to distinguish them apart is the lining inside the end of the ties.

The slim version has a plain silk lining in a sky blue colour.

The wider, screen-worn version has a lighter lining, with a woven paisley design.
It is a much nicer and more pleasing lining, though it goes unseen when worn.

Finally, here is an all important direct comparison between the two ties so you can see just how much they differ, which frankly isn’t that much.
It is about 1cm across the width of the tie at its widest point.

So how does this look when worn with a suit?
Here is a side-by-side with the Ultimate Tennant Suit, acknowledged as the most screen accurate replica of the Tenth Doctor’s costume outside of the BBC!
The slim tie is on the left, the wider screen-accurate is on the right.

I leave you to decide - let me know what you think.