The Pratt knot is a method of tying a tie around one's neck and collar. It is also known as the Shelby knot and the Pratt-Shelby. The knot was created by Jerry Pratt, an employee of the US Chamber of Commerce. It was popularized as the Shelby knot after then 92-year-old Pratt taught it in 1986 to television reporter Don Shelby whom he felt had been tying his tie poorly on the air. Shelby then refined the Pratt knot with local clothier Kingford Bavender and wore it on the air with a spread collar where it stood out and attracted attention for its symmetry and trim precision. The Pratt knot is unusual in that its starting position is 'reverse side out', like the Nicky knot, a self-releasing variant of the Pratt. It uses less length than the half-Windsor or Windsor knots, and so is well suited to shorter ties or taller men. Unlike the four-in-hand knot, the Pratt method produces a symmetrical knot. It is of medium thickness.