Help CMcG With Formality?

[CMcG]

Splendid!

PM me with your address. I have a pair of J. Higgins green/red diced hose that I will mail you so that you can also wear the MacQuarrie kilt/MacQuarrie waistcoat/red-green diced hose with this arrangment. That gives you two really sharp-looking black tie options- one dark and one "vibrant"...

That sounds AWESOME, thanks! PM sent!!!

[MacLowlife]

Artificer, you have set my mind a-spinning. I believe the ideal bow tie shape may actually be composed of two equilateral triangles. I could be wrong, of course ( and hope to have my problem elucidated ) but the ratio of height to width of such an hourglass shape is certainly closer to the Golden ratio than it is to 2:1. Still, I believe a Platonic ideal is not bound by anything so mundane as geometry.

Somewhere, someone is formulating an entire Geometry lesson based on tartans. I am glad to be far away from that place.

[azwildcat96]

Wow!!! And I thought that a black cloth matching your lapels (i.e. satin with satin, baratea with barathea, etc.), slightly imperfect to show it was hand-tied and giving it some 'character', was the right way to do it. Don't get me wrong, I love a good math quiz as much as the next guy.

Now, if we're talking about the shape of the tie, that's another thing all together...Bow ties come in a number of shapes, from thin 1 1/2" "bat-wings" to wide 3 1/2" "butterflies", and several in between. There is also the issue of flat vs. pointed ends.

I'd say the ultimate goal is to make sure that the tie is proportionate to the wearers face...and I think CMcG has achieved this goal.

[CMcG]

It (The MacLowlife) looks fine from the wrong side of the tracks. I think the tartan waistcoat is a thing of beauty with that kilt and jacket. And the dirk is good, too.


However, I will whine and beg for even more adjustment to the tie. I think you have the nonchalance, but I want an Aristotelian-Platonic ratio of 2 (width) to 1 (height). Check out Churchill and Cary Grant's knots... This is entirely the result of my prejudice, formed by what was fashionable when I came of age, long ago. Your sweetie may prefer it longer, I don't know.

MLL, you wouldn't be thinking of the GOLDEN RATIO or 1.61803398875, would you?

I think a slighly bulkier black tie (hand tied, of course) would help a little- similar to the proportions of your white tie.
<snip>

Artificer, you have set my mind a-spinning. I believe the ideal bow tie shape may actually be composed of two equilateral triangles. I could be wrong, of course ( and hope to have my problem elucidated ) but the ratio of height to width of such an hourglass shape is certainly closer to the Golden ratio than it is to 2:1. Still, I believe a Platonic ideal is not bound by anything so mundane as geometry.
<snip>

Wow!!! And I thought that a black cloth matching your lapels (i.e. satin with satin, baratea with barathea, etc.), slightly imperfect to show it was hand-tied and giving it some 'character', was the right way to do it. Don't get me wrong, I love a good math quiz as much as the next guy.

Now, if we're talking about the shape of the tie, that's another thing all together...Bow ties come in a number of shapes, from thin 1 1/2" "bat-wings" to wide 3 1/2" "butterflies", and several in between. There is also the issue of flat vs. pointed ends.
<snip>

Leaving questions of math aside, I've done a bit of thinking on the ties.

Both my black and white bow ties are made from dupioni silk. Both are 2" at the widest point. The white tie has square ends while the black tie has pointed ends.

Neither of them matches the lapels of any jacket that I own

In taking MacLowlife's original comment on the horizontal spread of the white tie, I made the band shorter. I'm thinking to now go the other way and make it as long as possible. The black tie actually has no adjusting apparatus and so I have to double the fold of the bow, which results in a pleasing bulk. If I let the white tie out to its full length, it will be as long as the black tie...

I'll try to get some pics this weekend but will leave it someone else to determine the ratio

[kennethrmc]

Chiming in on like #1

[Cygnus]

All of the options look great, but the Number 5 gets my vote, though I'd love to see it with your new red diced hose and the MacQuarrie kilt!

I am a huge fan of tartan waistcoats but feel that five-button waistcoats really cover too much shirt to be worn with a PC or an Argyll in a formal situation; something about it just doesn't look quite right to my eye.

[JSFMACLJR]

Leaving questions of math aside, I've done a bit of thinking on the ties.

Both my black and white bow ties are made from dupioni silk.

To be correctly dressed at a white tie event, the bow tie should be made of white pique or marcella, not silk.

[CMcG]

To be correctly dressed at a white tie event, the bow tie should be made of white pique or marcella, not silk.

It is just these sorts of nuance that I was hoping to sort out. Thanks!

Where is it correct to wear my white silk bow tie and white (paisley) 3 button vest then?

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

It is just these sorts of nuance that I was hoping to sort out. Thanks!

Where is it correct to wear my white silk bow tie and white (paisley) 3 button vest then?

Off the top of my head I can't really think of an occasion when my first choice would be a white silk bow tie. Perhaps it belongs with Bertie Wooster's white mess jacket, ie: in the back of the wardrobe?

As for the waistcoat, unless it has a shiny finish (like satin) there is no reason it couldn't be worn with either black or white tie, although with white tie one is pushing the boundaries just a tad. The trick with accessories (like waistcoats) is making sure the finish of the fabric matches up-- since barathea has a soft finish then so should the waistcoat. The exception is white tie where the waistcoat has a strongly textured finish, as with a marcella or pique waistcoat, which is (and Sandy has touched upon) probably your best choice for white tie.