Bow Ties

[tulloch]

I wear bow ties more than long ties. I have about 20 - all the kind that I have to tie in order to wear. For a long time I was one of three here in North Central Massachusetts that I saw regularly in court. Then about five years ago our regional newspaper did an article that featured me and now quite a few others have donned bow ties in our community of lawyers. Some of them have bow tie Fridays. I decide based on the jacket, shirt and pants which tie I wear.

A great thing about bow ties is that they don't get into things.

One day I dressed, thought which tie I would wear and chose, then left. At lunch, (Rotary Club), a friend said it was an interesting look - buttened up shirt but no tie. OOPS! I couldn't stop laughing. I had thought all morning that I was wearing my blue patterned bow tie.

[usonian]

I started wearing bow ties after seeing a gentleman wearing a self-tied one at a conference; it wasn't a cartoonishly big Tucker Carlson job, but it wasn't a super skinny one either; just right. It looked quite dapper, and thus began my quest to find a self-tie bow tie. This was in 2007, and at the time you couldn't find self-tie bow ties anywhere except wedding shops... and even then you'd only find black. I wound up ordering one from someone on Ebay, and then happened across several more in a thrift shop.

They've become a little easier to find, but are often expensive when you do. I took matters into my own hands and started making my own... much to my surprise a lot of people began asking about them, and I've actually started selling them... they really do seem to be making a bit of a comeback.

In general, I get nothing but positive comments when wearing a bow tie, especially when people notice that I actually tie them; I think that bow ties have developed a bad rap partly due to cheesy-looking clip-ons. I'm sure there are those who think I'm a prat, but so far they've kept their thoughts to themselves.

I think that being able to pull off wearing any anachronistic garment or accessory is about 10% fashion sense, and 90% self-confidence... if you wear something because you simply like it and like the way you look in it, most people can somehow pick up on that vibe.

[saxandpipes]

I bow to you gentlemen who profess to be able to easily tie a bow. I struggle mightily every time I want to wear one. I just can't remember from one wearing to the next how I did it.

Me too... I CAN do it, but it's certainly not as fast as a windsor/double windsor to tie... Faster to undo however!

I think bow ties are making a come back nowadays too...!

Cheers,

Michael

[Jack Daw]

I have to wear suits to work and bow ties add to the variety. I mix it up all the time between long and bow.

[Chas]

Of course, the one downside to wearing a bow tie is that there is a lot of chest/stomach left only covered with a shirt. On a thin man that is not too bad, but on someone who is more 'man-sized' there can be a lot of belly on display. The way round is to wear a waist coat or V necked jumper to break up the vastness - ideally 5 button plus.

The knitted V necked jumper has its own minefield. Anything other than a plain weave and the wearer looks like a wartime or 50's refugee.

Regards

Chas

[NewEnglander]

Today I'm wearing a bowtie as well as a charcoal grey waistcoat and matching jacket...and I'm afraid the dark colors, white shirt and black and orange striped tie makes me look a bit like a magician. I'm just waiting for the first of my students to point it out. Just shows me what happens when I combine Waistcoat Wednesday and Bowtie Friday on a Tuesday. ;)

[creagdhubh]

I wear bow ties quite a bit, as I have always been fond of the classic, American preppy look...since I was a wee lad actually (ask my parents, lol)! However, with Highland dress, the only time I wear a bow tie is for either black or white tie affairs.

Cheers,

[creagdhubh]

Of course, the one downside to wearing a bow tie is that there is a lot of chest/stomach left only covered with a shirt. On a thin man that is not too bad, but on someone who is more 'man-sized' there can be a lot of belly on display. The way round is to wear a waist coat or V necked jumper to break up the vastness - ideally 5 button plus.

The knitted V necked jumper has its own minefield. Anything other than a plain weave and the wearer looks like a wartime or 50's refugee.

Regards

Chas

Or one could go for a run?

[zirrow]

I'll also recommend The Tie Bar for bow ties. I try to wear one once or twice a week as it classes up a shirt without putting a long piece of fabric in front of me to swing around and get caught up in everything it possibly can, though I still occasionally wear a standard tie. My ties are also more of a country-casual style as there is very little happening in Southwest Oklahoma of a formal nature. I don't think I even have a tie I could wear to such an event, let alone the rest of the necessary accessories. Where I work, if we were anymore casual, I'd have to show up in pajamas, so I've recently decided to class it up a bit and come in wearing a button down shirt, tie, and oxfords a few times a week. So far, it's been catching on and the owner and his wife will play along every now & then.

[Tobus]

Where I work, if we were anymore casual, I'd have to show up in pajamas, so I've recently decided to class it up a bit and come in wearing a button down shirt, tie, and oxfords a few times a week. So far, it's been catching on and the owner and his wife will play along every now & then.

Slight thread hijack:

I started the same thing at my office a couple of years ago, with "tie Tuesdays". Some people just roll their eyes, but several others have joined in. It starts to catch on when people want to look and act more like professionals!