Merits of the Bow Tie

[rodes]

Perhaps this is only me, but I seem to be seeing more of these and I am glad of it for men who wear bow ties tend to wear them well. Jonathan Martin, guest on CNN Inside Politics last Sunday, wore his in fine style with tweed jacket and oxford shirt. Not right on many occasions, at least for me, bow ties are just right for some. Special festive days at the office, plays, art shows, discussions of philosophic import, private diners, to name a few, all of which I presume London Loungers chance to engage from time to time. They are especially right for holiday travel. I am taking 3 of them and my best girl of 40 years to Italy for a few weeks. Wouldn't even think of taking a normal tie.

[Luca]

D’you know; it’s funny about bow ties. Or rather, I’m funny about them. I routinely wear a hat, which many well-dressed gents feel attracts too much attention or is difficult “to pull off”. I wear a contrast club collar more often than not. I own a pair of spectators (albeit seldom worn). Yet, I have never worn a bow tie other than with a DJ; don’t even own any non-black bow ties.

Your post persuades me to take the plunge, en fin. These days I wear a waistcoat through the cooler months and I’m quite clear about the view that a bow tie looks best over a modest expanse of visible shirting.

Any suggestions for a starter? I suppose the Churchillian white pin-dot on navy blue might be an idea, or old school colours.

[HristoStefanov]

I prefer bow ties. They stay the whole day with a perfect knot without any movement, without any gap between the shirt top and the knot. No need to look in the mirror, no need to adjust. And for the girls it is more fun to undress a bow tie.

Ties on the other hand always need adjustment throughout the day/night.
I hate the gap between knot and shirt. It makes me crazy.
http://image.gala.de/20326262/uncropped ... 37209-.jpg
I know that a waistcoat or a collar pin can solve the gap problem, but you don't wear a waistcoat or a collar pin every day.

[rodes]

"And for the girls it is more fun to undress a bow tie."
I never even thought of this and it's the best reason of all.

[hectorm]

Your post persuades me to take the plunge, en fin. Any suggestions for a starter? I suppose the Churchillian white pin-dot on navy blue might be an idea, or old school colours.

If you're willing to start this exploration, I believe that a friendly and versatile bow tie will be very helpful at this stage. Something that it does not make much of a statement on its own (just wearing a daytime bow tie will feel like statement enough for you the first times) and something that you can wear either with your earthy tweeds and vests or even with your blazers (I find that those informal attires are the best frames for a daytime BT and I have personally stopped there, but if you feel comfortable and you liked it, then you can move on to your 3 pc. suits, your seersuckers, etc.).
I think that a textured silk -like woven jacquard or a thick resilient grenadine- in a plain but energetic burnt sienna or copper color would be ideal. Much better, no doubt, than printed pin dots or navy dull drums.

[Scot]

Your post persuades me to take the plunge, en fin. Any suggestions for a starter? I suppose the Churchillian white pin-dot on navy blue might be an idea, or old school colours.

If you're willing to start this exploration, I believe that a friendly and versatile bow tie will be very helpful at this stage. Something that it does not make much of a statement on its own (just wearing a daytime bow tie will feel like statement enough for you the first times) and something that you can wear either with your earthy tweeds and vests or even with your blazers (I find that those informal attires are the best frames for a daytime BT and I have personally stopped there, but if you feel comfortable and you liked it, then you can move on to your 3 pc. suits, your seersuckers, etc.).
I think that a textured silk -like woven jacquard or a thick resilient grenadine- in a plain but energetic burnt sienna or copper color would be ideal. Much better, no doubt, than printed pin dots or navy dull drums.

Think of the great bow tie wearers. Frank Muir springs to mind.

[alden]

Start with 'the Churchillian white pin-dot on navy blue' made by Charvet...

[Melcombe]

Start with 'the Churchillian white pin-dot on navy blue' made by Charvet...

Quite.

The "problem" with bow ties is the "problem" with ties generally, but at a much louder volume.

Most men (and not a single LL'er among them) regard ties as an inconvenience, and having a shirt - firstly, with a top button - and secondly, having that top button uncomfortably done up, is more than they are happy to sustain outside an office or courtroom dock. The result is that few ties are an adornment. Few men can tie them convincingly, let alone match them with a shirt or suit cloth.

Bow ties simply compound that. They are very difficult to tie for the less-than-determined, and they come mainly in black or an assortment of profoundly unattractive "look-at-me" hues and patterns.

Bow ties that don't intrude are thus few and far-between; those that enhance are at the hens' teeth end of the scale.

Making matters worse, they are also associated by many with evening wear or a degree of eccentricity. Or, heaven help us, both.



Consequently, most people perceive them, rightly in my view, as very difficult to pull off. It's not just the tie, it's the whole presentation :

Correct :


Worthy effort :


Tempting fate :


Thin ice :


Go home and change :


(comment redacted) :


Charvet it is then...

[alden]

Melcombe

I agree with everything you have written above. I had to laugh at the point about tight top buttons on collars and it reminded me of an article I wrote for Esquire years ago where I pleaded with young men to have a shirtmaker craft the correct sized collar. Because one should never even feel the top collar button, much less feel uncomfortable with it fastened. Going around with ill fitting clothing is the kind of irretrievable "unforced error" that keeps most men from living elegantly.

But on the general point, I agree that finding a bow tie you can completely commit to, body and soul, is near impossible outside the sanctified climes of Charvet. But when a man (or woman) can commit, body and soul, to anything in life, they generally pull it off with great panache. That goes for wearing the bow tie as well. The man, and his attitude, makes the clothes.

That being said I own only two bow ties, a black one and that Churchill model, both from Charvet.

Cheers

[hectorm]

Dear Melcombe,
Your own "pulling it off" ranking is clearly associated by age (positively) and by amount of shirt shown and smoothness of the jacket´s cloth (both negatively).
I predict that Charvet, although it wouldn´t hurt, will be a non-factor.

[Concordia]

Most men (and not a single LL'er among them) regard ties as an inconvenience, and having a shirt - firstly, with a top button - and secondly, having that top button uncomfortably done up, is more than they are happy to sustain outside an office or courtroom dock.

One trick that Ronald Reagan is said to have brought to Washington from Hollywood was to do without the top button entirely. Think about it: he had many shirts of different vintages, and faced who knows what kind of fluctuation of his measurements through alternations of exercise on the ranch, air travel, state dinners, etc. And he always wore jacket and tie to the office. The solution was to eliminate the button, and make sure that his tie was correctly knotted and tightened. Voila--perfect collar size.

[Dr T]

Armed with bow ties from Sam Hober - what more could you possibly want?

[Concordia]

A good source.

Also, if you don't mind adjustables (or are prepared to invest in some of Tiecrafters' work), Le Noeud Papillon and Vanda have some nice-looking things. For the former, you can sometimes get huge discounts which make the compromises more palatable.

[bertie]

I suspect, like many here, my only bow tie for a long time was for my DJ. I have always struggled with tieing the bow tie and attributed it to my more general lifelong struggle with knots (barely passed sailing school in my teens). I had thought that my black bow tie was long enough until one day I was googling some random things and came across a formula for how long a bow tie should be relative to neck size. Well it turns out my original bow tie was at least three inches shorter than the formula would suggest. I ordered a new tie from Sam Hober (after a bit of discussion with him on the desired effect) and what a difference. It is now much easier to tie and I like the results much more (feels more substantial than my old one).

I've since ordered a few more casual bow ties to wear with tweed on casual Fridays. I thought maybe it was a bit dandy for my workplace but, wow, do the ladies like bow ties.

[rodes]

"... wow, do the ladies like bow ties." Bertie, you are giving me even more reason.
Just returned from a few weeks in Italy where I had the time of my life and ate some of the best food imaginable. Every scene as beautiful as the last, every work of art as breath taking as the next. Any time my wife and I went out for an evening dinner, I wore a bow tie. It was well received.
And you are quite right, women love them.