Bow Ties

[David Conwill]

The top one (alpacca?) is great!

Certainly makes me feel considerably better about having a seersucker bowtie!

-Dave

 

[Justdog]

Diamond tied bow tie

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d138/justdog/DiamondBowTie.jpg
How do you get this nice diamond end on the formal bow tie?
Anyone know where to get this type of tie or is it the standard tux tie tied a special way?

 

[anon`]

That's what I'd call a "pointy-ended thistle" though I'm sure there's a more technical term for it.

There's nothing terribly special about that kind of a bow; the ends are simply cut at an angle to form the point. A few of my bows, untied, to illustrate can be seen here: http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f365/Malibu38368/DSCN1418.jpg

Photo's still huge, so I won't post it into the entry.

 

[3PieceSuitGuy]

if you can tie your shoes...

then you can tie a bowtie! I agree with the guys that said try it on your leg. That's how I learnt! Once you can tie your own you will never go back to being a captain clipon.

Cheers,

Peter

 

[Suitable]

For years I have worn bow ties almost to the exclusion of neckties. I am pleased that other gentlemen here are taking an interest in them as well.

Learning to tie them just takes a bit of practice. The only real difficulty for the beginner lies in finding the gap through which the second loop must be passed. Inserting the free thumb into this space may be helpful. I also recommend starting with a tie made of smooth silk. Bulkier, less flexible materials such as heavy woven silk and wool are harder to manipulate and may frustrate a beginner's efforts.

A bow tie is mandatory with evening dress: a black one with a dinner jacket, a white one with a tailcoat. On the other hand, bow ties are not worn with morning dress.

Outside their obligatory use with evening formal wear, bow ties tend to look best on men with a masculine appearance. Lanky men may find them less flattering.

 

[arthur]

I am going to wear a bow tie for the first time when I go to church later this morning.I found a video on you tube that made it really easy.I got a very good result the first time.Finding the hole to slip the tie through is easy if you pinch the tie around and pull forward and to the side it's right there.Besides a real bow tie is not supposed to be perfect anyway.

 

[dostacos]

Always tie-it-yourself! The undone bowtie always looks cool.

but make sure you can tie it without a mirror when some dork grabs it and asks if it is "REAL" as they untie it

 

[feltfan]

I like and have worn bow ties.

However, I am with Jon Stewart on both TC
and his bow ties. Honestly, he doesn't pull it off-
it's a silly costume on him.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmj6JADOZ-8

 

[just_me]

Tucker Carlson really, really annoys me, but I saw him say that he wore the bow tie when he first started and he thought it was mistake because then he was stuck with it.

 

[Edward]

I'm more often a four in hand guy. Actually, the only bow ties I presently own are either black or white, and for formal wear. Oh... forgot, I do have one silk, Royal Stewart tartan bow tie but that is costume rather than wardrobe (think Barry Bostwick as Brad Majors). I have in the past never cared for a bow tie outside of formal or semi-formal eveningwear, hence the lack of bows in any hue other than black or white in my non-costume wardrobe. That said, in recent months I have warmed to the Henry Jones Jr look, and I'm cosidering picking up one or two to experiment with. I am inclined to agree with Orgetorix that one needs to be careeful how one blends them in to a moree conservative outfit if one wishes to avoid the risk of them becoming overly costumesque, or the centrepiece of an outfit (this may vary for the individual and his circumstances, of course).

At one time, I confess with shame, I would only ever wear a pre-tied bow tie. My reasoning was that I would never be able to tie the real thing so neatly, and as I did not care for the look of an untied tie, there was no reason to do otherwise. Over time my opinion changed, and now I am one of those snobs that would regard a pre-tied as an insult to my neck. lol

As to tying, it took me a while for it to click (much practicing ahead of that first event!), but the eureka moment for me came with a flash of memory from an old children's television programme. The show in question was Stilgoes On with Richard Stilgoe (UK forumites may remember him and/or the show). He typically wore a bow tie whenever he appeared in public, and made it look very naturla if memory serves. He did in one episode (this is going on for 25 years ago!) show how to tie a bow tie, and talked about why he preferred the "real thing" over a pre-tied. His comment that clicked with me regarding tying was "it's like tying a shoelace while you are standing inside the shoe." Amazing how the simplest visualisations are sometimes all it takes to 'get it.'

 

[pipe23]

Edward beat me to it, I just recently got into freestyle bowties, and couldn't get the hang of it. Finally saw a video which said it's just like tying a shoelace, and to imagine your shoe on your neck. Presto, got it right away.
Just bought a self-tie Kentucky colonel-type tie and spent a few hours trying to get that the hang correct, that's a tough one to get right. Can't seem to find a video lesson for that one.

 

[Geesie]

I am glad that Carlson dropped the bow tie. He's the exact wrong kind of person to promote their usage. It just plays into the stereotype of bow tie wearers as being uptight, high-strung dorks. Too many Gene Shalit/Jerry Lewis/Paul Simon (liked his politics but the guy was a complete nerd) sorts have given the bow tie the opposite image of what the Frank Sinatra/Fred Astaire or Winston Churchill/Le Corbusier sorts gave to it.

 

[filfoster]

Bow ties and TC

I cannot tell if this thread is about bowties or the commentator, TC. Anyway, I wear bowties occasionally to annoy people and to justify the time spent learning to tie them. I favor the straight small kind, (terminology? The ones Arnold Stang wore. PM me and I'll tell you who he was).
It's impossible to wear one outside of a wedding and not appear effete. So what?

 

[KILO NOVEMBER]

Do your bow ties fray like mine do?

My bow ties tend to fray along the edges, more expensive ones less than inexpensive ones. Am I doing something wrong, or is this just the cost of doing business?

 

[Nick D]

My less expensive bowtie is fraying a bit around the edges. I suspect in my case it's my rough hands, and maybe rubbing against beard stubble as I have my head down reading quite a lot.

 

[Tomasso]

Like most any textile, silk will fray after enough use. It's the nature of the beast. Though some weaves fare better than others.

 

[KILO NOVEMBER]

Bow tie fraying

With the basic neck tie, I only get fraying along the bottom edge after years of wear. The bow ties fray within one year. This means something along the line of 10 to 20 wearings. Tying a bow tie takes a good deal more effort than ordinary neck ties. Is the fraying a function of the way bow ties are tied, or could there be something in my technique which is at fault?

 

[lairddouglas]

Fraying Bowties

Its your beard. Even if you shave close if you have a heavy beard you will find your bows start to produce threading. Woven ties will fray faster then print. After each time I wear my bows I take if off and check for fraying and use precision point fiskers to trim the errant threads ... yes it pains me to see the pattern on the edge showing some wear.

 

[Highlander]

I haven't done it yet, but yes, my bow ties fray badly, and my regular ties fray at the bottom, so I am going to take a lighter and burn the tread edges like the guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier do.

I think if you gently let it get near the silk threads that have frayed it will burn them off giving the new slick look.

 

[Schofields]

diamond point bow ties

is it just me or are these really hard to find new? i want a few, but i cant really swing anything custom right now.

[huh]