Bow tie

One of two ways to tie a bow tie

Silk bow ties with "thistle" (left) and "bat wing" (right) ends. The tie on the left is fixed length, while the tie on the right is adjustable.

For other uses, see Bow tie (disambiguation).

The bow tie is a men's necktie popularly worn with formal attire, such as suits or dinner jackets. It consists of a ribbon of fabric tied around the collar in a symmetrical manner such that the two opposite ends form loops. Ready-tied bow ties are available, in which the distinctive bow is sewn into shape and the band around the neck incorporates a clip. Some "clip-ons" dispense with the band altogether, instead clipping to the collar. The traditional bow tie, consisting of a strip of cloth which the wearer has to tie by hand, may be known as a "self-tie," "tie-to-tie," or "freestyle" bow tie to distinguish it from these. Bow ties may be made of silk, polyester, cotton, or a mixture of fabrics. Some fabrics (e.g., wool) are much less common for bow ties than for ordinary four-in-hand neckties.

Origin and History

The bow tie originated among Croatian mercenaries during the Prussian wars of the 17th century: the Croats used a scarf around the neck to hold together the opening of their shirts. This was soon adopted (under the name cravat, derived from the French for "Croat") by the upper classes in France, then a leader in fashion, and flourished in the 18th and 19th centuries. The French novelist Honoré de Balzac even wrote a book on the subject.

It is uncertain whether the cravat then evolved into the bow tie and necktie, or whether the cravat gave rise to the bow tie, which in turn led to the necktie.

The most traditional bow ties are usually of a fixed length and are made for a specific size neck. Sizes can vary between approximately 14 and 20 inches just like a comparable shirt collar. Fixed-length bow ties are preferred when worn with the most formal wing collar shirts, so as not to expose the adjusting buckle of the bow tie. Adjustable bow ties are the standard when the tie is to be worn with less formal turn-down collar shirts which obscure the neckband of the tie. "One-size-fits-all" adjustable bow ties are a later invention that help to moderate production costs.

Stereotypes of bow tie wearers

Main article: list of bow tie wearers

"To its devotees the bow tie suggests iconoclasm of an Old World sort, a fusty adherence to a contrarian point of view. The bow tie hints at intellectualism, real or feigned, and sometimes suggests technical acumen, perhaps because it is so hard to tie. Bow ties are worn by magicians, country doctors, lawyers and professors and by people hoping to look like the above. But perhaps most of all, wearing a bow tie is a way of broadcasting an aggressive lack of concern for what other people think."

— Warren St John, The New York Times

Bow ties tend to be associated with particular professions, such as architects, attorneys, university professors, and politicians. Pediatricians frequently wear bow ties. Infants cannot grab them the way they could grab a four-in-hand necktie, and they do not get into places where they would be soiled or could, whether accidentally or deliberately, strangle the wearer.

Russell Smith, style columnist for the Toronto Globe and Mail, observes that opinions of bow tie wearers are mixed. "The class conscious man," he writes, "recoils at the idea" of pre-tied bow ties. "Left-wingers," he continues, "recoil at what they perceive to be a symbol of political conservatism." He finally observes that "followers of fashion wrinkle their noses at the anachronism," and that bow ties are "deliberate eccentricities," that "basically dull men" use to project the image of being "zany and fun." He argues that, however, the anachronism is the point, and that bow tie wearers are making a public statement that they disdain changing fashion. Such people may not be economic conservatives, he argues, but they are social conservatives. In Smith's view, the bow tie is "the embodiment of propriety," an indicator of fastidiousness and intelligence, and "an instant sign of nerddom in Hollywood movies," but "not the mark of a ladies' man" and "not exactly sexy." To this image he attributes the association of the bow tie with newspaper editors (because of their fastidiousness with words), high-school principals, and bachelor English teachers. Most men, he observes, only wear bow ties with formal dress. In a 2008-11-15 column, he observed that bow ties may be making a fashion comeback, however.

Current

Although the necktie is more prominent in today's society, being seen at business meetings, formal functions, schools, and sometimes even at home, the bow tie is making a comeback with fun-formal events such as dinner, cocktail parties and nights out on the town. Bow ties, especially narrow "string ties," are still popular with men of all ages in the American South. It is also still much more common to wear a bow tie with a dinner jacket than it is to wear a necktie with one; the latter, in fact, is technically incorrect.

The dress code of "black tie" requires a black bow tie. Most military mess dress incorporates a bow tie.

A pretied bow tie

Shown on the right is one style of "ready tied" bow tie; there is also a clip-on that does not go around the neck but clips to the collar points; these are the simplest type to put on, but are also considered somewhat of a faux pas. If choosing a "self-tie" bow tie, there are usually two shapes available: the "bat wing," which is parallel-sided like a cricket bat, and the "thistle", sometimes known as the "butterfly." An example of each can also be seen preceding. Which is worn is a matter of personal preference. Some other shapes do exist, for instance with pointed tips at both ends. Both of these are of the double-ended type, with both ends shaped; occasionally one still sees bow ties of the single-ended type, in which only one end flares out to give the batwing or thistle shape, and the other remains thin. To tie one of these requires careful consideration, to ensure the broader end finishes in front of the thinner one.

Designers

There are many well-known designers offering bespoke bow ties such as Budd in London, or Charvet in Paris, which invented some novel styles such as a cross between a batwing and a butterfly for the Duke of Windsor in the 1950s. Other leading designers of bow ties include Carrot & Gibbs, Duchamp, Robert Charles and Paul Smith who are renowned for bow ties with interesting and colourful designs. Likewise designers such as Frederick Theak are leaders in formal bow ties (black silk and white marcella bow ties). Within the UK, leading retailers of some of these include Turnbull & Asser, John Lewis Partnership, House of Fraser, and Selfridges. Within the US retailers include the department stores Bergdorf Goodman and Neiman Marcus, as well as noted specialty shops such as Brooks Brothers.

Bow tie shapes in corporate logos

Some logos for popular product have incorporated bow tie shapes:

• Budweiser beer had a bow tie logo in the 20th century that resembled overlapping red triangles.
• Chevrolet vehicles have worn the iconic bow tie logo since 1913.
• Playboy Enterprises has a rabbit sporting a bow tie for logo.
• HSBC has a logo that resembles a bow tie.

External links

• How to tie a bow tie with extra steps to make it easier to follow along, and adjust how tight or loose the tie is.
• wikiHow on How to tie a bow tie