My eyes have always been drawn to the man in the bow tie, from the moment I was old enough to really begin to appreciate men’s fashion. After a traditional upbringing in the heart of the South where the art of being a gentleman is not yet lost followed by a proper initiation into life as a lady of one of the oldest and certainly most distinguished women’s fraternities in the country, my affection for the bow tie, whether pre-tied or self-tie, remains positively unfettered, and I am all the more convinced, as an individual, every person if they really thought about the message of the bow tie, would want to be the man in the bow tie, would want to be on the arm of the man in the bow tie.
As I venture forth into my thirties, I continue to tell my single friends they most assuredly want a man who embraces the bow tie, and I know, as a mother, I aspire to be the sort of mother that raises my five-year-old son to be a man that wears a bow tie. Perhaps my aspirations seem moderately silly, but allow me to share a few reasons. Why the bow tie should trump the necktie or dress tie in your fashion lineup every single time:
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Wearing a bow tie communicates you are a composed gentleman
The bow tie has been around far longer than the traditional necktie or dress tie. Originating with Croatian warriors fighting in the 16th century Prussian War. Who used a brightly colored scarf looped through the top holes of their shirts to keep them closed during the battle in lieu of buttons. When Louis XIV, otherwise known as Louis the Great or the Sun King. Who reigned in France for 72 years, spotted the accessory. He ordered his tailors to make similar scarves for him. And encouraged members of the fashion-forward upper class to wear them in his court and for special occasions. Some 500 years later, the bow tie remains the go-to formal accessory for men and boys from all walks of life for special occasions like weddings and Bar Mitzvahs.
Sophisticated Attire
A bow tie remains the embodiment of propriety, yet as lovable hipsters. And fashionable up-and-comers begin to use them to properly accent less formal attire like a boys’ dress shirt. I am pleased to see my generation and the ones that follow. Returning to the sophisticated attire somehow lost by a few of those in the generations following the baby boomers. Who somehow wrongly decided to wear tattered denim and a ball cap to work projected or promoted self-confidence or success.
On behalf of women everywhere, let me simply say this to those man-boys who elect to still wear cargo pants and a college football t-shirt to office. You don’t look like an ambitious go-getter, a future CEO (unless you, uh, invented Facebook). But instead, you look more like someone who did not care enough about your duties to roll out of bed. More than thirty seconds before you had to leave for rush house traffic. You make me question whether you bothered to brush your teeth, and frankly, in a professional setting, that is really something I should never have to question. Prospective romantic partners, investors, customers, grandmothers, and employers love that image, right?
Wearing a necktie shows you are a gusty leader:
I remember reading a terrific quote about bow tie wearers in The New York Times. And as I recall, it is said that “ Doctors, lawyers, and professors wear bow ties, and people hoping to look like the. But perhaps most of all, wearing a bow tie is a way of broadcasting an aggressive lack of concern for what other people think.” A bow tie wearer is a man brave enough to stand out in the room. Especially when something like 93% of the American male population hides in the herd of department store neckties.
Classic Formal Accessory
A bow tie wearer is a man bold enough to embody propriety, a classic formal accessory that has stood the test of time. A man is absolutely unwilling to abandon class or tradition or yield to the fickleness of mere trends. Especially If he is dressed in a pre-tied or self-tie bow tie people remember the man or the boy in the tie, his independence, his confidence. Think about it, have you ever heard people talking the next day about the man at the party in a golf shirt and Dockers or the guy in a brown necktie. When both spent the evening being utterly overshadowed by the man in the bow tie?
If I rallied off some famous bow-tie wearers, it would undoubtedly sound like a Who’s Who of gusty leaders. Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman, and Winston Churchill all wore bow ties, and that duo defeated Hitler. Abraham Lincoln was a bow tie devotee, and he ended slavery. He united a divided nation after the Civil War and remains arguably the best President in American history. As a general rule, if the bow tie was the go-to formal accessory for men brave enough to literally save the world. It is probably something worth adding to your son’s wardrobe.
Wearing a necktie proves you are practical:
How many times have you spotted a man at the office with a coffee stain on his necktie? Or perhaps your toddler leaned over his plate at brunch after church and managed to soak it in maple syrup? From a sensible standpoint, a bow tie simply does not get in the way of life, even in situations when a tie clip on your necktie will not save you. Pediatricians have long elected to wear bow ties because they remained out of grabbing range for patients. Gynecologists often choose neck ties as well, perhaps for the very same reason.
When you turn and grab your cup of coffee on the way to the office in the morning. This tie will not get caught in the car door. This tie will not get trapped in the subway door. It will not get caught in the cog of machinery like a shredder, garbage disposal, fax machine, or printer. The tie also will not get in the way or risk getting sprinkled if you have a toddler. When your little man decides to slip out of the reception and perch himself over the urinal on his own.
As the chief overseer of household laundry and mother of a five-year-old determined to establish his independence, particularly in public restrooms. That reason alone is enough to make certain that he is always dressed for church or a special event in a bow tie. If the guy in your life is acrobatic enough to still manage to get a stain on his bow tie, has you covered, in that. All of the bow ties are washable and come packaged with special instructions on how to spot clean them.
Conclusion
The first step in making a change is really just putting on the bow tie. So pick out a handmade necktie and let the world see you for the man you really are, the man you aspire to be.
