The Bow Tie: Classic, Stunning, Endearing
By Meieli Sawyer Detoni

Bored with your usual office attire? A suit and its trimmings can be, for some men, a safety net in day-to-day fashion. If you are relying on basic navy or charcoal gray, think again—you could be fading into the background.

Making a quiet statement is tricky. A simple change in neckwear adds some interest without looking too loud or too daring: don a bow tie, spruce up your image, and up your class a notch in the process. Besides being the traditional de rigueur for weddings and evening events, the bow tie harkens back to a bygone era, truly classic, simply unique, and utterly respectable. Picture Humphrey Bogart, Winston Churchill, Frank Sinatra, James Bond, and The Great Gatsby, and you’ve got the idea.

For the bow tie, we must thank the French. It evolved from the lace jabot, a cravat of seventeenth century origins. For the two hundred years following, it was made from varying lengths and widths of fabrics ranging from the roughest of muslin to the finest of silk. The bow tie’s design finally stabilized in the early twentieth century, and today it remains synonymous with sophistication. Whether it is freestyle or pre-tied, the bow tie is classic.

Today, upper escalon professionals are reviving the bow tie and its reputation. People are again choosing the bow tie to bring interest to their appearance, and rightly so. It hints at positive but disguised dispositions, as the bow tie is tantamount to traditionalists, idealists, and scholars. So, to hidden intellectuals and disguised romantics alike: the bow tie offers a different outlook on business attire. We can look memorable and conversation-worthy without sparing an ounce of our polished image.

And consider the patterns—a four-in-hand tie has some limitations. If you try something really colorful, you run the risk of looking garish in a “strictly business” environment. Bow ties are a refined way to dabble in different looks. You can be dapper in stripes, silly in polka dots, or sensible in subtle shades, and still retain the effect of a time-honored design.

There’s always practicality. Bow ties are reversible, lightweight, and travel well. They are guaranteed to appear crisp and clean. Bow ties are neat and small, difficult to soil conspicuously over the course of a day. Tall men are fortunate, never having to wrangle with a suspiciously short length of four-in-hand necktie, and short men for the opposite reason. Plus, dress shirts with special buttons or details can be subtly showcased.  There is an opportunity to take new accessories into consideration, such as decorative cufflinks, handkerchiefs, and suspenders.

Try incorporating some bow ties into your repertoire. You needn’t make a complete transformation, just try to round out your wardrobe, and then perhaps you will feel the difference. The effort is guaranteed to give you a gentlemanly appearance and a well-needed vacation from necktie conformism. Dedicated wearers attest that the bow tie represents a neckwear community akin to secret societies or Ivy League fraternities. Once one is initiated, it is a lifetime membership.