Bow Ties, They’re Not Just for Clowns or Penguins Anymore

*** Hi Everyone! I am very excited to introduce to you the first of our guest writers here at Southern Creative Men. Chris is a good friend of mine, he has great style and happens to be the authority on bow-ties. When I wrote about how to tie a tie he wrote to me and said "Where are the bow-ties?!" So, I told him to write it and send it to me! He did, and it's great. I am confident you will enjoy what he has to say and you will definitely learn something new. So, thanks Chris for contributing a great post to Southern Creative Men! Enjoy!***

Good day, gentlemen! I want to start off by saying thank you to Ellie for inviting me to guest write on her blog. Today I’ll be writing about bow ties; why to wear them, how to wear them and when to wear them. I know bow ties are not the norm. Even if you wear a tie every day, bow ties can seem like a foreign concept, but they don’t have to be. So if you’ve ever been intrigued by a little bow around your neck read on!

The first thing to remember about bow ties is that you can apply all the same rules to bow ties as you would regular ties. But just for kicks I’ll run through some of the basics. 

1. Wear solid color ties with patterned shirts and vice-versa 
2. No crazy/loud patterns – less is more here, I’ll have some examples later
3. Not too thick or too skinny – Big floppy ties are for clowns!
4. Lastly, tie a real tie – Adults don’t clip on ties, 8 year olds do.

First things first! Let’s get you comfortable with tying one of these bad boys around your neck. It’s not as hard as you might think. Below you’ll see a nifty little instructional graphic to help.

One of the most difficult parts of tying a bow tie is getting it even, and this takes some practice. But as always, practice makes perfect, so don’t give up. Now don’t expect it to look perfect, that’s one of the things that gives a bow tie it’s look. It’s another reason why you don’t want to wear a clip-on; they have that “too perfect” look. See the comparison below.

You can see here how perfect it looks compared to the slightly off centered-ness of the real tie on the right.

Once you master tying a bow tie you’ve graduated into a new class of style. Next, let’s look at different ways to wear/show off your new skills!

It’s easy to first think of the most common way a bow tie is warn and that’s formal wear. If you have the opportunity to attend a black tie event that’s your chance to really show off, because most guys will be wearing a rental tux which means a clip-on tie. Wearing a real tie set you apart, and people will notice. But one of my favorite things you can do with a real tie is un-tie it as you move toward the end of the night.

One of the down sides to wearing any bow tie is you absolutely have to button your top button. You can’t do that cool “top button unbuttoned look” that you can with a regular tie. Having that top button buttoned can get uncomfortable, and when it does that’s when you bust out this look. Just un-tie your tie and let it hang around your neck. While all of the clip-on guys will have their tie tucked into their front pocket like it’s a High School Prom, you’ll still be looking good. Plus everyone will see that you had a real bow tie.

Now if going to black tie events isn’t on your calendar very often, do not fret! You can still wear a bow tie; it works for a casual look as well. Let’s look below.

In the first picture you can see a great casual outfit utilizing a bow tie. By simply wearing a v-neck sweater in place of a blazer or jacket, you can dress down a bow tie. Also, notice the tie is a solid color, just slightly darker than the shirt. He’s also wearing a darker wash jeans and a simple leather shoe.

Other options to dress down a bow tie are just as simple. For most people, your first bow tie will be a simple solid black one, which can seem hard to dress down, but it’s really not. Try wearing it with a patterned shirt like gingham, plaid, or even stripes. You can also wear a patterned tie with a solid or smaller/simpler patterned shirt. A third option is to wear a vest or cardigan in place of a blazer, and maybe don’t even tuck in your shirt. With all of these you can wear almost any pant. Jeans of course will be most casual and, depending on the style of slacks, you can dress them up or down.

When it comes to where and when to wear a bow tie, you can get away with it just about anywhere, as long as you feel comfortable. Just like anything, dress it up or down appropriately for your situation, but don’t be afraid to have some fun and experiment. A bow tie in any situation will get people’s attention, so be confident knowing that you look good.

Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed what I had to say. I also hope to see some more bow ties out there! 

• - Chris Stetson     -

Chris Stetson is a photographer, graphic designer and artist based in Temecula, Ca. See his work at www.stetsoncommachris.com