by Matthew Longcore
Are you someone who wears a bow tie often? Occasionally? Absolutely never unless you’re in a tuxedo? Bow ties have been part of the repertoire of Ivy Style since its beginnings, but many of us prefer the four in hand necktie. Bow ties can seem fussier and more formal, perhaps because of their origins with tailcoats and tuxedos, but they can also be casual and relaxed. With formal wear, they’re conventional and expected. Outside of this, they’re an individual statement and the less safe choice.
Ever wonder where the concept of tying a scrap of fabric around your neck came from? It’s generally agreed upon that the idea was copied from Croatian soldiers in the Thirty Years’ War in the 17th century. Croatian mercenaries wore colorful scarves tied around their necks, perhaps to protect their necks or maybe to keep their shirt collars closed. Some accounts say women gave the men scarves as tokens of their love and devotion before they left for battle. The details are lost to history. The French word for Croatian is Cravat – therefore the French, as leaders of the fashion world at that time, adopted the practice of wearing a cravat which came to mean tie. Did the Croatians inspire the bow tie first which then became a necktie with the ends hanging down? Or was it the other way around? Again, the answer is lost in the mists of time, but the idea caught on in men’s fashion and has never let go.
Formal dress in America imported from England in the 19th century was the traditional tailcoat and white bow tie. However, in 1865, English King Edward VI wore a dark blue smoking jacket and trousers to an event instead of his tails. Many accounts report that American heir to the Lorillard tobacco fortune, Pierre Lorillard IV, took this a step further in Tuxedo Park, NY in 1886 by wearing a black suit modeled after King Edward’s with the addition of a black bow tie. Thus, the tuxedo was born in America.
To this day, a dark blue tuxedo, inspired by the king’s original suit, is still considered by many to be more formal than a black one. And classicists insist that a tuxedo should always be worn only with a black tie and no other color. There are also purists who insist that bow ties are not to be worn except with formal wear, but most of the world ignores this maxim. Colorful and patterned bow ties worn with suits and sportscoats have proliferated in the 20th century and remain a mainstay of style today.
There are a variety of classic styles which come in different widths, including the straight end or batwing, the diamond where the tie ends in points, and the traditional butterfly where the center knot is narrow relative to the wider ends. The width of the tie determines how much of the pattern is displayed. A two-inch butterfly will look very different from a three-and-a-half-inch butterfly. Most online retailers provide advice on the styles they offer and how to choose the best one for the customer’s face and frame.
The following is a sample of the different styles offered by American tiemaker R. Hanauer:
https://bowties.com/pages/bow-tie-shapes
Personally, I love to wear bow ties on the right occasion. My bow tie collection includes repp stripes, madras, bulldogs, and yacht club burgees. Of course, I also have a black bow tie for formal events.
Bowties have always been a significant part of my rotation, and especially over the last thirty years I have taken to wearing them about ninety percent of the time. They have several very fine practical attributes. They are invariably less expensive. You don’t spill soup or pasta sauce on them. They are easier to tie correctly. Seriously. You don’t have to worry about the length of the tail as you do with a four-in-hand. You do not need a mirror. Just tie them as you would your shoes and trim them.
Tim, thank you for sharing. This is a ringing endorsement for bow ties and you make several salient points. To your excellent list of attributes I would add the additional advantage of old fashioned charm.
I wear bowties on a regular basis, probably more often than the old four in hand. My students expect it.
Outside of black tie, I only wear a small number of vintage straight bow ties (made by Brooks Brothers and J. Press), I purchased from a lady in Maryland, that belonged to her late father. They were likely made in the 1960s, or maybe as late as the 1980s, but probably no later than that. What distinguishes them from modern bow ties is that their size is smaller. Few things are as clownish as big bow ties!
That being said, I can only think of maybe 3-4 occasions per year when I feel comfortable wearing a bow tie. The Belmont horse races in June, Easter Sunday, some Christmas/New Year’s parties. Occasionally I wear a bow tie to my church on the Upper East Side of Manhattan where dressing in such a manner doesn’t look entirely out of place.
I agree completely about the clownishness of big bow ties. I would also add how critical it is to tie one’s own tie rather than resort to the pre-tied version. A well-tied bow tie is a study in effortless imperfection and nonchalance.
Matthew, one historical quibble: in 1865, King Edward VI had been dead for more than 300 years (he was the son of Henry VIII, and that Edward died in 1553). I think that you meant King Edward VII, but in 1865, he was still the Prince of Wales. He would not become king until 1901. Just for the record, I wear bowties from time to time, but I don’t wear them as often as I once did. Not sure why.
Thank you, Andrew, for pointing out this inaccuracy! It was indeed Edward VII when he was still the Prince of Wales. I found another source which ascribes what the British call a dinner jacket to the “celestial blue” short jacket and matching trousers worn by the Prince of Wales to an event in 1865. As you noted, he didn’t become Edward VII until 1901 as his mother, Queen Victoria, held on to the throne for what must have seemed an eternity.
Matthew, I agree completely on old fashioned charm, but virtually the entire panoply of Ivy qualifies in my estimation. What is more charming than an old and beloved tweed jacket or a school tie, wrinkled by gym bags? The Fair Isle jumper in your photo is loaded with old fashioned charm. Heck, even deep cuffs on heavy flannels qualify. We are simply an old fashioned charming lot. Thanks for sharing us so that others may join our ranks.
Bogart wore them all the time. That’s good enough for me.
I typically sport a bow tie once a week to shake up things a bit. Its fun, and most passersby express their approval. Never necessary, but nice to hear when it comes.
Kind Regards,
H-U
I’ve been tying my own since the 1970’s and when a situation calls for a tie I do prefer the bow tie. I wore a regular tie recently and it DID get in the soup! Lately I have been wearing no tie but, a pocket square.
I just bought my first bow tie off of eBay the other day, vintage Brooks. I haven’t had the time to learn how to tie it, but I’ll give it a shot right after this! If I like it, I’ll definitely buy some more. Is there any particular style that is the most “trad” / “Ivy” ? By that I mean, thinner like 2 inches or “batwing” or “butterfly” etc? I’m on the younger side with no elder WASPs in my life to pass down this knowledge, so any advice helps!
A U, here is a good starting point for one possible way to tie a bow tie by Sven Rafael Schneider of The Gentleman’s Gazette:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2I3cfa0BOOc
Hope the how-to video helps. After a few tries, you’ll get it. Like tying one’s shoes, or riding a bike.
Kind Regards,
H-U
Re: the video, the idea that a bow tie should look asymmetrical in order to demonstrate that it isn’t pre-tied, is a bit of a put on. “Too perfect…cheap”? Well, excuse me, but mine turn out pretty well.
Savile Row tailor Henry Poole & Co. claims to have created the original dinner jacket, as described on their web site:
“In 1865, the Prince of Wales and future King Edward VII (known to his family and friends as Bertie) asked his tailor and friend Henry Poole to cut a short coat he could wear at informal dinners at Sandringham. Henry Poole accordingly shortened the traditional tailcoat and presented the evening jacket to the Prince of Wales in celestial blue. There is no earlier reference to any similar garment in either the historic Henry Poole & Co. ledgers dating back to 1846, or in the surviving ledgers of any other tailor or period illustration. So the British dinner jacket or DJ was born.”
I have worn them daily, since I was 3 years old and am now 81. I have over 200 plus in my collection
Too late for me, but as of late, I find them a ‘babe’ catcher. .LOL
I don’t know if it was intentional to place the picture of E. Digby Baltzell just above the Metrolitan still, but EDB was Whit Stillman’s godfather, so nicely played.
I have been wearing long ties since my Freshman year in Catholic High School at 13 through my PG year at Hotchkiss and 27 years of law practice. I have switched almost now entirely to bow ties for many of the reasons already provided, but more importantly there is an attitude (positive) that you have when you are wearing something “different” than the pack, and on occasions get stopped by random strangers for the bow related compliment. I say keep he myth of “complicated” so those of us that know the true simplicity remain the needle in the men’s fashion hay stack.
A U, if you ever wear lace up shoes, you already know how to tie it. Just put it under your collar, tie it as you would your shoes or a gift wrapped package, and trim it. Watching in a mirror will only bring confusion.
I absolutely adore bow ties! These days, self-ties are hard to find outside of premium/luxury brands and eveningwear, even more so with interesting patterns, but I’ve found a couple lovely ones in thrift stores, and I’ve sewn my own more than anything (still have some cotton flannel and silk around here waiting for me to find the time).
I find a bow tie blends much better with jeans and a button-down or short-sleeve, too, than a long tie ever could. When I’m not in the mood for The Godfather comparisons (real story! happened to me more than once; a suit and overcoat will do that), I leave the hat and slacks at home and just throw a sport coat over jeans and a bow tie.
Matthew,
keep the bowtie alive!
My son, Griffin, adopted the bowtie as his look while a student at The Trinity Pawling School.
it suits him well and has served him well.
Rhys,
Thank you for sharing this terrific photo of your son. It has been posted here.
Nothing more dapper than this classic and timeless prep school look!
Matthew
Back when I used to do lobbying, I’d stay in Rosslyn and walk M St. to and from work. Before black-tie events you’d often see men in a tux getting their bow ties tied at one of the menswear stores on or right off of M.
My favorite trick was to bring a few extra bow ties to these events and to change ties every time I visited the restroom. After everyone is totally wasted, of course.