Thread: Bow Ties

A Pic from the Bridal shower.

Bow tie is from the cordial churchman.

I'm very tempted too, I only have a black bow tie at the moment but I wear a suit and tie for work and have often wondered if I could pull off the bow tie look or whether it would just be seen as silly. They were a fashion item in the 80's (my teenage decade) and I've always had a fondness.

Anyway bow ties are cool

Originally Posted by Jeltz

I'm very tempted too, I only have a black bow tie at the moment but I wear a suit and tie for work and have often wondered if I could pull off the bow tie look or whether it would just be seen as silly. They were a fashion item in the 80's (my teenage decade) and I've always had a fondness.

Ya gotta go for it, man!

Here's my experience since I started wearing bowties frequently about 4 years ago: I've never, in my life, had a woman other than my wife or mother compliment me on the straight tie that I was wearing. But many women have made a point of complimenting me on whichever bow tie I happened to be wearing.

Originally Posted by Bruno

To be fair, any type of tie is silly.
It is a non-functional garment that is supposed to indicate that the wearer is somehow 'better' than others who are not wearing it. It's used to mark the difference between 'classes'.

Non-functional? Today, perhaps, but not originally. From Wikipedia: "The cravat originated in the 1630s; like most men's fashions between the 17th century and World War I, it was of military origin. In the reign of Louis XIII of France, Croatian mercenaries[4] were enlisted into a regiment supporting the King and Cardinal Richelieu against the Duc de Guise and the Queen Mother, Marie de Medici. The traditional Croat military kit aroused Parisian curiosity about the unusual, picturesque scarves distinctively knotted at the Croats' necks; the cloths that were used, ranged from the coarse cloths of enlisted soldiers, to the fine linens and silks of the officers. The sartorial word "cravat" derives from the French "cravate," a corrupt French pronunciation of "Croat" — in Croatian, "Hr̀vāt"." The Croatians used the cravat to keep the collars of their shirts closed. Louis XIII thought they were snazzy and started wearing them.

Used to mark the difference between classes? I disagree. I do think they're used to mark the sense and degree of formality of an occasion. I see men from all walks of life wearing ties. I've also seen plenty of men from all "classes" show up without a tie to events at which a tie should have been worn. To me, it's a mark of respect, not for a class, but for others at the same event. I work in the non-profit sector. Around the office, business casual is acceptable, but when I go to see donors, I wear a suit and tie as a mark of respect for them and their time in granting me the meeting.

AFDavis,

I'm glad to see you've joined the ranks of bow tie wearers. Since graduating from veterinary school in 1984, I've always been required to wear a tie at work. Conventional neckties are a nuisance in my profession, being prone to flip out and get soiled/contaminated on who-knows-what. About 9 years ago I "discovered" bow ties and wear them most of the time. I receive more positive comments on my most mundane bow tie than I get on my best looking neck ties. I've "converted" a lot of my students here at the university.

I usually buy mine from Jos. A Banks sales when they have a buy 1- get 1 free sale.

Originally Posted by welshwizard

...However, I read somewhere recently that wearing a bow tie announces to the world that you can no longer have an erection.

Welsh, I'll have to concur with Alan on this one. Bow ties haven't cramped my style one bit

In origin it might have had a function.
These days, the tie is used solely to denote difference between people.

Did you know that the emperor of China once had incredibly rotten teeth? They were black. As a result, nobility started dying their teeth black because they did want to make it obvious that their teeth were good and the emperor's weren't. Noone wants to tell the emperor he had no clothes. After a while, black teeth was to them what he tie is to you. The tie itself is NOTHING. It's the meanings that people attach to it that are the crux. And in this case, what people attach to the tie is the feeling of 'being one of them'.

The idea that you wear a tie out of respect is a fallacy imo. The tie is a piece of cloth. It does not show anything except that a group of important people wear ties, and you wear a tie because they do. In the Netherlands, a different evolution was started by the prince consort, as a result of which many dignitaries started leaving theirs.

Wearing the tie is following a particular herd, like wearing blue for crips and red for bloods (or whatever their colors were). I am not saying that it is bad or unwise to wear a tie. It's probably good for your creer. But wearing a tie is an attempt at belonging, no different from wearing gang colors.

I'm not required to wear a tie at work. I can get away with a polo shirt if I so desire. In fact, today was gorgeous so I wore some lightweight slacks and a short sleeved button down shirt. Untucked.
Granted, I usually wear a long sleeved button down shirt and khaki's or slacks of some sort but if I really want to I can get away with clean, unripped jeans.
However, I do enjoy looking nice and from time to time I wear a shirt with french collars or a tie (and now a bow tie) to change it up. To me it's not much different than changing accessories. Although I usually dress decently to show my clients that I respect them. Unless I have a meeting sweat pants are just as functional as slacks and possibly more comfy. However, by choosing to dress in a nicer manner I'm showing my residents (and anyone else I have to deal with throughout the week) that I value their time and respect them.

Originally Posted by Bruno

The idea that you wear a tie out of respect is a fallacy imo.

In what way is this a fallacy? Are you presuming to somehow know my motives? What a crock.

I get that you don't like ties. Fine--don't wear one. But like it or not, appearance matters, and it matters because--like it or not--humans have developed this notion that the outward person is a reflection of the inner person. And you can say that that's an inaccurate way to to get any sort of idea about who or what a person really is (which I admit)--but like it or not, that's the reality. Let's suppose two people show up to a job interview. Let's assume equivalent levels of experience and employment history. Let's assume that both are intelligent and well-spoken. Let's assume that neither is wearing a tie. But one is wearing clean, neatly pressed slacks and a polo shirt, and has taken the time to bath and shave. The other is wearing a pair of blue jeans and a t-shirt, and hasn't stood close to a razor in several days. Of the two, who do you think is more likely to get the job?

Sometimes I have to wear a tie. On those days, I stare into my closet, shake my head, and curse the man that invented the damn thing.

To me, a tie feels like the equivalent of man jewelry. I would say its a flashier version of a noose on backwards.

I meant fallacy in the way that a tie is only a sign of respect because other people you respect wear a tie. So you wear a tie because they do. Just like people in ancient china blackened their teeth. And I did say that I thought wearing one was good for your career or in dealing with people who wear ties.

All cultures in all times have such things. It's a fallacy to think the the tie itself has an inherent 'respect' property. The tie denotes respect because the majority of the people in our culture have decided that the tie denotes respect. If tomorrow we all decided that respect is shown by other means, then those other means will take the place of the tie.

The fact that I personally don't like wearing ties does not invalidate the observation that ties fullfill the same role as gang colors, uniform badges or other things in which people express themselves.

The same is true for the reverse. A swastika is deemed offensive not because of the swastika, but because of what it used to represent. Before our time, the swastika had a totally different and very positive meaning. Still, today you wouldn't use it as personal decoration because society had decided that they are uncool.