Bow Ties...do you have one, or have you worn one?

[shoeshine 10]

Ah, the smartness, the class they exude to the wearer.

 

Do you have one, do you wear one?

 

Is it an essential part of your personal wardrobe?

[Swan_Vesta 11]

Never, I have never been a boxing referee, nor a doorman in the 70's nor a side kick of Paul Hogan who wore a T shirt depicting a Tux and dicky bow.

 

I have enormous respect for those who have a rotating dicky bow, especially when it's illuminated, that takes a special kind of daring to pull of that fashion spectacular!

[medusa 16]

I, however, DID used to be a door(wo)man, although in the 80's rather than the 70s, so yes, I did used to wear a bow tie with my wing collar shirt, mini skirt and high heels- a fat lot of good I'd have been if it ever came to really looking after myself in that get up!

[shoeshine 10]

I have been thinking of getting one of those clip-on ones....the type that for instance in the unlikely event of a drunk pulling on it to give me a "Glasgow Kiss" it pops off and I can give the drunk a Sheffield NutHead first.

[Swan_Vesta 11]

Aha, As a long time wearer of clip on ties (and no I don't drive for Eddie Stobbart) I can recommend them. During one's lunch break one can clip it to one's lapel and pop a few buttons open to let the wind whistle through the chest rug after a session at the gym.

 

We have games at work where you see if you can pull the tie off of a colleague and make a swift getaway. And before anyone says, yes we should get out more.

[artisan 10]

Used to wear them all the time in the 70's. they were part of an officers dress uniform. At the beginning of the 70's they were small, compact ties, until in the mid 70's they had evolved into massive velvet things that nearly chocked you. it was difficult to bend your head to get a drink they were so big.

Then again the mid seventies saw the most outrageous clothes styles since the Regency period I think!

[Swan_Vesta 11]

But the late Seventies/early Eighties bought us the skinny tie. A truly evil hybrid of a perfectly decent and respectable item of male dress accesory. The skinny tie is a ******* descendant, and a reactionary result of the kipper tie, an article which should have never have had the temerity to plague our conciousness with its flared angles and ghastly paisley patterns.

 

Ye Gods, save me from such moral turpitude!

[Appolo 10]

I used to wear a black one two or three times a week back in the 80s along with

a black whistle & flute,jeez that's going back 20 + years

[shoeshine 10]

I had to wear the traditional bow tie at an Institute Dinner twice in the past.....I say "Institute", but I really mean the "Institution" I was kept in for a while. I will not disclose which Institution I was domiciled in, suffice to say one was expected to dine in normal clothes, not the everyday issue with arrows on......

 

I digress.....

 

I rented a dinner suit, complete with bow tie and a shirt with a fancy front....frills down the chest.....the shirt covered the frills though.

 

The tie came with full instructions how to assemble it for respectable company. I struggled for hours to achieve a perfect bow.

 

At the dinner, I was disappointed to find that the only thing there was a perfect bow tie knot and a very disrespectable company, wearing suits with arrows on.

[Swan_Vesta 11]

I'd like to see a return of the cravat. I feel that gents these days are devoid of how to dress in a peacockish manner and feel that a cravat is the ultimate statement in how to dress to impress

 

All of you young whippersnappers who would like a tutorial in how to tie one of these beauties can gain a swift lesson in the art http://www.tomsawyerwaistcoats.co.uk/subprod/how-to-tie-a-cravat-0001283.aspx

[shoeshine 10]

artisan..........70's styles were truly outrageous.......I would describe my wardrobe to you in detail, but would not wish to give the youngsters of today having nightmares about it....all styles come back in again after a while. Oh what they have to look forward to......

[pattricia 575]

I like to see a black bow tie undone and just lying open over a white shirt.Im thinking "The Rat Pack" and Las vegas.