FASH-Fit to Be Bow-Tied, Ahead of Time

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October 10, 2012


Fit to Be Bow-Tied, Ahead of Time

By DAVID COLMAN


IT’S hard to believe that, in a world that once dismissed the bow tie as an accessory fit for fops and nerds, the newly popular bow tie has its own snobbish code. To wit, the T.I.Y. bow (known in industry parlance, a bit confusingly, as “self-tied”) is manlier than the too neat, pre-tied kind, thought to be the province of all-thumbs arrivistes and Chippendales dancers.

That sentiment is detailed, nose up, at Ben Silver, the gentlemanly retailer in Charleston, S.C., which offers bow ties in hundreds of patterns, not one of them pre-tied. Per the store’s Web site: “A bow tie makes a statement of individuality, and nothing contradicts that statement more readily than having it pre-tied.” A bow tie how-to video from Details magazine is even blunter: “There’s no excuse for a pre-tied bow tie.”

Now, though, that attitude is changing, along with the ties. No less a style icon than Jay-Z wore a pre-tied black tie with his tux at an opening night party for the Barclays Center. And while the bow tie renaissance has been driven by neo-traditionalists who prefer their whiskey, their whiskers and their neckwear old-fashioned, some tie makers are finding that, for reasons practical and aesthetic, the pre-tied bow is, noble or not, the way to go.

For one thing, if you think tying a traditional silk bow tie is difficult to master (despite Lucky Levinson’s instructional video), try tying one made of velvet, corduroy or leather. (Here’s a tip: Don’t.)

Mike Mogul of Newark, who recently started ModernDayMogul.com to sell bow ties, grants that the self-tied bow may have a well-earned élan but that it limits your options. Some of his pre-tied styles, including one covered in safety pins and one made of mink, would be impossible to tie by hand. “I’d say that 90 percent of the velvet bow ties that are so popular for black-tie events are pre-tied because you can’t tie that fabric,” Mr. Mogul said. “Personally, I prefer pre-tied because it holds the form better. It’s a better bow.”

When Anna Gudmundsson, at 23 possibly the country’s youngest bow-tie maker, started her men’s accessories site, AnnaRuna.com, most of the requests she received were for the T.I.Y. style.

“It’s funny,” she said of the curious pride associated with tying the tie yourself. “It’s like you have to earn the right to wear it by learning to tie it.” But as the popularity of bow ties has grown, she is getting more requests for pre-tied bows, the style she prefers. “I can manipulate the shape exactly as I want so the customer doesn’t have to spend all that time trying to get it right,” she said.

A busy part of Ms. Gudmundsson’s business is supplying grooms and ushers with bow ties. Come wedding day, the sight of 10 perfect bows is appreciated by all, especially the wedding photographer.

One drawback: when the party begins to loosen up, your pre-tied tie cannot, and its ends can’t dangle George Clooneyishly around your neck. For that moment, the truly style-obsessed will have an ace up his sleeve: a second, untied bow tie.

Source: www.nytimes.com