Sunday, November 14, 2010

Tie it up

When a man wears a bow tie, he is representing more then just a look, the silk cloth tied around his neck gives off a image of power and authority; an image that has been seen over and over again for several centuries. The bow tie was worn first by Croatian mercenaries during the Persian Wars in the early 1600s. The necktie was used to hold there uniform in place during times of battle. The bow tie eventually made its way to France in the early 18th and 19th century where men on highest class status would wear the item on a daily basis. Shortly after this the bow tie was seen throughout Europe where men of all social and economic classes began sporting the fashion piece.

As the trend made its way through Europe, a majority of political and military officials would wear the item to signify their power and intellect. Winston Churchill was most notably seen wearing the neckpiece throughout his time as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during World War II, his icon look was personified into being a representation of the relentless fighting of the allies during this time.

So now fast forward a half-century or so and the bow tie has not gone anywhere—in fact its presence in pop culture could be more prevalent then ever. From an IPhone application (yeah seriously) to the neck of some of societies most popular celebrities, the bow tie still allows its wearer to represent the power and sophistication it has signified for hundreds of years.
Designer Ralph Lauren Created a new branch of his company in 2004; Ralph Lauren Rugby designs its clothing for the fashion motivated young adult, it uses the bow tie in a variety of different ways to bring together new and old fashions.

I love bow ties, I really do. But I will be the first to admit that they are a pain in the ass to tie. I have been sporting clip-ons for about a year now and only recently decided to transition to the authentic tie-it-your-self bow tie in an effort to look classy on a date. After what seemed to be 5 or 6 hours of attempting to tie the thing I finally tied what I thought was a decent bow tie, twenty minutes later it untied its self and my attempt at sophistication was crushed. With that said I do endorse the wearing of a bow tie—just read this first.

1 comment:

  1. This is really good. I especially like the way you always give us a bit of back story to the item you're discussing. That makes your blogs much more interesting than if you were just delivering your own thumbs up or thumbs down. And i like the link to how to tie a bow tie!

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