Bow Regard

There it sits, a short, fat bow tie that looks as out of place hanging with your long sleek neckties as a bulldog at a greyhound race. Unfortunately, somewhere along the highway of fashion, the bow tie got shoved to the side of road.

Maybe it’s because the bow tie hasn’t had good role models. Perhaps, if Alec Baldwin or Mel Gibson were seen wearing them on magazine covers, the tie’s image would change. But they’ve been most commonly seen around the necks of marginal heroes, such as money-losing media magnate Chris Whittle, two-time losing presidential nominee Adlai Stevenson and perpetual nerd Wally Cox.

If a man admits to owning one, it’s probably packed away with a cummerbund in his tuxedo bag. Many guys have been given bows as gifts and, while the ties may have looked great in the box, today they rest in the back of the closet, never tied and gathering dust.

“If you work in an office or you have a job where you need to dress up, your shirt and tie are like a coat of armor,” says clothing buyer Bill Rigioni of Huntington Beach.

“Every other guy, including the boss, is wearing the same thing, making it a uniform. If you ‘violate’ that uniform by wearing something as ‘radical’ as a bow tie, you might feel funny, and the people around you might look at you differently. That’s why bow ties are an acquired taste; not everyone can or should wear them.

“A nice bow tie really complements a great suit, and it makes a statement that you’re an individualist. That can be a plus if you work for an ad agency. If you’re at IBM, it may not have the same cachet.”

If you want to be brave and give your bow a tryout, how do you start? “Wear it to a party,” Rigioni says. “At a party you can be a little experimental and watch people’s reaction to it.”

If a formal occasion is coming up, you could try stepping out of the mold with a colorful print bow tie rather than the standard black with a tux. “Many guys get their first introduction to bow ties with formal wear,” says Ziva Adams of Tie Rack in MainPlace/Santa Ana. “They might try some bold prints or colors and then try them outside of the tuxedo.”

Dress-down Friday may also be a great time to try your bow tie. “You can have fun with it; wear a chambray shirt, and it can give you a cuter edge,” Adams says.

Of course, maybe the most intimidating aspect of a bow tie is, how do you tie it?

“It’s very easy to do; it’s just like a shoelace,” Adams says. “Any place that sells them should be able to give you a quick lesson on how to do it.”