Earlier when I traced the history of the modern necktie I deliberately did not mention one particular development – the bow tie.

The bow tie shares the same origins as the necktie. It was Pierre Lorillard who made the black bow tie a standard piece of formal attire for gentlemen. This designer is credited with creating the tuxedo which was named after Tuxedo Park (located just outside of New York) where his family had an estate. From this combination came the “black tie” pieces: tuxedo and black bow tie. With all the fashion fads and trends that have come and gone, the black tie attire has endured.

With the passing years the bow tie has been redefined and redesigned. They have moved on from being strictly for formal wear, black and only for men. But now we see multiple colours, patterns and sizes and even women donning them. We recall the iconic looks of Sean Connery and Frank Sinatra in their tuxs and bow tie.

Sean Connery as Mr Bond, James Bond.

Image maybe subject to copyright

Nobody quite like Frank…

Mr. Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca 

“Hey kid…“

The Modern Bow Tie 

A few selected ones…

A variety of options to suit your fancy

Plaid

Bow tie and suspenders

Three ole chaps

Ladies as well…

How to tie them

There are pre-tied designs available but just in case you have one that you have to actually tie, here’s a little help…

What to wear it with

Mix & Match

Where to get them

Bow ties are available at just about any male clothing store. If shopping online you may want to check: tiebar, menswarehouse, Nordstrom , TieHard 

I know I made a promise to do a piece on pocket squares but it would’ve been too much. So I’ll get to it in the next instalment of the blog.

It’s been a rather busy week between school and trying to set up our male accessories business. Hopefully, by the next issue we should be up and running.

Look out for Essential Pieces by MTM Inc.

*All pictures were taken from Pinterest unless otherwise stated.