The Bow Tie, Wear One

Posted on 10. Apr, 2009 by bespokeordie in People, Trends, Video

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Look around these days and it isn’t hard to find a cross between dressing up and dressing down. Pioneered by the likes of Justin Timberlake and Kanye West, men of all ages can be seen wearing denim with dress shirts and ties. Maybe it was their exposure to Europe where this look has been around for much longer and is far more common, but these two have helped infuse an image that I love into American pop culture. Kanye West is rumored to be starting his own clothing label named Pastelle and Justin Timberlake has his hands busy with William Rast these days, so to say that they are both passionate about style would be a vast understatement. Recently I have seen Kanye take yet another element from otherwise historically “upscale” attire and infuse it into his daily dress.

The bow tie is Kanye West’s fresh new alternative to the tie. With elements of throwback glasses, tucked in shirts, and solid Americana urban style has come full circle to incorporate the more elegant subtleties of an all too forgotten piece of fashion. The video above gives you a bit of a background into choosing the right bow tie for you and the occassion. In the video Adam Rapoport GQ‘s Style Editor and Scott Sternberg of Band of Outsiders also give you a brief introduction into how to tie one yourself if you should so choose. I am a purist at heart, so you know I had to figure it out, but I will admit I was so damn frustrated trying to get it right the first few attempts. Tie-a-Tie.net‘s website helped me out a lot when I was first trying to figure it out too. Next time you head out for whatever it is you do at night, give it a try and see what happens, at the very least I can guarantee the odds of there been a lot of guys wearing ties are far greater than the odds of you seeing another guy in a bow tie. Set trends, don’t follow them.