I’m often asked if bow-ties are back in style. The answer is they never went out of style. You may be interested to know that black bow-ties are worn for “black tie” attire while white bow-ties are worn for “white tie” attire; white tie being more formal than black tie. However, today, bow-ties come in a wide array of colours, patterns and styles for any social or casual function. Or they can simply be worn just because. You don’t have to have a function to attend to wear a bow-tie. I wear them all the time. I love’em.

I’m sure many of you had teachers or professors who wore bow-ties and chances are you remember them because they wore bow-ties. They sure make you stand out in a crowd when you wear one. And they’re definitely not just for the academia. Men of all ages wear bow-ties. In fact, I have many customers who collect bow-ties – now that’s dedication.

The other question I’m often asked is what’s better pre-tied or self-tie bow-ties. The answer is personal preference. Mine is self-tie. I have customers who only wear self-tie because they profess they are purists. The self-tie has more of an organic look to it. It doesn’t look as “perfect” as the pre-tied. Although, there’s nothing wrong with pre-tied bow-ties as long as they are made from a good quality fabric and are stylish. I would shy away from clip-on bow-ties. We’ll leave that to 5 year-olds. And if you’re just starting out wearing bow-ties, I would suggest you begin with the pre-tied to get comfortable wearing them and then slowly progress to self-tie.

With self-tie bow-ties it takes a bit of practice to tie them but once you’ve learned to tie your own, I guarantee, you won’t consider pre-tied again. Simply think of it as tying a shoelace. It’s that similar. And I can tell you that not a week goes by that I don’t show a customer how to tie one. I have created a very simple video to help you learn how to tie a bow-tie. I promise you’ll be able to do it in just a few simple steps.

Alla prossima – until next time. Arrivederci.