The bow tie saga
Has the bow tie got any future? The large retailers do not even keep stocks of bow ties. Small, old shops might have some left, but requests for bow ties are scarce and they are an endangered species to say the least. It is a shame considering the small possibilities to vary a man´s formal appearance and the aesthetic qualities of the bow tie. The problem lies not only in lack of supplies but also in difficulties of learning how to tie it properly, which is not quite as easy as it looks.

History
The development of ties started during the Thirty Years´ War during the 17th century with the Croatian (hence "cravat") cavalry's habit of tying together the collar ends. This was considered Très chic by the French, and this turned into the cravat, which bloomed during the first half of the 19th century. It developed into a long strip of fabric wrapped several times around the neck. Not very practical for the workingman, but this was obviously the point!
  Around the turn of the century 1900 the cravat had developed into the necktie as we know it, but sometimes the ends were tied in a bow, and the bow tie was born.
  In the early half of the 20th century they all used both the tie and the bow tie. Time passed, and by the fifties it was common for boys to wear the bow tie up until their first communion. Today the bow ties are most frequently used by service staff and in to some specific garments, i.e. smoking and tails. Maybe it is more frequent in the UK and the USA than in other parts of the world, especially among intellectuals and politicians.

Are you a bow tie man?
The necktie man likes to be in control. He adjusts to common taste, often wears a neck tie clip and is a little formal in general.

       

Winston Churchill (1874-1965)         Per-Albin Hansson (1884-1945).
                                                                  Swedish prime minister 1936-1945.

The bow tie man on the other hand is probably of a stout stature (Winston Churchill), often in an artistic profession (Louis Armstrong) or wanting to give the impression of being slightly bohemic, intellectual or oppositional.
  Some individuals are decidedly not bow tie men, for instance Churchill´s demonic opponent during WW II, Adolf Hitler. The Fuehrer in a bow tie? Forget it! Like Pharaoh he always wore the same dress of his own design, and you could compare his necktie to the Marshall's staff. (Which in turn is derived from…….Well, your guess is as good as mine!)

Last I would urge you all to start wearing the bow tie. Apart from it's aesthetic values it has got practical ones as well. Remember the observation of Arthur Schlesinger, advisor to President Kennedy: It is virtually impossible to spill soup on a bow tie, in fact to succeed demands considerable agility!

This essay is an extract of an article published in the Swedish fashion magazine Garderob 1998 by Björn Petersen