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I've wanted to perfect the bow tie look for years but wasn't brave enough until the last couple years. Since then I've started a small collection of bow ties from the 1950s. Mostly batwing-style bow ties, which have straight ends (as opposed to the "thistle" and "butterfly" which have larger ends that stick out in the more traditional bow tie style.
It's quite easy to find nice bow ties in vintage stores because few men are brave enough to wear them these days. But in today's newspaper there is a full-page article that's all about bow ties. It says: "Bow ties and pocket squares a hit with young, urban hipsters." Am I suddenly cool by accident?
The young urban hipsters of today are wearing bow ties
 Fashionistas are saying that the young kids are sporting bow ties, though I have yet to see it myself.
Since I was young, I've always said that I was supposed to have been born 50 years before I was. I have always felt a connection to the music and the fashion of the 1940s and 1950s -- the suits, the hats, the ties -- and yes, even the bow ties.
I rarely desire to buy clothes of contemporary styles. In the 1980s when I was in high school, I refused to wear acid-wash jeans. Now that the 80s styles are back, I still refuse to wear acid-wash jeans. I mean no offense to anyone who does, they're just not for me. The same goes for neon. I think wearing a neon shirt would make me feel like a traffic cone.
I've wanted to perfect the bow tie look for years but wasn't brave enough until the last couple years. Since then I've started a small collection of bow ties from the 1950s. Mostly batwing-style bow ties, which have straight ends (as opposed to the "thistle" and "butterfly" which have larger ends that stick out in the more traditional bow tie style.
It's quite easy to find nice bow ties in vintage stores because few men are brave enough to wear them these days. But in today's newspaper there is a full-page article that's all about bow ties. It says: "Bow ties and pocket squares a hit with young, urban hipsters." Am I suddenly cool by accident?
Definitely not a hipster
I don't know if I can consider myself that "young" anymore. I am "urban" but I'm certainly not a "hipster." Sometimes I refer to my own personal style as "retro old man" or "sexy grandpa." But suddenly now I'm back in style!
So it would seem that I am either very far ahead of this fashion trend, or very far behind. It's probably the latter.
The article has some tips for those who are brave enough to join this exclusive club of bow-tie wearing men. And I don't agree with some of it.
- I believe that clip-on bow ties have been treated unfairly over the years. Somehow people started thinking that clip-ons were invented when people forgot how to tie a bow-tie. I have clip-ons from the 1950s. To me, the clip-on bow tie (the kind that actually clips on to the collar) has the added advantage of keeping your collar perfectly in place. It's no surprise this article disagrees with me on that point.
- The article refers to the bow tie as the "PeeWee Herman signature look." I really hope I don't look that way and I think it's an unfair connection to make. How about any of these men who wore bow ties: Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford?
- The article suggests you "throw on" a pair of jeans with the bow tie for that "casual-yet-sophisticated je ne sais quoi." But I believe that if you really are je ne sais quoi then you shouldn't be wearing a bow tie.
- The article says that Kanye West has been sporting a bow tie, which might give it street cred for some, but he wears one with a jean jacket. To me, it just doesn't make sense to dress down a bow-tie.
It takes some huevos
So you won't catch me wearing a jean jacket with my bow tie. But then I also wear hounds-tooth pants, white patent-leather shoes, trilby hats, cuff links, and pomade. The only time I wear jeans is when I'm riding my motorcycle.
I get some evil looks from jocks and meat-heads now and then. But even for those people who don't like bow ties, I can tell that a lot of them at least appreciate that it takes some huevos to walk around town dressed in a bow tie -- especially in sporty Vancouver.
I can't say that this style is popular with the ladies. I get a lot of looks, a lot of smiles, but not many phone numbers. I get more compliments from the silver-set than I do from women my own age. But it is authentically me.
-- Blue Morris is a musician and a writer who dresses how he wants to.
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