May is
one of our favourite months since, traditionally, we shake off the April
Showers and really get into Spring. Lighter evenings and lighter weather
means that the opportunities for donning a truly awesome bow tie are as immediate as ever!
We promised you a smidge more UK-based news this month, and we haven't disappointed! In fact, we started in North London...
Instagram was the source of a May
Day treat with pictures of Arsenal and England mid-fielder Jack
Wilshere. The Sports Review reported on his stylish black Lanvin suit, complete with shawl lapel, white dress shirt and white bow tie at the BT Sports
Industry Awards. The contrasting pictures made us think - we probably would have gone sans waistcoat...
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Sans waistcoat. Suave.
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Plus waistcoat. Game of snooker, anyone?
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Pastel print-clashing
done right!
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Sylised crystal
bow tie jewellery
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We discussed the fortnight of festival that is the first-Saturday-in-May Kentucky Derby back in April, which was dominated by various charity events. But bow tie cookies could not compare to the day itself, which could be likened to Ascot or Glorious Goodwood here in the UK... BUT, it has a special place in our BTB heart because, as Louisville is part of the proud South, the fashion bar is set at 'Southern Gentleman'. And that inevitably means.... bow tie, including - the Southern Gentleman style itself, AJKA the 'Western', 'Colonel', 'string', 'ribbon', 'Plantation' bow tie...And. Breathe!
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Channelling Colonel Saunders all the way!
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as well as pointing out that the Kentucky Derby website dedicates a page to the neck tie vs bow tie debate.
Now, we love innovation - we have raved about the Marlon Gobel Swarovski
crystal and the various other amazing materials that designers have used to
make bow ties ever more unique. The MG Crystal is still our favourite, but this
is - a 3D printed bow tie made from nylon plastic by Japanese company Monocircus,
which won the A'
Design Award.
The prestigious Italian A'Design Award was launched in 2013 and award marks the
winning creation with a prestigious status internationally, symbolic of fine
quality, innovation and reliability for $93. We're not sure Monocircus really
'get' the BowTieBanditz community, using selling points such as, "... doesn't
need tying," "Just slot it into the top button of your shirt,"
"... it's so lightweight that you won't feel you are wearing a bow tie."
However, they do advocate for all ages... and across genders, too! 
NYC-based designer Marquis
Ellison shines a positive light on Crohn’s disease, as May is National Digestive
Disease Awareness Month in the USA.
Through his hand-crafted Marquis Rashoid bow tie and pocket square line he is promoting
fashion with the benefit of raising awareness for Crohn's disease. In the past year,
he’s already seeing the business expand, having hosted two fashion shows,
including a collaboration with Clavons Wear during New York Fashion Week.
2015 is the second year for another charity
endeavour - The Detroit Tigers' Foundation, in association with Bow Tie Cause and FOX
Sports Detroit offered a new $57 limited edition bow tie to benefit Detroit youth
baseball in the club’s signature colours, patterned as
overlapping blue home plates and orange crossed baseball bats.
The Tie Bar had two major stories in the
news this month - both related. Modern Family star Jessie
Tyler Ferguson has designed a third limited edition Tie the Knot bow tie for next month's Tony Awards.
We brought you news of the Tie the Know bow tie campaign to raise awareness for
same LGBTQ marriage in US States by targeting Supreme Court Justices. From his
star-studded first offering to the Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad Walter White's
fedora and shades) to this year's collaboration with Orange is the New Black stars Lea Delaria (Big Boo), Uzo Aduba (Crazy Eyes) and Kate
Mulgrew (Red).
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2015's star-studded contributors
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2013's star-studded BT
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Breaking Badassss - 2014's charity offering
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Jeffrey Podolski declared that The Bow Tie is Back. His father was a real connoisseur and would have been, "... more than pleased by
the bow tie’s resurgence among today’s style icons and urban trendsetters, who
favour the bow not only with a white button-down and slim-cut suit but jeans
and a leather jacket. Father knew that a bow tie bespeaks individuality,
defiance, and courage." He went on to give a nice BT wearer's guide. But perhaps the most amazing thing about this
article was that we discovered... there are bow tie books (see updated BTB April Round Up)!
Home to the UK, now, and the shocking question,
Mortar Boards, Gowns, And Bow Ties To Be Abolished At Oxford University?
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Students in Subfusc Attire
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Deemed
elitist, the UK's top universities have been asking the question with Oxford the latest to
hold a referendum to
give students a say in the future of the attire on the campus, and the first
question will ask, 'Should students at Oxford continue to be required to wear
subfusc clothing to University Examinations?' A similar referendum
ended the dress code - the dark suits, shirts, bow ties and ribbons worn under a gown - in Cambridge. The arguments included whether the tradition of mortar board and gown is
outdated, elitist and divisive, or if it encourages the unity of a shared
experience.
We had to stop and think... a bow tie? Divisive? Nah!
It turns out Oxford was with us - it was reported on May 23rd that 75.8% (6,403 students) voted to keep subfusc compulsory; 24.2% - voted against (2,040 students).
Now then, if you ever wondered why everyone likes the Canadians, check out this opening
paragraph, "The bow tie, elegant and simple, is
at once everywhere and nowhere. In high society, it is crucial, a timeless
accessory. Its presence in pop culture, where even Justin Timberlake and Jay-Z
have declared it a staple, is inescapable. But on the street? A rarity. Mackenzie
King and Matthew White say that’s nonsense..." Canada's Globe and Mail carried
the story, Bow-tie Guys in Knots Over Their Next Move, as part of their weekly 'The Challenge' - expert advice to help a small or
medium-sized business overcome a key issue in.
The duo launched
High Tide Bow Ties last year to allow everyone the chance to wear one. This
came after King had 'on a whim' worn a BT to a wedding. He was the only one so
be-decked, and received compliments all night. They were both looking for an
entrepreneurial opportunity and decided this was it! Alas, they did not have
the practical knack of actually making bow ties, but have successfully built a
business using an e-commerce model, offering standard and custom-made bow ties
with a pocket square option. The issue for the experts to advise on, was a
divergent vision of their target demographic - young professionals ages 18 to
35 (King) vs from little kids all the way to seniors (White). We're with White!
We brought you news of Dwyane Wade's Tie Bar collaboration. Well, he just launched his 6th collection celebrating summer in the USA. The Hamptons consists of washed seaside colours, inspired by the beach; Midwest Stars and Stripes feature
linear patterns in an eveningwear colour palette reminiscent of Chicago's 4th
July; and Southwest Sensibility features silk Southwestern prints, textures and
landscapes. We likey.
We have been retweeting Ella Bing Bow Ties since we joined Twitter, but we had
no idea of the poignant story behind the brand. The loss of a loved one under
tragic circumstances inspired the family to start a business around his
favourite accessory - the bow tie. This local Florida article highlighted
the wooden bow tie line, amongst their many other designs. We are fans of the sculpted wooden ties, and they don't just stick to one design. Great stuff!
More UK-based news came along towards the end of the month, when crowds gathered in
a Tesco car park in Devon and a duck in a bow tie!
Working duck, Star, is,
apparently, a 'regular bloke' who goes down to his local - The Old Court House - for
a pint of Exmoor Ale, getting through a keg a week - not kidding. Check out the
video.
Up north, then to Lancashire, where a father decided to Have Your Say,
deciding he must be a male feminist because he had to ponder the question put
to him by his 5 year old daughter, ‘Daddy, who says girls can’t wear bow ties?’
It is the question, he admitted, that has made him think more about his little
girl's road to adulthood, the gender gap and glass-ceilinged career choices, than
any other.
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In 2014, Drew Barrymore showed that girls could... and should!
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Liam Eastwood posted his blog The Bow Tie: Male Fashions Quiet Riot, which was aimed mainly for the beginner. Our
hearts swelled with his opening paragraph, "One of the great statements of men’s fashion, the bow
tie, has both preceded and outlasted many of the pretenders to its throne.
Bucking the trend of being a trend, the bow tie has a kind of rustic mystique
that’s hard to pinpoint." He goes on to advise and educate heroically.
But
then... he allows erroneous statements to creep in like, "The use
of bow ties in every-day wear is not likely to catch on, except in
circumstances where the wearer is actively trying to make a statement. However,
in formal and semi-formal dress, the bow tie will always have a home; it’s only
when you veer away from an event to wear a bow tie that a comedy element comes
into it."
Sigh. Is it not better to have more than a surface knowledge of
a thing before writing 'authoritatively' on it? Do ya think he's related to Sam Diss?
If you ever wondered what a
masculine-feminine contrast within a single outfit might look like, meet EJ
Johnson - basketball legend Magic Johnson's 22 year old son - as he attended
the National Alliance on Mental Illness luncheon in Los Angeles. The headlines might have concentrated
on his 100 pound weight loss through gastric surgery, but we loved the, it has to be said, the two
long strands of Chanel pearls, the red crocodile Chanel purse, the wedge ankle boots, and of course, the fierce bow-tie!
Bow
Tie Eye
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We were out and about at a Prohibition Party at the
Village Underground, Shoreditch on May 9th. Glamorous Hedonism doesn't
even begin to cover the night of the Charleston, the Black Bottom,
beads and cocktails Meet Al (R), who purchased
his maroon silk jumbo BT from a charity shop, and Francois (L) who
wore his own patterned woollen tie. Neither were regular BT wearers and both
were bemused at being approached to make an account of their attire!
This young man, who wishes to remain nameless, proudly spoke of his multi-coloured and-crafted creation - a super-jumbo silk bow tie, which he felt compelled to make to fully express his fun, slightly zany personality. And yes, he was a professional dancer, at the party to Charleston his friends to the point of exhaustion. Judging by his copious perspiration, I'd say we snapped him just in time!
Pick of the Pics
And that was May! Stay tuned for June!!
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