June BTB News Round Up

June seemed to be a month of construction and innovation. Most was done in the name of Father's Day, June 21st, which was surprising and a little disappointing, until we saw what people were coming up with! We also LOVED the idea of an accessory for our favourite accessory's cousin in an attempt to make it as individual and stylish as our beloved bow tie manages SOLO...

Yes, The Dark Knot devoted a whole blog to How To Wear A Tie Bar. The tie bar has enjoyed a resurgence as a completely practical tool keeping your necktie flush to the shirt. But, it can also be incredibly stylish and jazz up an otherwise demure look. Apparently, there are rules and styles to choosing an appropriate one. So we still say, the road to self expression still lies with the Bow Tie!

So, back to BTB news.

As early as June 3rd, enthusiasts were looking ahead to the 21st. Mollie Makes posted a lovely Sewing Pattern: Father’s Day Bow Tie, but...  even the obvious youth of the model couldn't knock any years off the fabric she chose! Why, Mollie? Why? Still, things we learned here at BTB HQ - you'll need a metre of cloth to make one! A metre!

 



 

 



Adidas have featured on our blog before. But @MisterBeauTie posted this fantastic picture matching his Adidas ZX Flux Photo Print Multi-Color Torsion sneakers almost perfectly with his @BeauTiesGuy bowtie. We couldn't find the tie on their website, so we wondered if it was bespoke, specially commissioned for the match...?

The sneaker was a different matter all together. Nylon upper,  TORSION® bar in midsole, Grippy ZX 8000 outsole. Crazy, but cool!

Now, what do you get when you cross Dr Who with the inimitable Jolly Roger skull and cross ones... Designer, Hot Topic, did just that and came up with 11th Doctor Matt Smith's Fez and crossed sonic screwdriver T-shirt...  

 

Hot Topic started as a music-inspired accessory store for both guys and girls, which then added the ultimate music fan essential - band tees, which expanded to include the underground cartoon, cult movie, and comic book scenes. and now incorporates other pop icons. At their heart remains the belief - It's Everything About the Music. This tee is available on Amazon.

Meanwhile,

Culturalist is "a social network where the culture conversation is happening". They invite users to debate their opinions through Top Ten lists. At around the middle of the month, they launched a 'Top Ten Best Bow Tie Wearers' poll and used this enticing image to lure in the curious. The suggested list includes Benedict Cumberpatch, Brad Pitt, The Doctor, Pee Wee Herman (**shiver**), Krusty the Clown, Cary Grant, Sir Winston Churchill...

 

Though, speaking of Krusty, we would LOVE to know why on or around June 20th, Krispy Kreme Donuts were offering a free box of donuts in exchange for a bow tie (or tie), which they then kept. The news was posted by a@annuhmarieg_ and we think she is based in the US...

 

We know that the shapeliness of our favourite accessory lends itself to multiple materials and mediums - bow tie pasta, bow tie cookies (a la Kentucky Derby), bow tie cinema (it really is a thing), bow tie junctions in civil engineering, to name but a few.

 

 

This month, we came across chairs. Yes, we said it... chairs... Scott Lin designed the beautifully Zen ‘bow tie chair' for Taiwanese company Gridesign Studio. Heating  a series of 13 sections of bamboo laminate and repeated, skilled bending, produces the simple, chic  chair, complete with three storage areas directly under the seat and sides. The design means the sitter can keep cool, since it makes the most of any breeze to provide constant ventilation. There is a choice of smoked and un-smoked colours from Design Bloom Studio.

In the Fashion World, Benson And Clegg were incredibly proud to send their bow tie down the LCM Jermyn Street runway with their smoking jacket, waistcoat and trousers. It went down an absolute storm!

We discovered some really unique BTs on twitter this month. Some were just super-stylish like this Metalfor narrow leather bow (L), but checking out their outrageously decadent and glamorous collection,   like the pearl-encrusted (R), gold lace, bejewelled with rhinestones, brooches and pins... we're not really that surprised! Fabulous!

Metalfor leather BT

Metlafor Pearl BT

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some related to weddings. Dj Craz-e Crane‏@Crane created a CD-based BT for a friend's wedding (L);

The Bolton (UK) News carried the brief story  Why is this llama wearing a bow tie? Yes, working ducks last month, working llamas this month.  Nina and Paul Tarnowski employed two working boys as  attendants at their wedding down on the farm. Why? We don't know. Seems it's part of the service, rather than having your pictures taken with a peacock or actual British farm animals...

Most bow tie innovations were caught in the build up to Father's Day. Yes, despite the obvious chic, crazy cool, classy rep, it is still, somewhat inexplicably, linked to the celebration of DAD! Still, we don't think you'll find theses neither fuddy nor duddy...

#3dprinting photos‏@insta_3dprint

promoted the 3D printed BT we

covered last month

The Wit Girls‏@TheWitGirls created

the 'Book Bow Tie'

The Huffington Post  included the BT in their 10Last-Minute Father's Day Gifts for The Stylish Dad. But, WOW, what a suggestion! This had to be the most stylish FD suggestion.

Check out the Just Sultan x Pekota Arcus metal bow tie.

Here, at BowTieBanditz, we've seen paper, papier mache, feathers, wood, all kinds of virgin and reclaimed fabric, but this has to be the most stylish and rugged of the metal BTs. The two Canadian companies from Toronto's  Junction neighbourhood collaborated, melding Marco Pekota’s "industrial elegance" with Sultan Sandur’s fashion-forward  innovation, to produce this handcrafted cold rolled steel bow tie in a choice of plated finishes: brushed nickel, copper and black chrome in three styles: bloom, sugar skull, and Swiss cheese. And that's not all! At $165, they also come with a rugged full grain-leather tie and three changeable centres.

lifestyle guru Martha Stewart's

Triple BT offering

Brandy Walthall‏@bjowalthall

 Inventive Housewife@

bravozulo_08B's M&M BT Card

Other FD-associated bow ties were designed for cards 

The most adorable had to be the Father's Day wreath from All Created, complete with instructions: 

After you've secured the necessary jute twine, styrofoam, tie fabric, glue and lettering/paint, we would suggest that the most important thing is to make sure the shirt you cut to pieces is NOT his favourite...

 

But, the Father's Day bow tie which just screamed 2015 was... the Mega Bloks tribute!!!

 

Yes, in keeping with the revitalised Lego dudes getting in on the whole Superhero-Sci Fi-Fantasy world of wonder from The Lego Movie (2014) to the Lego Star Wars Happy Father's Day Video, big brother Mega Bloks, decided to keep it real with their dedication of the Mega Bow Tie (L) in tribute to the Mega Dad. It was wearable (R)

and reproducible (below).

 

The Mega Bow Tie for Father's Day 2015

June was the month of Pride and it was most memorable for the US Supreme Court's historic legal precedent to recognise same-sex marriage as a right under both the Due Process and Equal Protection clauses of the 14th Amendment on June 26th. We had brought you news of  Jesse Tyler Ferguson's bow tie collaboration with not-for-profit Tie The Knot before.

But, June saw a further alliance struck with Ketel One Vodka to introduce a limited edition Martini bow tie, a smart plaid print of red and grey martini glasses made from 100% woven silk and produced as a limited edition of only 200, available from the 25th, the day before the landmark ruling.

Despite all of the BT activity surrounding Father's Day, The New York Times' Bill Cunningham still seemed surprised but, we're glad to say, delighted to have suddenly woken up to the appearance of bowties at all sort of classy affairs and soirees such as polo matches, picnics and dance events.

In the first of our gently amusing featured videos, check out his BountifulBowties summary of the exclusive Frick Garden Party held every year in NYC. Bless.

The second video is a fun series we discovered relating the adventures of Bow Tie in the Bow Tie's FAN-tastic Movie - the only animated feature film on YouTube completely created by the fans, who suggest what they'd like to see next. Tuning in to the next instalment 'Bow Tie' Tuesday shows which storylines made it! Aphids J. Kaboodle (A.K.A. Dave Levy) explains in the Introductory Trailer that each week a minute-long scene is uploaded, so that after 60 weeks or so, an hour-long movie will exist. Scene 9 was posted at the end of June. Great fun and a little surreal!

Bow Tie Eye

Bow Tie Eye was out and about and encountered two dapper chaps at the St. Anne's Shopping Centre in Harrow. Who knew Middlesex could give Carnaby Street a run for it's money. We're sure the NY Times' Bill Cunningham would be rendered speechless!

Akshay championed the High Street in a deep blue H&M self-tied BT, which matched his braces and pants and really worked with the grey, single-breasted jacket, crisp white shirt and shades which were a great substitute for a pocket square.

Akshay in H&M

Pick of The Pics

Our Pick of the Pics, though, had to be Akshay's mate Anish. Anish rocked matching 'shades-of'' grey waistcoat and pants with a white shirt and electric blue single-breasted jacket.  He ooooowned this look with a red silk Paisley Dan Smith bow tie (which had just enough asymmetry to be self-tied) and pocket square purchased from Amazon. The hint of white cuff just finished this look perfectly as chic and cheerful!

Anish

in Dan Smith

The two pals showed just how a perfectly proportioned bow tie complements a person's build and makes an unmistakable statement about how fun you can be!

 

 

To end, we don't often include cuties, but not even we could resist this offering from WOW Pictures‏ @WOWPicsOfLife - a kitty with a bow tie moustache!!!

And THAT was June! See you next month!