BTB May News Round Up

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...

Sans waistcoat. Suave.

Plus waistcoat. Game of snooker, anyone?





 

 

 

 







Pastel print-clashing

done right!

Sylised crystal

bow tie jewellery

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!

 

   

  

Bustle.com reported the 11 most captivating Derby Day BTs of days past,

 



Channelling Colonel Saunders all the way!



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).



2015's star-studded contributors

2013's star-studded BT





 

 



 

 

 

 



Breaking Badassss - 2014's charity offering

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?

 



Students in Subfusc Attire



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. 



In 2014, Drew Barrymore showed that girls could... and should!



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

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

 

Meet Theo and Tasha, who really channelled the prohibition era as a stunning couple. Theo normally wears a fuller beard, but had decided to experiment with a new moustache. He couldn't help twirling it a la Terry Thomas!

All he could tell us about his bow tie was that it was black silk, but I think you'll agree, that he had a rather appealing swagger in his blue light wool suit and braces. We couldn't resist the temptation to see who had crafted his rather perfect bowler hat, only to discover it was by Smith & Co.

 

 

And that was May! Stay tuned for June!! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BTB January News Round Up

Well, that's the first month of 2015 over and, even though it's gone so fast, we've managed to keep up with what's been happening in the Bow Tie world.

Missed From December 2014 were The Guardian's Fashion Hit List guide to choosing the colour of a bow tie to fit the occasion (Link); The Art of Bowtie - a piece on Jeremy Michael Calhoun, who is an artist with an interest in fashion, expressed through his collection of bow tie designs (Link); and an inspirational bow tie-related story, which suggested that Newark Central High School's newest tradition in donning bow ties once a week is having a massive cultural and social impact on their students: promoting a professional attitude with their attention to grooming (Link). Bow Ties - stylish and inspiring!


L-R: Newark Central High's Atkinson,
Smith and Vines continue a new tradition
and a new attitude

JM Calhoun's art-inspired bow tie range

January dawned.

We discovered that CBBC seem to be encouraging the next generation of English Gentleman bow tie designers when we came across The Friday Download's "How to Make a Bow Tie" (Link). We applaud them for promoting the bow tie "... goes with absolutely anything..." credo that we BowTieBanditz love!

Next, we entered into a little twanter (twitter banter???) with the good sports over at 2Paragraphs, who used their two-paragraph reporting limit to comment that bowtie-wearing Canadian soccer player Jordan Harvey "... looks better without the bowtie..." at his wedding (Link)! We couldn't have any hating on a potential BowTieBanditz Brother and duly tweeted so. They subsequently decided that, "... he looks amazingly different without it." We accepted their 're-assessment' as nicely done!

The Detroit News did a nice piece on Bethany Shorb, principal designer and owner at Cyberoptix, who hand-make our beloved accessory and other neckwear and is helping to re-write the economic history of Detroit by being based in the Eastern Market (Link). Go Cyberoptix!

Iian Mull's BT Line, new for January '15

In the face of the sometimes overwhelming bow tie tradition, designers continue to innovate: Beauhawk designer Iian Mull is subscribing to the new twist on the bow tie, developing two contrasting fabrications to allow the wings to contrast with the knot, the effect of which can also be reversed (Link).

Nice!

Things We Weren't Too Sure About...

Whilst knowing that our BowTieBanditz hearts lie with couture, we couldn't help noticing this polyester boy's bow tie at the knockdown price of £1.00 at Matalan (reduced from £3.00, Link). And then there came... Incredibeard! But only because Isahia Webb chose to celebrate the first Tuesday of 2015 as Bow Tie Tuesday... and fashion his beard into what could turn out to be a permanent accessory! Follow the Link to see for yourselves! And lastly, we discovered that Vladivostok, a bow-tie designer, launched a new line of jumpers (Link). Maybe it's because we wish there was a better word than 'jumper'. And, no, 'sweater' is way worse! Maybe we'll have to research the origin of the name...




Mr Churchill

Bow Tie News seemed to slow down as January progressed until GQ Style: Personal Style did their tribute to Winston Churchill on the 50th anniversary of his death (Link).This, of course, included his love of bow ties as supplied by @Turnbull_Asser . Do check out their Churchill Collection as they pay homage to one of the many greats they have dressed for decades.

In the meantime, we discovered some great things out there. On both sides of the Atlantic!

 

Designers and Retailers we Discovered:



Tickler's of London

Tickler's of London:
Makers of stunning bespoke bow ties in a variety of styles colours and block contrasts for a variety of occasions.
Follow @TicklersLondon

Nottingham Leaver's Lace by Marwood

Marwood:
Based in London and makers of the exquisite Nottingham Leaver's Lace neckties and bow ties.

Follow @marwoodlondon 

The Crystal by Marlon Gobel

Marlon Gobel:
You can't have failed to have notice our love affair with the Crystal Diamond Point bowtie created by Marlon Gobel for his NY Fall 2012 Fall The Heist show.
We started our twitter #CrystalBowTieForVAExhibition Campaign and contacted the office of the Curator of the Victoria and Albert Museum Metalworks Division, who deal with Jewellery. They loved our article (Link) and passed it on to the Boss and the V&A Press Office.

We had an email from the Curator this week forwarding an email we'd thought might never come, but which simply got lost:

We hope it's a non-committal way of saying he'll look into it, so that we might be able to report the campaign a total success in the future. Do keep tweeting the campaign!
Follow @MarlonGobel.

The Black Watch by Smart Turnout

Smart Turnout:
Based in London and purveyors of possibly the most comprehensive collection of club, clan, corps and other member's bow ties in existence.
Truly outstanding!
Follow @SmartTurnout


Beautiful wooden bow ties by Willow & Warson

Willow & Warson:

With outlets in Devon ,Bristol and London, this partnership make probably the most beautiful wooden bow ties - full of character in comparison to some other wooden bow ties. We will be catching up with them later in the year to get their full story.

Follow @willowandwarson

 

 

Bow Tie Eye

We want to get our Bow Tie Eye out and about, snapping you BowTieBanditz doing YOU on the streets of London, and feature any pictures you send us from there and everywhere else! Any time, any occasion!

From these, we want to do a small write up on our Pick of the Pics. For January, it's EASY!

We attended the British Urban Film Festival's screening of Selma at the Genesis Cinema in Stepney on January 22nd. There, amongst more conventionally tuxedoed and bow-tied gents, we came across Mr Cee, a comedian and BowTieBandit who loves the accessory for evening formal and informal wear, but rarely for day wear.

January BTB Pick of the Pics
Mr Cee, the Comedian

This is an absolutely stand-out look!

He told us that he had been looking for something specific in colour and texture for his bow tie choice for the evening. He searched and searched and could find nothing in a bow tie design that satisfied. He decided to make his own and went looking for fabrics.
Eventually, he came across a midnight navy blue silk necktie in Luton's TKMaxx store and immediately his vision clicked. He envisioned that he could create this wonderful chunky butterfly from an adapted necktie...
We tweeted his pictures the day after and posed a twitter challenge for you all to try and guess what was special about it. We wanted to reveale the answer in our Round up. But, DJ OhSoBlessed (@missBlessingZ from Manchester's Radio Diamond) spotted it at once and the two engaged in a bit of twanter. What a great eye!

Mr Cee's chunky Butterfly hand-tied from a necktie

The beautiful silk weave gives the impression of texture, which perfectly complements the Pringle jacket, patterned with palest blue spots and dark blue circles and geometrics against cream wool; the blue and white micro-check cotton shirt; and the midnight navy blue Zara cotton trousers. I think you'd agree, Mr Cee has taken the self-tied concept to a whole new level and has carried this look off with style.
He certainly deserves to be the sole feature on our Bow Tie Eye and our January Pick of the Pics! Follow him at @MrCeeComedian.

So, that was January 2015's BTB News!

Until our next post, check out our favourites on Pinterest:
Charles Olive
Plum Pretty Sugar
Antonio Centano