Okay, I'm going to admit it up front – I don't think this is true about bow ties being the latest cool fashion trend for today's men. I always figure contradictory statements drive more traffic. I personally think bow ties are cool just by their virtue of being somewhat un-cool, unless of course you are attending a black tie event and sporting it with a tux. I began wearing bow ties some years ago. I suppose it began for me as a fun statement, bucking the established convention of fashion. Bow ties, when worn as casual dress are still largely considered the mark of a poindexter, a nerd first-class, an intellectual misfit or academic outlier. Although, Harrison Ford wore it well in the Indiana Jones movies. I think I also possess a good measure of nerd, intellectual and socially awkward attributes to pull off the look. Heck, I even have a scar under my lip, the same as Ford. And coincidentally, both sustained by the same means - smashing our face into a steering wheel while crashing our car during our teen years.
A bow tie should never be a clip-on type (unless you are a child). Part of the whole bow tie experience is learning the art of tying the perfect bow – symmetrical and balanced. I always think that a bow tie looks equally cool when undone, taking on a new role and providing an altogether bold and spunky appearance. This of course happens at a later point in the evening after dinner is done, lights are low the drink bill is high. This is the point in the evening when most other men are loosening
their traditional neck ties, opening their collars and in rare cases, wearing them as headbands (if they are excessively-tanked). It is at this time where I undo the bow, allowing the ends of the tie to dangle freely, providing that gritty look that Bond might convey after a good night at the tables in Monte, or maybe after a good chase across the tile rooftops of Istanbul and the Grand Bazaar. At the same time, it's important to make the clear statement…this is not a clip-on bow… "yes, I tied it myself".I'm going to leave for Haiti in a few days on a short-term service trip. I was asked to deliver a personal message and testimony to a congregation of about 400 or more. The Haitian tradition dictates that the nationals wear their very best while attending church. Out of respect for the people and culture, our team too, will wear much dressier attire than we normally would for our own church services at home in the U.S.. Our team leader also suggested that we might want to think of a way whereby we would be easily identified from one another by the people – something that would clearly set us apart as unique from the others in our group. He told us to think of something we will be remembered by, even on subsequent visits to the country.
To my Haitian hosts, I hope to be the one fondly remembered as, "The man with the bow tie". I must find out how that translates to French Creole. I bet it sounds very cool.
