Bow Tie Patterns

Hi, my name is Kevin. I've recently got invited to an anniversary. It's a grand affair, so I decided to follow my girlfriend's advice and dress up. Can you please advice if a bow tie works for such an occasion, and how do I find the right one?

Anniversary is, without doubt, an event where you can wear a suit (with one- or two-breasted jacket) and a bow tie. Any formal event is a good occasion to wear a bow tie. A suit with a bow tie will be relevant at any conventional event: a concert, an exhibition, a movie premiere, as well in a restaurant next to your business partners or your loved one. It can as well embellish your office style.

A bow tie must go well with the suit. So for classic cases don't use too bright colors and pattern. The most formal option: black suit, black shoes, white shirt and black bow tie. When selecting and trying on the bow tie, please keep in mind that for slim and tall figures a small bow tie works the best, while a bigger or wider one will work better for a bigger person or for one with a round face shape. You can use free mockups from this web site to decide on the size at home, even before you go shopping.

Hi, my name is Stan. I have started noticing that my friends wear a bow tie and look stylish because of this. So I decided to buy some for everyday wear. My problem is that there are tons of bow ties in the store, and I don't know which one to choose. How do I select right fabric and color?

Every bow tie works well with a specific shirt. Remember that a bow tie should be darker than a shirt. I.e. you can wear your colored bow ties not only with white shirts, but also with colored ones, that have tone close to the bow tie. E.g. burgundy bow tie will work well with a pink shirt, a navy one with a light blue shirt etc. With a white shirt and a black suit, any bow tie will look well. If you like striped or checked shirts, you need a single-colored bow tie.

White bow ties are mostly weared with black or gray shirts. Some prefer "white on white", when a bow tie is of the same color with the shirt, and it's an option that I can't deny you to use. There are different fabrics used to make bow ties. Silk, wool, cotton, satin; less often velvet and linen. Silk and velvet bow ties are more formal. Cotton works best for everyday wear. Bow ties made of thick fabric are good to wear when it's cold outside. Correspondingly, the thin ones are the best for summer.

One more important point. If your bow tie is not pre-tied (most cases), you need to store it untied (e.g. flat), for it to keep the shape. Natural fabrics are more suspected to wrinkles than artificial ones, so select a polyester if you don't like ironing, or buy a pre-tied bow tie that you don't have to tie ever.

You can use free mockups from this web site. Download, print it out and start experimenting with colors and patterns!

Hi, I'd like to give a bow tie to my husband for his birthday. Since he often goes to a business meetings, I decided on a regular black one. I discovered, though, that there are bow ties that you have to tie, and those that you don't. So which one do I choose?

It's important that the bow tie is tied evenly, neatly and looks symmetric. There are three types of bow ties:

self-tie,
pre-tied,
clip-on

Many men prefer self-tie ones, since it's a challenge worth a man to tie them on, and you have to know exactly how to do it. You as a lady may like this option as well, since tying the bow tie on your man before an important meeting shows your support (you can download the tying instructions on this web site).

Pre-tied bow ties are, well, pre-tied. They look differently from the first option: too ideal.

And finally, the last option is clip-on, a bow tie that you fix to the collar of the shirt using a metallic fastener inside. Such bow ties are mostly sold for kids, but there are adult options, too.