The Charvet shape is seen less often than the alternatives, perhaps because its width makes it a little more difficult to tie. The key to getting it right is maintaining the width of the vertical part of the knot, as seen on the tied silver bow. And that is one of those things that requires a little practice when there is no rush to be somewhere in time for a curtain, for it requires that the knot is left loose so as not to wrinkle the center of the tie any more than absolutely necessary.
I am still working on perfecting my technique but, once learned, the loose knot makes any bow tie look a little better.
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9 comments:
You might like the fancy bow ties from Alexis Mabille -- I'd be interested to hear your thoughts. Your fellow sartorial icon Karl Lagerfeld is a fan of them.
Will, maybe I'm simply an unlettered buffoon when it comes to bow ties, but as you describe the "Charvet shape, with ends that are straight," you describe what I have always thought of as a bat-wing tie. Perhaps I'm in need of basic instruction as to the major styles of such neckwear -- what am I missing?
Charles, you may simply be better informed than I. To me, the bat-wing shape has a triangular end with a point.
I believe that David Suchet's portrayal of Hercule Poirot uses such a loose knot for his bowties, and I've always wondered how he managed to achieve that look.
Now I have to give it a try!
I would have called the "Charvet Shape" a batswing and the triangular end "with a point" a "Boston" bow.
Hmm.
I've always read that the bowtie with parallel sides is the batwing and the more common style is the butterfly or thistle. Either style can have a flat or pointed end.
I'll leave you gentlemen to tag it with the right names, for sadly I don't have experience with evening wear. But I will say that I really like the look of these. Whatever the correct naming, the knotted example shown appeals to me with, I don't know, a look of softer elegance. Funny, It occurs to me more and more as I learn from ASW et al that the dressers of yore already figured things out for us.
Bat-wing is not named for the mammal but rather the primary equipment from cricket, ie: long & square.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cricket_bat
Hmm. A taxonomy of bow ties. Interesting.
We all agree that the butterfly/thistle has ends that look more or less like a thistle, and makes for a small knot.
Then there is the straight bow tie, found in widths less than 2", which are of uniform width throughout.
Next we have what Will calls the Charvet shape, and what is often called elsewhere the batwing. (Thank you, Trevor, for pointing out that it is named for the cricket bat. Now, I finally understand that name.) It is a modified straight tie, in that it presents itself as being of uniform width, but is actually narrower under the collar than the exposed ends. Makes for a more comfortable tie.
Apparently going by several names is the diamond point tie, which can be of any shape but has ends that are not flat but pointed.
Finally, there are the shapes we can call "other." I have seen bow ties that are like a Charvet / batwing, but curve in on only one side and are straight across the other; I have also seen those that are made of two truncated triangles (i.e., trapezoids) sewn together at the tops. I'm sure there are more.
Finally, as for the DoW's politics, contemporary accounts of the man relate that his conversation was vapid; what's more, his own father didn't want him on the throne. He seems not to have been the sharpest knife in the drawer, and his political views--if they can be called such--appear to have been what can charitably be called "uninformed." He was perhaps no more than a useful idiot for the Nazis.
In the end, he lived not the life he was born to, but the one he was destined for: international clothes horse and men's fashion icon, with no deeper content whatsoever.
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