Though there are several ways to knot a four in hand necktie it has but one shape. Oddly, the reverse is true for the bow tie, which has several shapes but only one knot, and those shapes have a variety of overlapping and somewhat confusing names. Today's post is an attempt to set the record straight while the holiday season with its bow tie occasions is still upon us and I know that you, dear reader, care deeply about this because you are not numbered among those who take refuge in long ties on formal occasions because they are not quite certain how to tie a bow and neither is their stylist.
Though they come in different widths, there are two basic bow tie shapes, the batwing, usually the same as the straight tie, and the butterfly (also called the thistle). And there are two different ends, the straight end and the diamond point. Either shape can carry either end, like the straight-ended butterfly in the first photo.
That butterfly with straight ends is perhaps the most common bow. The tie flares outward, and the relatively narrow center is easier to manipulate than its wider relations and ties a smaller knot. The butterfly in my opinion has a place in every bow tie wardrobe but its very ubiquity sends me looking for something less common, like the diamond pointed butterfly in the second photo.
Still less common is my personal favorite, the bat wing bow. I like it because it ties a wider knot (see the photo
here) and I like that look. It is usually cut straight, but not always. Note the gentle curve to the underside of the diamond pointed bat wing in the photograph.
And then there is the conventional bat wing which when it is executed to perfection forms a straight horizontal line across the entire tie on top and bottom.
I should mention that occasionally one also sees single ended bow ties, in which one end is straight and one butterflied. I am not aware of a single reason these should exist, save to save the maker a few pennies worth of silk, as they are a royal pain to tie, requiring as they do that the butterflied end be in front of the knotted tie when all is done. Statistically that outcome would seem to have a 50-50 chance but the reality is that when one is running late for a curtain the likelihood approaches certainty that it will be tied backwards.
And those are, I believe, the shapes of the bow tie.
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2 comments:
Finally! You explained things I never understood before. Like the different names for overall shape but that the ends may or may not be a diamond end, for example, regardless of the type of overall shape. I have never read that explained anywhere else. See--you have much about which to continue to post.
Batwings indeed are the most flattering. The reason bow ties aren't worn that much anymore is, I think, because they are too fussy. The sprezzatura of a batwing makes it the most suitable bow tie for wear in the casual world.
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