Bow Tie everyday: what do you think ?

[christianch]

I have seen similar, but much older, topics on this and I would like to ask your opinion on how appropriate is to wear a bow tie everyday. I am also interesting in understanding your context (State or Country) as it might be interesting to compare how it might differ from where you live and where you work.

Here in Switzerland there are really few people wearing a bow tie in a business setting. As a result of limited demand there is also a very limited supply (they only good, self-tie bow ties I could find locally are these of Hermes).

Just to clarify, I do not worry at all about wearing a bow tie everyday so I am not really looking for some form of reassurance At the end of the day I think that style should be something individual and, while clearly a bow tie isn't for everyone, I think some look truly special and unique.

Still I am very interested in knowing if other people wear it daily or don't wear it at all and why. I assume that a regular tie is a more safe choice or the only choice in some work environments (banking or finance comes to mind).

Thanks in advance!
Christian

 

[GBR]

Elderly professors (mad or otherwise, with or without cord trousers) senior partners in law or accountancy firms, waiters, members of the band at functions might well elect to do so: Those in evening dress must do so. For the rest then it is an affectation which will yield no benefit and may make them look strange.

 

[12345Michael54321]

I like bow ties. I wear bow ties on occasion.

But wearing a bow tie to one's place of business will strike most people as being sufficiently out of the ordinary that it will be noticed. And remembered. And consequently, if you wear a bow tie to the office even one day per month, you will come to be thought of as "the bow tie guy."

Now, this may not be a problem for you. Maybe you don't mind being known as the bow tie guy, and you believe (rightly or wrongly) that it won't harm you professionally, and so for you it's a non-issue. But for most people, in most professions, it is not likely to be a net positive to be recognized as looking "truly special and unique" in this way. Sure, the 70 year old senior partner or Director or similar sort can get away with a lot, simply by virtue of his age and rank. When he dons a bow tie, he's not being odd; he's being delightfully eccentric. But few of us enjoy such status.

I would note that I'm speaking in terms of the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States, and of medium to large companies, along with the occasional law or accounting firm or bank. I suspect that bow ties are even less common where you are, in Switzerland, and so their memorability factor is, if anything, greater.

Anyway, all this is why - despite my liking bow ties - I wear them almost exclusively in a social context, and only rarely in a professional context. This, despite my actually being able to play the "I'm a lawyer, and am from south of the Mason-Dixon line" card, which would tend to earn me a little more leeway on the whole bow tie thing, than would be the case for a non-lawyer Northerner.

 

[christianch]

Elderly professors (mad or otherwise, with or without cord trousers) senior partners in law or accountancy firms, waiters, members of the band at functions might well elect to do so: Those in evening dress must do so. For the rest then it is an affectation which will yield no benefit and may make them look strange.

Thanks for sharing. I agree that it might look strange to many but I guess the starting point is if someone likes to wear one regularly and feels comfortable with it. I find a lot of "business casual" very strange too but some people seems more comfortable by having no tie at all, chinos etc. I guess depends a lot of the business environment and career setting.

 

[christianch]

I like bow ties. I wear bow ties on occasion.

But wearing a bow tie to one's place of business will strike most people as being sufficiently out of the ordinary that it will be noticed. And remembered. And consequently, if you wear a bow tie to the office even one day per month, you will come to be thought of as "the bow tie guy."

Now, this may not be a problem for you. Maybe you don't mind being known as the bow tie guy, and you believe (rightly or wrongly) that it won't harm you professionally, and so for you it's a non-issue. But for most people, in most professions, it is not likely to be a net positive to be recognized as looking "truly special and unique" in this way. Sure, the 70 year old senior partner or Director or similar sort can get away with a lot, simply by virtue of his age and rank. When he dons a bow tie, he's not being odd; he's being delightfully eccentric. But few of us enjoy such status.

I would note that I'm speaking in terms of the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States, and of medium to large companies, along with the occasional law or accounting firm or bank. I suspect that bow ties are even less common where you are, in Switzerland, and so their memorability factor is, if anything, greater.

Anyway, all this is why - despite my liking bow ties - I wear them almost exclusively in a social context, and only rarely in a professional context. This, despite my actually being able to play the "I'm a lawyer, and am from south of the Mason-Dixon line" card, which would tend to earn me a little more leeway on the whole bow tie thing, than would be the case for a non-lawyer Northerner.

Thanks a lot Michael. This is very interesting and you do make some very good points.

 

[Roycru]

Some advantages of bow ties are that one can't spill one's lunch on them, there's no problems about getting the lengths of the ends right, and one doesn't need a tie bar to keep a bow tie in place.

Ebay, rather than Hermes, might be a good place to look for bow ties. Shipping isn't much on bow ties. Just stick to eBay sellers in North America or Western Europe.

 

[suited]

In the last few years I've worn a bow tie to the office maybe 3 times. I wouldn't do it on a regular basis, but it depends on your culture. I work in a small office at a private company.

 

[brokencycle]

If you do it all the time, I think it will just become normal and people won't really notice.

 

[christianch]

If you do it all the time, I think it will just become normal and people won't really notice.

Yes I agree. I don't really do it to get noticed but I certainly like the new new look at the moment ! Probably for people that saw me with a traditional tie for years is a bit of a surprise but as you say everything becomes normal after a while

I was interested to know if in some locations / work places wearing a bow tie is a a net negative

 

[christianch]

Some advantages of bow ties are that one can't spill one's lunch on them, there's no problems about getting the lengths of the ends right, and one doesn't need a tie bar to keep a bow tie in place.

Ebay, rather than Hermes, might be a good place to look for bow ties. Shipping isn't much on bow ties. Just stick to eBay sellers in North America or Western Europe.

Thanks for the advice. Between Hermes, Turnbull & Asser and some of the Le Noeud Papillon ones I think I a well stocked for now I did buy two Brioni on ebay as both had tags on and were coloured ones (not the tuxedo type that usually Brioni has nowadays) and will look if something spacial comes up.

I did hear about the lunch spill benefit from someone else and this wasn't my first concern but it seems like a plus I guess. Overall I think the majority prefers the look of a traditional tie - I am not sure it is always about being acceptable at work as nowadays no company (at least here) would have some restrictions. Of course there are a lot of non-written restrictions and perhaps the idea of not wanting to draw too much attention !

 

[powerkicker]

I think a bow tie may be a bit much for everyday wear for most folks. I will say this, it would be much harder to be choked and pummeled in a bow tie versus a long tie...if your business is rough enough for you to have that concern.