The Essential Bow Tie Guide

Bow ties are amazing fashion accessories, as they can be worn with anything and in almost any environment. A bow tie can be worn at school, at work, but to a glamorous event as well. All you need to know is how to make your bow tie the right one for yourself and for the occasion. Wearing a bow tie will make you stand out and be seen.

What you want when you are wearing a bow tie is to make it look effortless. However, to make a bow tie look that way, you must make it fit in with everything else you are wearing. Therefore, you need to make sure you got the right size, the right collar and the right color and fabric. A bow tie can be the best thing to complement an outfit or it can be a distraction, so it is important to make a wise choice when picking out a bow tie.

Let's take a look at some guidelines you can follow if you want to stand out in a positive way when you are wearing a bow tie. These tips are not unbreakable rules, but they are the information you need if you want to make sure you will have a great look.

One of the most common mistake men make when they are wearing accessories is that they get them in the wrong sizes. The absolute rule of thumb when it comes to accessories is that they need to be proportionate to your body. Basically, bigger men should wear larger bow ties, thinner men should opt for smaller bow ties and average-size men should opt for average-size bow ties. Of course, if you are going for a special effect, you can break this rule and make your bow tie stand out by making it contrast with your body. However, if you do this, every other aspect of your outfit needs to be by the book. Otherwise, you risk looking like you just didn't know how to pick a bow tie.

Bow ties come in many shapes and sizes, so there is no excuse for going wrong. If you can't find a good bow tie that will suit both your style and your size, one brand we recommend is Tieroom. Tieroom is an excellent resource of bow ties and other accessories that will fit any taste, style and preference. On their website, you can find bow ties that are appropriate for any setting and in any size. Besides from the enormous selection of available bow ties, the greatest thing about Tieroom is that they offer a wide range of other accessories as well. Therefore, in their store you can find ties, pocket squares, lapel pins and much more.

Now that you know what size your bow tie should be, the next thing you need to choose is the bow tie's color, print or pattern and its fabric.

Colors

• When you are wearing accessories, you should always make sure that you incorporate them in the overall color scheme of your outfit.
• If you don't know very much about color coordination, for a safe bet, you can wear a neutral bow tie. In fashion, neutrals are colors that can be matched to each other and to any other color. These colors are black, white, gray, beige, khaki, ivory, tan, brown, dark blue, etc. Neutrals can be easily mixed with each other, and can be worn with any other color you wish. This way, if you wear a bow tie in any of these colors, you can make sure that it will go with anything. Of course, turning this rule upside down and wearing only neutrals with a very colorful bow tie is also a way to go, but keeping your bow tie as the only pop of color might be a little too dull.
• A very easy way to wear a colorful bow tie is to pair it with a shirt of the same color, but in a different shade. For example, a light pink shirt goes great with a deep pink bow tie.
• Another way to create a very organic and harmonious look is to wear a bow tie in a color that lies close on the color spectrum to another color you are wearing. For example, if you are wearing a green shirt, you can pair it with a blue bow tie.
• If you want your look to be extremely eye-grabbing but still harmonious, you can wear a bow tie in a color that lies on the color wheel on the opposite side of another garment you are wearing: for example, a green bow tie can be worn with an orange shirt. This way, because of the high contrast created by the two colors, both your bow tie and your shirt will stand out.

Remember that colorful bow ties are made for everyday wear or for relaxed environments, while more sober bow ties (such as white or all-black ones) are destined for more formal events.

Prints and patterns

• When it comes to wearing patterns, to make sure you won't go wrong is to pair a pattern, a print or a texture with a solid neutral. Obviously, you can pair a neutral pattern with a neutral solid as well, but that look won't be very interesting.
• Another way to rock a pattern is to pair a colorful pattern with a solid color that is one of the colors that appears in the respective pattern. For example, if you put on a bow tie that features red, orange and yellow stripes, you can match it with an orange shirt or with a light orange shirt. Wearing the same color in two different shades at the same time is a highly subtle fashion statement that indicates a man who enjoys paying attention to detail.
• Furthermore, if you wish to wear two or more patterns, prints or textures, you should always be sure that they are of different sizes. A practical example is wearing thick stripes with thin stripes.
• If you were to add a third pattern, such as polka dots or checkers, you should make sure that the shapes composing the pattern are of a different size than the two patterns you are already wearing. If they are all of the same size, you risk looking like an optical illusion, and, unless you are a mime, that is not a very polished and refined look. This being said, we need to state that there are a few exceptions to this rule as well, for example, if you wear the exact same pattern twice but in different colors; it can look well if the two colors look together well. However, this kind of look is quite hard to pull off.

In the end, don't forget to note that that a pattern is a symmetrically repeated construction, a print is an image that features a clearly constructed composition and a texture is a pattern that can not only be seen, but felt as well.

Fabrics

The fabric of the bow tie you are wearing is very important as well. These days, bow ties come in a very wide variety of fabrics, so there is not "rule" as to what a bow tie can be made out of. Some brands have even created amazing wooden bow ties, which are a bold style statement and a very original idea.

However, the thing to consider is the shine. The rule of thumb is that the shinier the bow tie, the more formal it is. This should be a pretty good indicator of a bow tie's degree of formality. We don't recommend wearing shiny bow ties during the day or very matte bow ties (this is the category where wooden bow ties fall into as well) at fancy events.

A very important aspect when you are wearing a bow tie is not connected to the bow tie itself, but to how you wear it. When putting on a bow tie, you must always take into consideration the relation between the shirt's collar and your bow tie. The two elements should always be proportionate: bigger bow ties go with bigger collars, and smaller bow ties with smaller collars.

Moreover, if we are speaking of collars and proportions, we need to remind you that your collar should not be proportionate only to your bow tie, but, in case you are wearing a jacket, to your jacket's lapels as well. The only exception is if you are wearing a jacket or a vest that features very big lapels and therefore, wearing a proportionate bow tie and a proportionate collar would look ridiculous.

As we said before, there is no right or wrong time or setting to wear a bow tie, all you need to know is how to choose a bow tie that is suited for the occasion.

To sum up, we can say that wearing a bow tie is easier than you'd think! If you want to embrace drawing only positive attention, wearing a great bow tie is a good way to go. All you need to do is pay attention to this series of details and you are all set to integrate a bow tie that reflects your personality in your outfits.

Following these rules will definitely make you a bow ties insider and will help you look great while wearing a bow tie!

Fraquoh and Franchomme

Further reading:

The guide to wearing wooden bow ties When and how to wear a bow tie 5 rules men should consider when wearing accessories How to wear casual bow ties and shirts

P.S. Do you like wearing bow ties? When and how do you wear them? What other things are you considering when putting on a bow tie? Share your thoughts in the comments below! For more articles on style, fashion tips and cultural insights, you can subscribe to Attire Club via e-mail or follow us on Facebook or Twitter!