Bow ties

Bow tie is an important accessory that is used along with formal wear. It is short version of traditional necktie and meant for men. Bow tie is piece of fabric ribbon that worn around the neck on to the collar of the shirt. The knot of the bow tie is tied in such a fashion that the two ends of the ribbon are aligned with the buttons of the shirt. This bow tie commonly wore with the dinner jackets and the evening suits. There are two verities of the bow tie one of them is of ribbon and the other one is readymade and that is normally black in color. In case of readymade bow ties a clip is used to fasten the tie around the neck. Various materials such as cotton, polyester, silk and even the woolen material are used for preparing a bow tie.

The fashion of bow tie started in 17 th century by the Croatian mercenaries. These mercenaries tied a scarf around their neck to hold the shirt as buttons were not used during that period. Later on it started in France and was known as cravat. During mid of 18 th century this cravat was so popular that many articles were written on use of cravat.

In 19 th century the two ends of the bow tie were made longer and were called as necktie.

The dress code for the evening functions and the ceremonies wearing bow tie is mandatory in most of the countries especially in western countries. One can find people wearing bow tie during the business meetings and during formal functions. At present bow tie is also used in case of cocktail parties and formal dinner parties. For military personnel bow tie is important part of mess dress along with the dinner jackets. Every regiment in military establishments has their significant bow tie designed along with regiment logo.

The bow tie is worn widely all over the world and even one can see the James Bond wearing a bow tie in almost all the movies. The uniform of clown and strippers also consists of bow tie. It is also a common practice to wear bow tie among the staff of the restaurant. Now days a plastic bow tie with the shape of butterfly is very popular because it is very easy to wear when compared to other versions of the bow tie. These plastic bow ties are also washable and mostly available in black color.

There are two types of designs available for the bow tie. One of them is bat wing bow tie and the second type of bow tie is thistle. The shape of bat wing bow tie is similar to a cricket bat and the thistle bow tie is in the shape of butterfly and commonly it is also known as butterfly knot. As per the choice of individual these bow ties are preferred. Other varieties and shapes of bow tie are also available such as single ended bow tie, double-ended bow tie and the pointed tips bow ties. But the people rarely use all these versions.

There are various advantages of bow ties as they are easy to wear and there is no chance of entanglement as in the case of necktie. At the same time there is no risk of vascular constriction and does not provide more pressure on the collarbones.