Pre-Tied Bowties: Why Not Just Wear Sweatpants?
By theMaterialist
I think pre-tied regular ties (four-in-hands) are now only found on uniformed security guards, doormen, and other rental outfits. They seem to have correctly assumed the social stigma of a teenager wearing velcro shoes because he hasn’t figured out how to tie shoe laces. Are you a child?
It is indeed sad state of affairs, then, when the same knot used for your shoelaces cannot be successfully duplicated on the necks of dozens of grown men at an event known for its clothing and televised for millions of viewers.
Dear John Travolta, I ask you. I ask your stylists. I ask the designer who probably gave you that tuxedo. How did you decide on a pre-tied bowtie? And how did you decide on the most awful, symetrical, perfect, bowtie the world has ever seen?
For comparison, last year Peter O’Toole, a proper old fart, most certainly got it right.
February 26th, 2008 at 2:24 pm
There is nothing wrong with Travolta’s bow tie. What made him look horrible was the cut of his jacket (which you can’t see in this picture) that made him look like a whale. And the whole look is boring of course. The bow tie is the least of his concerns.
February 26th, 2008 at 2:26 pm
And good God, at least he wore a bow tie. This whole development of standard neckties with formal wear is awful. And then you get yahoos like Casey Affleck who can’t even tie a necktie properly.
March 2nd, 2008 at 9:03 pm
Why is all commentary so negative? Is this what clothing’s about?
I bet Mr Travolta feels great in his tux and tie; isn’t that what it’s all about?
Perhaps I would make different choices than he did, but isn’t that the point about dressing, that we all do it differently? When did our personal aesthetics become a basis to dismiss someone else’s?
March 3rd, 2008 at 12:02 am
I think that we all agree re: the poor taste in other celebrities’ attire. The primary point here, is that while someone had the good sense to have him wear a bow, but remarkably did not have enough sense to have him actually wear one - it looks like he is 5 and his cruel parents clipped a tie around his neck. ;)
March 3rd, 2008 at 3:02 pm
And only a real bow tie can be undone and worn rakishly around a man’s neck at the end of the night.
March 11th, 2008 at 1:02 pm
Just a note- police and security guards wear pre-tied, clip-on ties to avoid providing people they might be wrestling with a convenient handle. The clip-ons just spring free, rather than strangling the guard or officer.