Clothes & The Man: 1952

Published by Tailor and Cutter. Written by Sydney Barney. Highly recommended by Charlie Davidson. Long before Flusser's, Clothes and the Man. Damned near impossible to find. Arrived in today's mail. Opened to page 78. Fourth paragraph down.

Bow Ties.- When the collar size is 14/14 1/2, 15/15 1/2, 16/16 1/2, 17/17 1/2, - the bow length is 31, 32, 33, 34 respectively. If you prefer a loosely tied bow add one size, and likewise if you want a tight bow deduct one size.

I have written before (Bow Ties & Erections) that selecting your neck size on an adjustable bow gives you a tie far too wide for your face. While I'm between a 16 and a 16 1/2, my bows are hooked at 14 to 14 1/2.

I measured a few and wouldn't you know. Most of them are 33" long. Exactly the length suggested above. Stay tuned for my book report next week. If the dog doesn't eat it.

Bow Ties & Erections

Tom Davis of Brooks Brothers Photo by Garda Tang as seen in Mr Classic by Jeremy Hackett

Bow Tie and Double Breasted Blazer

The Wall Street Journal (I bought two in my life) ran a story on bow ties being hip. I'm seriously looking at selling every bow tie I own. And I have a few. Bow ties are difficult to figure out and certainly this Journal reporter who covers the gaming industry isn't going to help you. Neither will I for that matter but I don't get paid to write about bow ties.

I do have a theory about bow ties and I know for a fact I've given them much more thought than Ms Binkley. In the right place at the right time with the right suit or jacket --they reflect a traditional look that men envy and women adore. Check out Mr Tom Davis from the Madison Avenue Brook's Brothers in that top shot. Tom nails it with a 5 pound sledge.

It doesn't hurt that Tom's a southerner but the bottom line is - - Tom's doing the bow tie with an erudite casualness that's brilliant. No swivel back cuff links here. Instead, double links tastefully small. While I'm not a pocket square fan I salute Tom for his plain white kerchief. And then there's that bow tie. Looks like a rep. Can't tell for sure but you get where I'm going. This man does not look like Pee Wee Herman and every other dolt who looks like Pee Wee in his pre-tied, way too long, tightly tied bow.

Below Tom is a bow I tied this morning. The mistake I made when I first started this bow tie thing years ago was adjusting the tie based on my neck size. I have a 16 neck but I adjust my tie to a 14 and sometimes even 13.5 resulting in a smaller tie. The sloppiness of the bow assures one and all it is not a pre-tied. I mean, there's no doubt someone tied this and most likely it was with a hangover.

Lastly, it helps to be older. I understand David Sedaris opined that a bow tie announces to the world you can no longer get an erection. That's cute. I've never been on the receiving side of erections so I assume David is speaking from his personal experience. As a straight man familiar with only one erection...mine...Mr Sedaris is -- for the time being (knock wood) -- wrong.