Glasgow, Scotland, UK • March 2016 • Length of Read: 2 Minutes
“To its devotees the bow tie suggests iconoclasm of an Old World sort, a fusty adherence to a contrarian point of view. The bow tie hints at intellectualism, real or feigned, and sometimes suggests technical acumen, perhaps because it is so hard to tie. Bow ties are worn by magicians, country doctors, lawyers and professors and by people hoping to look like the above. But perhaps most of all, wearing a bow tie is a way of broadcasting an aggressive lack of concern for what other people think.”
With my kilt fastened around my waist; garters holding up my socks; Bonnie Prince Charlie waistcoat buttoned nearly over my freshly-pressed wing-collared shirt; and valuables fastened inside my seal leather sporren (i.e. cock bag), completing the outfit with a clip-on bow tie just seemed downright wrong on a number of fronts. It was my cousin's wedding the following day, an Indian affair, and I wanted to look my best. There's something about wearing a kilt as a Scotsman that immediately increases your patriotism by tenfold, and I wanted to do our small clan proud among the other beautiful sari-wearing guests on his fiance's side of the family. As he took the plunge into matrimony, I decided to take the plunge into learning how to tie a real bow tie. Not exactly comparable, I know, but hey, we can't all pretend to be adults.
And although it may be a challenge, deciding who to learn this new skill from was easy. I've been a fan of Brett McKay and his Art of Manliness website for a long time, and have even taken inspiration from his '100 Books Every Man Should Read' for bucket list item number 111. His book, 'Classic Skills and Manners for the Modern Man' is both insightful and educational and the website has some great articles and advice for anyone wishing to become more of a man, be it physical, health, relationships, career, and more. I receive no affiliate links from Art of Manliness, but am just happy to recommend it as a website which has content that I've greatly benefited from. Here is there handy picture guide that I followed to tick off bucket list item number 107.
Links:
www.artofmanliness.com