If you’re anything like us, you’ve been learning how to tie a bow tie on-again/off-again for at least 5 years. That’s not because it’s really that difficult—you probably just don’t wear a bow tie very often. Or maybe when you have, it’s been pre-tied.
We’ll just come out and say it: pre-tieds just don’t look very good. They’re too perfect. The thing is, bow ties aren’t about perfection—they’re about character. Glued fabric doesn’t give your tie character. Tying your own bow tie will help you avoid the stiff, boring perfection of a pre-tied.
The One Difficult Step
There’s only one step in tying a bow tie that’s actually confusing. Once you’ve mastered this step (#7 in our how-to), you’ll be tying more bows than a retail cashier in December. The most difficult step is tucking one half of the bow through a loop of fabric behind the other half of the bow. It will feel impossible and your bicep muscles will tell you to give up, but don’t. give. up.
The Best How-Tos
Before you can start receiving bow tie compliments (yes, that happens) you’ll need to nail down the basics. We’ve collected our favorite instructionals from around the web so you can fine-tune your approach—even if it’s not by using our how-to. After all, none of us are knotty by nature.
Illustrated:
→ The Black Tux
→ Brooks Brothers
Video:
→ The Black Tux
→ Charles Tyrwhitt
→ The Tie Bar
→ Nordstrom Men’s Shop
Hybrid:
→ WikiHow
→ Animated Knots by Grog*
*Seriously. This site is…a little messy, but their teaching tool is good. And we haven’t gotten a virus yet.
By the way, you don’t need to be a pro to wear one of our bow ties. Most are hand tied before we send them out, giving you a head start. That means you gain all the style points of tying your own tie with none of the pain.