I’m really excited about today’s How-To! I’ve been fixin’ to do a feature on bow ties for awhile, and since we’re giving away a couple of snazzy Forage bow ties this week, I thought this was perfect timing!
Illustration by Katie Rodgers via Pinterest.
Belles and beaus, I’m here to teach you how to tie a bow tie. There are some of you who have known how to do this since you donned your first seersucker bow in your cousin’s wedding when you were six. Others of you, like me, never had a pressing need to learn. That’s right ladies, it’s good for you to know, too!
Image credit: Upper French via Green Wedding Shoes
The period between your engagement and your wedding day is the perfect time to hone your bow tying skills, lest you end up like these guys.
Image Credit: Bobbi + Mike
I’ll admit, I was one of those guys just a few weeks ago. Though I wasn’t a groomsman preparing for my friend’s wedding, I was sitting at my desk in the Southern Weddings office with my laptop in front of me trying to learn. Whitney and Sierra will tell you this is a true story, since they laughed at me while I did it. The happy news is that I can now tie a bow like no one’s business! I enlisted Sierra’s brilliant design skills to bring you a step-by-step of the process. But before we get to that, let’s do a quick rundown of the different types of bow ties that you have to choose from.
The Butterfly Bow Tie. This bow has a wing span of 3 inches to 3.5 inches. It can look too big for you, but if you’ve got a wider neck span or a larger face and chin, this might be your guy!
Image Credit: Ashley McCormick
The Classic Bow Tie (A.K.A. the thistle or semi-butterfly bow tie). This is the bow you envision when you think of bow ties! With a wing span around 2.5 inches, it’s perfect for any event and suits any face shape and neck size.
Image credit: Bella Grace
The Batwing Bow Tie (A.K.A narrow bow tie). Elegant-looking and thin, there’s a bit of debate over whether this style is more formal or less formal than the classic bow. It has a wing span of 1.5 inches to 2 inches and, although it may look like a one long piece of fabric, it’s tied the same way as the classic bow.
Image credit: Pierrepont Hicks
The Pointed End Bow Tie. It’s exactly as it sounds! For a spin on the usual shape, the pointed end bow is also appropriate for formal occasions.
Image Credit: The Cordial Churchman and Forage
Now that we know what’s what, pick out your favorite bow and let’s tie it!
Need to remember this for later? We’ve got you covered! Sierra made us a fab downloadable PDF with illustrations that walk you through the steps. Print it out and with some practice, you could look as dandy as this guy.
Image credit: Paul Johnson (See more of this wedding here!)
Want more tips and tricks? Check out our past How-To’s.
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Tell us about your bow tying experience in the comments below!
I ADORE the orange seersucker bowtie! the blue seersucker one is pretty cute too, but the orange one is the winner for me!
My favorite Starboard tie is the Charleston Toile Beau. My parents were married there, and the town has always held a special place in my heart. I’ve also never seen a tie like it before, so it does a good job representing the unique architecture and spirit of the town.
I forgot to include it in my comment, but I also Tweeted about the contest/
The Baskerville Houndstooth Beau is my favorite!
I love the gillmer-horton blue gingham. It is carolina blue and I know my Tarheel would love to wear it for our special day!
I adore the yellow seersucker bow-ties! We want to do these for our groomsmen to match their yellow tulip boutonnieres!
I love the classic blue seersucker beau!
The GILLMER-HORTON GINGHAM BEAU is my favorite. I love the soft blue color. This would be perfect for a spring wedding or anytime really! The blue could just be a pop of color in your wedding or the main color. This blue is soft enough that it would look great with any color suit: gray, tan, black,etc. Think of it as “something blue” for you man! You could accent with small blue flowers in your bridesmaids bouquets to give a cohesive look!
I love THE CHARLESTON TOILE BEAU! Our colors are blue and peach, and we’re getting married in Charleston, SC! It would be such a sweet nod to the city we love and in which we are choosing to say our vows. What a sweet website!
I also tweeted!
My fiance’ and I have been searching for cute bowties as groomsmen gifts…and I think we’ve come to the right place! My man would look super cute in the severn tattersall for the ceremony (and of course a change into the erdmann orange gingham for our Clemson orange sendoff!)
The Charleston Toile is absolutely charming! Only a true Southern gentleman could make toile look dapper.
Uhh…The Charleston Toile Bow Tie anyone? Perfect!
I love, love, love the classic blue seersucker beau! It goes perfectly with the theme of our Spring 2012 wedding and my fiance would look absolutely stunning in it! Oh, and I tweeted it, too! :)
My favorite like many of the people here is the Charleston Toile Beau. Nothing epitomizes classic southern class and prep like the city of Charleston.
I tweeted as well!
My favorite is the yellow seersucker beau – it will match our yellow and grey color scheme!
I tweeted about the contest so all my friends can check out their awesome bow ties!
These are so awesome, it’s hard to choose! I think my favorite would have to be the orange seersucker. The material and the color is so summer friendly, and the pattern’s really fun!
-Emm
I love the orange seersucker beau. Its my fiance favorite color and he really wants to rock some kind of orange with his tux. This would be perfect for him!
Severn tattersall Beau! Love the Blue!!!!
I tweeter it also.
I LOVE the Erdmann Orange Gingham Beau, however, the gentleman chiming in over my shoulder votes for the Classic Blue Seersucker Beau! :o) Hope we win {well he}. Thanks so much for being a fun magazine/website for us to look at and reference for our own wedding planning! Can wait for V4!!!
My favorite beau is the Lily P. Tribute Beau … As a child, my mother dressed me in LP, however a few years back she discontinued the majority of her mens line, leaving only a few accessories to fulfill my desire! Plus, who can resist pink and green!?
I tweeted as well
I love the Baskerville Houndstooth because it is crisp, classic, and named after one of my favorite childhood literary characters. Plus it would really pop with my boyfriend’s best suit (and he just started a new job!)
I just tweeted~!
I’ve got to go with the Rudolph Christmas Plaid Beau. It said limited edition so I don’t know if it is still for sale, but it epitomizes the classic Christmas spirit. Classic Christmas colors with a classic plaid print would look awesome at any Christmas event. Gotta love Christmas!
I LOVE the Charleston Toile! Charleston is such a special and unique place that exudes everything Southern, just like this bow-tie!
I love the Charleston! I want to wear it as a head band. I think my guy would prefer that. But he would look dapper in any of their bows.
I like the Charleston Toile because it would look beautiful with my fiance’s beautiful blue eyes. I’d love to have a vintage wedding with bow ties for the groom and groomsmen. My fiance has been wooing me with dates involving bow ties for years and we both love all the colors and pattern available with Starboard Clothing Co. We’d love to win and use them to color up our wedding and make the day even more fun and special!!
I think they are all great, but if I had to pick only one I would go with The Independenc Beau. It’s a great way to show pride in the USA.
The Annapolitan Patchwork Beau is definitively still my favorite. It definitively has that east-coast, classic prep look that never goes out of style
Love the Navy Midshipmen Gingham Beau ties! They would look so great on my fiance and his groomsmen for our rustic barn wedding next September!
I LOVE the houndstooth beau! It’s the perfect accessory to transition those boys into fall/winter!!
My favorite Starboard ties are the Seersucker ones…blue.
I’d love the Lilly P tribute tie for my love !
The Toile Beau is amazing! I’d most likely pair it with a white or yellow oxford button-down and some khaki chinos. It’s the kind of bowtie that really stands out, but not an obnoxious sort of way. It’s the perfect finishing touch to an outfit and would be an excellent addition to any wardrobe.
Definitely the Baskerville Houndstooth! Black and white go with everything and the bold pattern will keep things interesting. Elementary, my dear Watson!
I really like the Easter Sunday and the Jessica-Sarah ones and I could use them for the rehearsal dinner and wedding for my girlfriend’s older sister this upcoming summer.
While I would be more inclined toward the Lilly Pulitzer Tribute, MY Beau would pick the Erdmann Orange Gingham to represent at Tennessee football games! I also tweeted!
I love this contest and want to win so much that I added Starboard on twitter and posted the link too!
Forgot to mention that I also tweeted! :)
I tweeted! :o) xoxo
I love the classic blue seersucker beau. It is so southern and would look perfect on my fiance. I’m sure he’d love the orange one for gamedays too.
I also tweeted :)
Thanks yall!
It would be hard to get my fiance to wear one of these but my dad would totally rock them. His favorite color is orange so he would love the Orange Seersucker Beau or the Erdmann Orange Gingham Beau!
My favorite bowtie is the one Ben Meredith made custom for me. I managed to spill white paint all over my favorite Burberry shirt and he was able to turn it into a one of a kind bowtie for me. The man is a wizard
I LOVE the yellow seersucker one. It would match perfectly with my wedding colors, and I know my fiance and his groomsmen would love it too!
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