Bows-n-Ties Fashion Blog

Get a Chance to Win a $250 Gift Card with This “Pin it to Win it” Contest

If you are planning a wedding and have been searching for the perfect matching wedding ties for groom and groomsmen to wear, then chances are good that you have already stumbled upon our site. We at Bows-N-Ties pride ourselves in being the premier source for the perfect wedding and groomsmen ties. By now we offer close to 5,000 different neckties and bow ties that have been sorted to compliment almost 300 unique bridal hues.

We at Bows-N-Ties understand that planning a wedding can be stressful and expensive. To help stay within your wedding budget, we occasionally offer contests and giveaways. This week we are excited to announce our featured contest at the Perfect Palette. All you have to do is Pin one of the four images featured on this blog post using Pinterest*. One lucky “Pinner” will then be picked for a $250 gift card to our site. Happy pinning, and good luck!

Your Bows-N-Ties.com Team

*please note that this contest ends on May 25th, 2013

Guide to Regimentals and Other Classic Repp Striped Ties

Stripes are one of the most popular patterns for men’s neckties. In fact, the diagonal striped look is one of the oldest tie designs, dating back to the 1880s in England. Since then, designers have combined any imaginable color, texture, and pattern to create an endless choice in striped tie designs. Because classic striped ties are such a timeless accessory that any man, regardless of style preference, can take advantage of, we decided to write this style guide.

The Origin of the Regimental Tie
Regimentals had their origin in Great Britain. To help identify themselves in battle, British soldiers used their regiments’ colors on their company’s flags and pieces of silk, and when not in service these soldiers proudly wore their regimental colors on their neckties. Later on, around the 1920s, regimental ties were expanded to include private clubs, schools, and universities.

The regimental tie made it to the US thanks to the Price of Whales in 1919. While visiting the US he wore a red and navy striped tie of the Grenadier Guards – a regiment where he had previously been an officer. To the repulse of the British, who strongly believe that one can only wear those colors that one carries membership to, the Americans quickly adopted the regimental tie as a fashion statement. That being said, for those visiting the British isles chose your striped ties carefully. For more information please also check out our guide to Business Dress Code in Great Britain.

Suits vs. Sports Coats
Both, suits as well as sports coats and classic blazers are perfect for your classic striped neckties. In terms of suits, excellent are classic 2-button cuts as well as dark blue colors. Both, single-breasted as well as double-breasted styles work well in combination with regimental ties. While classic blue suits are great for these ties, sports coats and traditional blazers can be a great alternative. Below are a few looks we are particularly fond of:

Brown, light blue, and navy striped regimental tie paired with dark navy suit, and tasseled loafers.

If you want to wear a striped tie with a striped shirt, then classic regimental ties are perfect! Here the hunter green and navy striped tie is nicely paired with a narrow blue and white striped shirt.

Always one of our favorite combinations: Pairing your repp-striped ties with Harris tweed jacket. The gingham check shirt chosen here adds yet another pattern element.

Regimental ties can just as easily paired with a more casual summer ensemble. Here the navy and red striped tie is paired with beige cotton jacket, blue chinos, and monk-strap dress shoes.

Dress Shoes & Other Accessories
To further emphasize the classic look of the regimental tie, we suggest traditional accessories. In terms of dress shoes, classic oxfords as well as tasseled penny loafers come to mind. Other great accessories are umbrellas, bowler hats, pocket watches, and pocket squares.

British Royalty is showing us how to properly accessorize the classic regimental tie. Here Price William is wearing a gray suit, classic white shirt, navy & red striped tie, and bowler hat.

Your Bows-n-Ties.com Team

Arriving Soon at Bows-N-Ties: CANTUCCI’s New Paisley Collection

A few weeks ago our founder Hendrik went on a business trip to Como, Italy – searching for new fabrics and designs, as well as to meet with some of our favorite tie makers. To make sure that you, our customer, are getting exactly what you have been searching for, we decided to create a “Be the Buyer” campaign. Via our Facebook page and blog, our customers could vote each day on 8 new posted designs. What became quite clear is that our customers wanted to see more bold colored paisleys. Needless to say, we went to search for the boldest of all paisley ties. We found the perfect fabric at Arte Seta in Como, and worked together with designer Cantucci to create the perfect necktie that, although certainly bold, does not compromise elegance and style. In total, necktie designer Cantucci is creating four new paisley designs for us, each of which will be available in a handful of different colors. The tie shown above is just a little teaser. We love the color and detail on this piece. The finest silk fabric was used for this tie and the pattern was carefully printed onto the fabric. Printing this pattern compared to weaving it gives the tie more detail, brighter color, and a very soft satin silk feel and shine. This tie along with dozen others are expected to arrive in our San Francisco warehouse by the end of June.

Your Bows-N-Ties.com Team

Our Annual Summer Sale is Here, Save 25% Storewide – ends May 13th

A few days ago we asked on Facebook what our next sale should be for? Many of our 8,000 Facebook fans were eager to join in on the conversation, and while an “everything is free” sale (like someone had suggested) is not happening, we did listen to the large majority of votes of a storewide discount. Now, for the next five days we offer a 25% discount on everything you see on our store. From classic solid colored ties, trendy self tied bow ties, pocket squares, and any other suit & tie accessory, everything is 25% off. Simply put in the coupon code “LoveTies” during checkout to take advantage of this 5-day long sale.

Your Bows-N-Ties.com Team

New Summer Florals by Neckwear Designer CANTUCCI

That floral patterns are in style this summer season should be nothing new. In fact, it was the floral design, along with classic paisleys, that were voted the two most popular designs by our 7,000+ Facebook fans during our recent “Be the Buyer” promotion.

If you are among those who give the floral design a thumbs up, then we got good news for you. Last week we received two dozen new collections by designer CANTUCCI, one of which displays a very intricate floral print (shown above). Available in six colors, ranging from bold tangerine orange to classic navy, we believe that this collection can easily compliment any style and wardrobe. To see this collection, please have a look at all our current assortment of Floral Ties.

CANTUCCI’s new floral collection for summer 2013. Available in colors Persimmon (shown above), Navy, Emerald, Crimson, Amber, and Hunter. Handmade from 100% silk woven and printed in Como, Italy.

Your Bows-N-Ties.com Team

The Most Popular Necktie Design in All of Italy

Last week our founder Hendrik spend four days in Como, Italy in search of new designs, silk mills, as well as necktie tailors. A bit overwhelmed by the thousands of design choices, he decided to have our almost 8,000 Facebook fans “be the buyer”, and vote on their favorite designs. Each day he took pictures and shared 8 unique designs on our Facebook page.

In total, 32 designs were posted. What stood out the most, is that you (our customers and Facebook fans) preferred florals, geometric designs, and paisley patterns the most. We wanted to thank everyone who participated in this “be the buyer” campaign. Your feedback was a huge help in building new collections for the spring and summer of next year. Without your input we would have missed out on many interesting designs that will now become part of our new collections.

If you are curious on what designs were most popular, here is a little recap of all the four rounds as well as the final results:

Above are the four finalists of our “be the buyer” campaign. Our Facebook fans choose these four as the best designs from all the 32 choices we had posted live from Como, Italy. Design #1 was most popular, followed by #4, then #2, and then #3. In general we noticed a big popularity in the color orange as well as paisleys, florals, and geometric prints.

Round #1 Results:

To start things off, we posted a wide range of florals and paisley patterns as well as some small animal prints – all designs that were especially popular by the Italian designs. Of these eight designs, #5 was most popular, followed by #2 and #3. All three designs will become part of our new spring and summer collection for 2014.

Round #2 Results:

After round #1 we noticed that our customers liked paisley’s and florals the most. This inclined us to show more of these designs. We wanted to know if our customers liked traditional designs, or if they wanted to see more bold colors and modern interpretations of this classic paisley pattern. Most popular was design #4 followed by #3 and #1. Thanks to the hundreds of votes we learned that our customers wanted to see bold and bright colors this summer season. All these designs will become part of our new collections.

Round #3 Results:

From the previous two rounds we noticed a strong trend towards paisleys and florals. But how would plaids, modern checks, and animal motifs compare? This is what we tested in round #3 shown above. Most popular was design #4 followed by #2, and then #7. Our customers taught us that the raised trunk of the elephant means good luck – a convincing argument to make this part of a new winter collection. This tie will be available in 6 colors and is expected to arrive by late October.

Round #4 Results:

Once again, we wanted to show a mix of different florals, paisleys, and animal motifs. Most popular from the eight designs above was tie #8 followed by #7 and #8, all of which will become part of our new Fall collection that is expected to arrive by October.

Your Bows-N-Ties.com Team

Meet BBC Jacquard, One of the Worlds Leading Fabric Designers and Silk Mills Specializing in Men’s Neckwear

Our quest for high end fabrics and stylish new designs lead us to Como in Italy. For the past few days we have been working with some of the world’s leading silk mills and fabric designers, and yesterday we met with one of the most exclusive silk mills in the world, BBC Jacquard – a silk power house that also produces/designs fabrics for Etro and Martinelli.

Mr Scebanti (seen below) allowed us to take photos during our meeting. Besides taking pictures of designs, which we shared with our Facebook fans as part of our “Be the Buyer” campaign, we were able to visit the company’s production line. Even the archives, storing vintage tie designs dating back to the early 1900 was made available to us. Below are some of our favorite photos from our meeting with BBC Jacquard.

Marcello Scebanti is showing the new madras collection which uses a unique blend of silk, linen, and cotton. Above he is looking through the yarn book to create additional designs and color combinations especially for us.

BBC Jacquard is not the only designer that is convinced that “vintage” fabrics and designs are going to be a big hit for 2014. Here is a look at the “Vintage” yarn book which is created by spinning three unique (silk, cashmere, and jute) fabrics into a single yarn. The combination of these three textiles create a soft yet somewhat coarse fabric that create a somewhat irregular coloration. It is perfect for a vintage design.

Neckties made from linen (and silk and linen blends) appear to remain popular. Here we are working on a subtle striped linen collection. We will likely carry the entire color line shown above. The ties will be slightly skinnier in width (2.75″) be more fashion forward.

Mr Scebanti was so kind to show us their company’s archives, storing thousands of necktie designs dating back to 1905. The designs and patterns shown above were part of the company’s collection from 1921. A large majority of necktie designs today are based on designs of past collections with the addition of new colors and textiles. The picture above is just a little sneak-peak. We will be writing an entire feature on vintage tie designs from BBC Jacquard – something we are very excited about.

Modern looms are fully automated pieces of equipment that move faster than the eye can see. Here a loom is producing a new gingham check pattern that will be part of a new tie collection for 2014.