This is a list of notable bow tie wearers, real and fictional; notable people for whom the wearing of a bow tie (when not in formal dress) is also a notable characteristic.
Bow tie wearing can be a notable characteristic for an individual. Men's clothier Jack Freedman told The New York Times that wearing a bow tie "is a statement maker" that identifies a person as an individual because "it's not generally in fashion". [1] Numerous writers and bow tie sellers have observed that the popularity of this type of neckwear can rise and fall with the fortunes of the well-known people who wear them. [2] [3]
Until the 20th century, the bow tie was the general rule for neckties. Starting in early 20th century, the bow tie started to become more rare.
In 1996, The Wall Street Journal quoted statistics from the Neckwear Association of America showing that bow ties represent three percent of the 100 million ties sold each year in the United States, most of them part of formal wear, such as for white tie and black tie. [4]
Those who write about bow ties often mention famous people who wear or have worn them. These writers often make the point that the image conveyed to others by a bow tie can be affected by associations with celebrities and famous people in the past.
A common fashion accessory in the 19th century, the bow tie had positive associations by mid-20th century, bolstered by real-world personalities, including President Franklin Roosevelt and Sir Winston Churchill, as well as "devil-may-care" characters portrayed in films by actors, including Humphrey Bogart and Frank Sinatra. [5] By the 1970s, however, the bow tie became associated with nerds and geeks, such as the slapstick characters played by Jerry Lewis, and Mayberry's fictional deputy sheriff, Barney Fife. This perception was reinforced by the bow tie's association with Pee-wee Herman and U.S. Senator Paul Simon. [6]
The perceptions associated with bow ties started to take another turn in the 1980s, when Success Magazine's founder, W. Clement Stone, spoke out in support of the neck wear after the publication by fashion author John Molloy which observed, "Wear a bow tie and nobody will take you seriously." [7] Stone associated bow-tie wearing with virility, aggressiveness, and salesmanship. [8] [9] In further defense of the bow tie, its use by figures such as Daniel Patrick Moynihan and Saul Bellow has been cited. [10]
When a celebrity is noticed wearing a bow tie, it can affect bow tie sales; sales see an improvement when the accessory is associated with younger celebrities such as Tucker Carlson. When Raj Bhakta wore one during his stint on The Apprentice , haberdashers reported customers asking for a bow tie which looked like his. [2] Similarly, after Matt Smith made his debut as the bow tie-wearing Eleventh Doctor in Doctor Who , Topman reported a significant increase in demand for bow ties (from 3% of all tie sales to 14%). [11]
Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. wrote about his decision as a college student to start wearing bow ties in his memoir A Life in the Twentieth Century: Innocent Beginnings, 1917–1950. Schlesinger remarked that he made his decision in part because a number of famous men he admired had a penchant for the neck wear. In addition, he noted that they prevent dinner mishaps, saying, "It is impossible, or at least it requires extreme agility, to spill anything on a bow tie." [12]
Bow tie sellers often cite famous people who have worn the neckwear as a way of encouraging more customers. Jack Cutone, co-founder of Boston Bow Tie, noted that there is ample evidence to support the uniqueness and stature of those who wear bow ties, including Abraham Lincoln, Winston Churchill, Albert Einstein and Sigmund Freud. [13] Beau Ties Ltd., an online bow tie seller, has featured a "C. Everett Koop bow tie," complete with an endorsement by Koop, who was Surgeon General of the United States during the Reagan administration. [14] Carrot & Gibbs, another bow tie seller, lists several famous wearers on its bow tie web page. [15]
Bow ties were conventional attire in the nineteenth century. Portraits of U.S. presidents from Van Buren through McKinley commonly show them in bow ties. Wearing of a bow tie was seldom commented upon and did not form part of the public perception of figures such as American inventor Thomas Edison . [16]
The regular wearing of bow ties by a politician is often the subject of comment — from friends, foes and journalists:
Bow ties are a consistent element in the depiction of some fictional characters.
Film and television characters portrayed by human actors as consistently wearing bow ties have included:
Bow ties are a consistent part of the depiction of many characters created by artists for entertainment media including comics, cartoons, and anime.
Among these are many Hanna-Barbera cartoon characters:
Other artist-created characters consistently or frequently depicted in bow ties include:
O'Brien noted that a bow tie "can be a badge of courage," as personified by the World War II "bow-tie alliance of Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill," or the "mark of the urbane, independent, devil-may-care or rakish personality" such as characters portrayed by Humphrey Bogart and Frank Sinatra.
Stone believed bow-tie wearers to be "full of vim and vigour, aggressive and full of drive. They are the best salesmen and entrepreneurs."
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(help)First, though, let me organize a lineup of bow tie wearers to establish a variety. The most distinguished of all, of course, was Winston Churchill, whose favorite was a fine floppy blue job with white polka dots. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, a tall man, often adds a giant butterfly to his getup, which gives his appearance a light and rakish air. Saul Bellow has taken to wearing bow ties late in life. Former Sen. Paul Simon is a habitual bow tie wearer, though, oddly, he seems never to have learned to tie them properly, for the right side of his ties never quite make it to full bow form. For diversity's sake, it would be good to have an NFL linebacker instead of Louis Farrakhan to round off this roster, but Churchill, Moynihan, Bellow, Simon and Farrakhan (a clip-on man, I surmise) perhaps provide sufficient diversity in themselves.
Known as an eccentric, Eisenman is often seen in a bowtie and a sweater with a small hole.
the bespectacled, bow-tied Campbell...
Many UCLA students have fond memories of Cram, wearing his trademark bow tie, playing his guitar and singing folk tunes in class as the semester end neared.
President William G. Durden '71 is known around campus for his strong personal fashion sense—his penchant for wearing bow ties as well as his different colors of glasses frames ....
He was a short man, usually clad in a bow tie, who even in his celebrity never mastered the conventions of polite society.Alt URL
With abundant hair just becoming a little gray, and usually wearing a soft bow tie, Lipmann presented a figure closer to the stereotype of the artist than of the scientist.
The scientist, known for his clarinet playing and Western-style bow ties, describes his mode of reasoning: "I am inclined to make large intuitive jumps and then set about to test the conclusions."
The similarity between Bowen and Bowtie tends to help people remember my name.
The hallway eventually leads to an office where a 92-year-old man [Samuelson] wearing a bowtie is sitting at his desk eating sushi.
Then [Samuelson] bounced in on the soles of his feet, a diminutive man dressed in a light gray suit, a red-and-white-striped shirt, and a snazzy bow tie.
Professors were expected to dress formally; Schrodinger usually wore a sweater and bow tie in winter
Schrodinger addressed his students wearing a sweater and a jaunty bow tie ...
The bow-tied and whimsical Boston Globe reporter Tom Oliphant...
Tom wore his signature business suit, bow tie, and beat-up running shoes.
Jeff Tucker (he of bow-tie fame)
I almost always wear a bow tie
Senator Tom Connally, reared on a Texas farm, affected broad-rimmed black hats, full-cut black coats, gold studs, and black bow tie, and let his silverly lockscurl down over his stiff white collar.
Cowan wore a suit and his trademark bow tie.
House coalition members bedecked in Speaker Tom Fink outfits--regulation bow ties and corncob pipes--pose with the Anchorage Republican, top center, last weekend.
Herter's tweeds, bow ties, and towering height give him the air of an aloof patrician, but he was attuned to political realities, having served as a Massachusetts state legislator, congressman and governor.
Freshman Rep. Donald Payne Jr. (D-N.J.) is often spotted sporting a bow tie. "I predominantly am a bow tie wearer," he told The Hill.
A tall, wavy-haired man who wore bow ties exclusively [...]
Currently foreign minister in the centre-right cabinet, the bow-tied, pipe-smoking Schwarzenberg is personally untainted by graft scandals.
When Muir was appointed to his Agriculture and Environment job there was some joking he might not be able to maintain his penchant for bow ties and natty dressing down on the farm.
Stacey Mitch from Spurs.com caught up with former Spur and ESPN Analyst Bruce Bowen to talk about his famous Bow Ties and life after basketball
The world champion that year was the Ferrari driver Mike Hawthorn, a tall, blond young man who always wore a bow tie when racing. Always. He considered this important. It was his style.[ permanent dead link ]
Invariably he would greet his friend Peter Collins with the words 'mon ami, mate' and was famous for his bow tie, which earned him the nickname 'Le Pappilon' (sic), meaning the butterfly.
Friends in New Jersey, who remembered Caspersen for his trademark bow tie and courtly demeanor...
His dress is unvarying: white sun helmet on top, a neat black bow-tie, short sleeved white shirt, shapeless, often patched gray trousers and big brown shoes, which still get plenty of use.
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(help)Richard [Gilmore] ... is turning into one giant-size, bow-tied teddy bear.
Richard [Gilmore] could have been a bow-tie wearing stuffed shirt.