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.
A wig is a head covering made from human or animal hair, or a synthetic imitation thereof. The word is short for "periwig". Wigs may be worn to disguise baldness, to alter the wearer's appearance, or as part of certain professional uniforms.
A necktie, or simply a tie, is a piece of cloth worn for decorative purposes around the neck, resting under the shirt collar and knotted at the throat, and often draped down the chest.
White tie, also called full evening dress or a dress suit, is the most formal evening Western dress code. For men, it consists of a black tail coat worn over a white dress shirt with a starched or pique bib, white piqué waistcoat and the white bow tie worn around a standing wing collar. Mid or high-waisted black trousers with galon, a braid of trim consisting of two silk stripes to conceal the outer seams of the trousers, along with court shoes complete the outfit. Orders, decorations and medals may be worn. Acceptable accessories include a black top hat, white gloves, a white scarf, a pocket watch, a white pocket square, and a boutonnière. Women wear full-length ball or evening gowns with evening gloves and, optionally, tiaras, jewellery, and a small handbag.
The bowler hat, also known as a Coke hat, billycock, bob hat, bombín (Spanish) or derby, is a hard felt hat with a rounded crown, originally created by the London hat-makers Thomas and William Bowler in 1849. It has traditionally been worn with semi-formal and informal attire. The bowler, a protective and durable hat style, was popular with the British, Irish, and American working classes during the second half of the 19th century, and later with the middle and upper classes in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and the east coast of the United States.
The bow tie or dicky bow is a type of necktie. A modern bow tie is tied using a common shoelace knot, which is also called the bow knot for that reason. It consists of a ribbon of fabric tied around the collar of a shirt in a symmetrical manner so that the two opposite ends form loops.
A top hat is a tall, flat-crowned hat traditionally associated with formal wear in Western dress codes, meaning white tie, morning dress, or frock coat. Traditionally made of black silk or sometimes grey, the top hat emerged in Western fashion by the end of the 18th century. Although it declined by the time of the counterculture of the 1960s, it remains a formal fashion accessory. A collapsible variant of a top hat, developed in the 19th century, is known as an opera hat.
A boater is a semi-formal summer hat for men, which was popularised in the late 19th century and early 20th century.
A pork pie hat is one of several different styles of hat that have been worn since the mid-19th century. The pork pie hat gained further popularity in the 20th century, being worn by famous actors and musicians. This style of hat features a flat crown that resembles a traditional pork pie, thus earning its name.
Brooks Brothers is a high-end American luxury fashion company founded in 1818 and the oldest apparel brand in continuous operation in the United States. Originally a family business, Brooks Brothers produces clothing for men, women and children, as well as home furnishings. Brooks Brothers licenses its name and branding to Luxottica for eyewear, Paris-based Interparfums for fragrances, and Turkey-based Turko Textiles for its home collection.
1870s fashion in European and European-influenced clothing is characterized by a gradual return to a narrow silhouette after the full-skirted fashions of the 1850s and 1860s.
A royal family order or royal family decoration is a decoration conferred by the head of a royal family to their female relations. Such a decoration is considered more of a personal memento than a state decoration, although it may be worn during official state occasions.
Western wear is a category of men's and women's clothing which derives its unique style from the clothes worn in the 19th century Wild West. It ranges from accurate historical reproductions of American frontier clothing, to the stylized garments popularized by Western film and television or singing cowboys such as Gene Autry and Roy Rogers in the 1940s and 1950s. It continues to be a fashion choice in the West and Southwestern United States, as well as people associated with country music or Western lifestyles, for example the various Western or Regional Mexican music styles. Western wear typically incorporates one or more of the following: Western shirts with pearl snap fasteners and vaquero design accents, blue jeans, cowboy hat, a leather belt, and cowboy boots.
An ascot tie or ascot is a neckband with wide pointed wings, traditionally made of pale grey patterned silk. This wide tie is usually patterned, folded over, and fastened with a tie pin or tie clip. It is usually reserved for formal wear with morning dress for daytime weddings and worn with a cutaway morning coat and striped grey formal trousers. This type of dress cravat is made of a thicker, woven type of silk similar to a modern tie and is traditionally either grey or black. A more casual form of ascot is in British English called a cravat, or sometimes as a day cravat to distinguish it from the formal ascot or dress cravat. The casual form is made from a thinner woven silk that is more comfortable when worn against the skin, often with ornate and colourful printed patterns.
A coonskin cap is a hat fashioned from the skin and fur of a raccoon. The headwear became associated with European Americans occupying lands on the United States borders with Indigenous nations in the late 18th century and the first half of the 19th century. The cap became highly popular among boys in the U.S., Canada, United Kingdom, and Australia in the 1950s. The original cap consisted of the entire skin of the raccoon including its head and tail.
William G. Durden is a former president of Dickinson College. He was a Fulbright scholar and a recipient of the Klingenstein Fellowship from Teacher's College, Columbia University.
Narciso Jesus Rodriguez III is an American fashion designer.
The black lounge suit (UK), stroller (U.S.), or Stresemann, is a men's day attire semi-formal intermediate of a formal morning dress and an informal lounge suit; comprising grey striped or checked formal trousers, but distinguished by a conventional-length lounge jacket, single- or double-breasted in black, midnight blue or grey. This makes it largely identical to the formal morning dress from which it is derived, only having exchanged the morning coat with a suit jacket, yet with equivalent options otherwise, such as necktie or bowtie for neckwear, a waistcoat, French cuffs dress shirt of optional collar type, and black dress shoes or dress boots. The correct hat would be a semi-formal homburg, bowler, or boater hat. Just as morning dress is considered the formal daytime equivalent of formal evening attire dress coat i e. white tie, so the stroller is considered the semi-formal daytime equivalent of the semi-formal evening attire dinner jacket, i.e. black tie. Unlike other dress codes, there is no clear equivalent for women, though typical morning dress and cocktail dress have both been identified as alternatives.
Superkatt is an American cartoon animal comic book series by Dan Gordon, a jab at the “long-underwear” genre of superhero comics. The series stars Superkatt, an anthropomorphic cat who wears a bowtie, bonnet, and diaper as a superhero costume. Ron Goulart, author of Ron Goulart's Great History of Comic Books, said that Superkatt was Dang's most memorable comic book character. Denis Gifford, author of The International Book of Comics, said that the character "was as silly as his supercostume."
The swan dress is a dress resembling a mute swan designed by Marjan Pejoski and worn by the Icelandic artist Björk at the 73rd Academy Awards on March 25, 2001, as well as on the cover of her album Vespertine. A Debenhams poll published in The Daily Telegraph in 2008 voted it the ninth-most iconic red carpet dress of all time. Björk's swan dress was reimagined by Valentino at its Spring 2014 Couture fashion show at Paris Fashion Week, which received praise from fashion blogs and social media. In 2019, the dress was featured in the Metropolitan Museum of Art for the exhibition Camp: Notes on Fashion.
A lavallière, also called a pussycat bow or pussybow, is a style of neckwear worn with women's and girls' blouses and bodices. It is a bow tied at the neck, which has been likened to those sometimes put on "pussy cats".