Tie avatars .....

The bow tie and the cravat are truly the epitomes of style – higher-end versions of the conventional tie. While normal ties can be used for just about any occasion, the bow tie and the cravat are worn for exceptionally formal occasions such as weddings, award ceremonies, and black tie dinners. The bow tie saw its origins in the seventeenth century through an idea of the Croatian soldiers to wrap a scarf around their necks to ensure the open collars of their shirts stayed in place. The cravat, too, is said to have its genesis from this trend followed by Croatian soldiers. Actually, the name ‘cravat’ is supposed to have been derived from the word, ‘Croats’.

Despite its nomenclature, the bow tie is more of a bow than a tie. It is basically a ribbon-like accessory that is wound around the neck and knotted in the front. The two free ends are then allowed to hang down. Bow ties are worn in four different styles; straight, wide, classic, and diamond-point. The straight style has a rectangular look with the same width being retained across the length of the bow tie, this width being around 1 3/4 inches. In the case of the wide style, the ends of the bow tie are relatively broader than the centre. The breadth of this bow tie is around 3 3/4 inches. The classic style, too, has a narrow center and broader ends, with the width being 2 3/8 inches. The diamond-point style, as the name implies, has diamond shaped ends with a 2 inch width.

A bow tie is easy to wear. With initially the right end being longer than the left, the right end is folded over the left end. Then, it is wound upwards to form a loop. The left end is then folded over itself to form the lower part of the loop. The right loop is again passed over the center. Now, it is the turn of the right loop to be folded over itself. The bow tie is now ready after being gently pulled taut.               

The cravat is very similar to the bow tie as far as method of wearing is concerned. Once again the cravat is placed around the neck with the right end being longer than the left. Pull the right end towards the left and then drag it back towards the right under the left end. Again, the longer end is brought to the left. The longer end is now passed through the loop. There are two different styles of wearing the cravat; the Traditional style and the Scrunch style. In the Traditional style, the longer end is pulled over the final knot and adjusted along with the shorter end and pinned into place with a cravat pin. In the Scrunch look, the longer end is allowed to loosely fall over the final knot without being tightly pinned into place. Considering the intricate nature of knotting a Belisi tie or any other tie, "how to tie a cravat" guides are much in demand.

Though not being widely used today, the bow tie and the cravat truly have a charm of their own and are favored by fashion conscious men. These ties are ideal for use to a cocktail party along with suits. From being the pioneers of ties, the bow tie and the cravat have become the new men's fashion neckties. Bow ties are used by both sexes and it is not rare to see a businesswoman tying a bowtie. Depending on money constraints, hot pink bow tie accessories as well as other products can be obtained in bulk from various outlets.