Mens bow ties go back to the 17th century when creation mercenaries tied closed the openings of their shirts by tyeing brightly colored scarves around their necks. The upper crust of French fashion at the time took to the practice and called the lengths of fabric cravat, from the French work for Croat. There is some discrepancy about how Mens bow ties came to evolve from the cravat, but when it did it became one of the most successful fashion accessories in the history of menswear. From the bow tie we have seen the evolution of the modern neck tie and the western bolo, the southern string tie and of course the English ascot. All of these pieces of mens neck wear can be traced directly back to Mens bow ties and other neck scarves style clothing items.
Mens bow ties are typically hand tied fabric neck accessory made form cotton polyester or silk, they are also sometimes referred to as freestyle or tie-to-tie. They are traditionally made in as series of fixed length which correspond to the neck sizes of the man doing the purchasing. Most of the time these lengths are 14-20 inches, but adjustable bow-ties are also available, which are a relatively recent invention designed to be worn to less formal events or even on a daily basis when one is wearing a collared shirt or a turned down shirt.
The most recent advent of Mens bow ties are the clip on and the ready tie styles which are pre-tied ties which either have and elastic strap which goes around the back of the neck and is then clipped or is clipped to the top button of the shirt. These are very popular with men who wish to wear a bow tie every day but do not have the desire to tie one by hand every morning, they are great for shirts which have a turned down collar but are faux pas when a formal tie is needed.
It is becoming quite common to see men wearing bow ties again with a regular suit or a sport jacket, a fashion which has not been common since the 50's but with the recent interest in all things retro and with a less formal approach to business wear being taken these days Mens bow ties are finding a home with a new crowd of men from the ages of 30-59. This is a similar trend which has been seen in mens shoes with the recent increase in popularity of wing tips, mens underwear with the recent increase of popularity of "high rise" briefs and "full cut" boxer shorts, and with the massive increase in sales of "A" Style undershirts, and oxford shirts with spread collars. Even the old standby sock garters are back to being popular again as men are finding that the fashions of yesterday were both comfortable sophisticated and just the right amount of business casual, all at the same time. This is just another case of the old adage that every thing old is new again, so don't throw out the stuff from the back of the closet you never know when the fashion wheel of fortune will come back around, and you will once again be at the forefront of the latest trends and never have to step foot in a department store to do it. If Mens bow ties are able to make a come back maybe theres hope for leisure suits and fish net undershirts after all, then again maybe not.