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366 Bow Ties: Day 45

Valentine's Day!

Ellie made me a really big valentine. She sewed it and painted it. Then she hung it in our room. All this on top of making me a Valentine's bow tie, pictured here.

For all this--and for the lady that she always is--she wins. Happy Valentine's Day to the Proprietor of The Cordial Churchman, to the mother of our 3 fantastic boys, to my lifelong fling.

Since the baby was under the weather, we had to cancel our dinner plans. We ate dessert, and lots of it, instead. Not a bad consolation.

But having skipped dinner, I therefore was not obligated to change out of my tweed and red bow tie and into formal dinner attire--a nice change of pace for an aristocrat like myself.

I ran across a blog on men's formal wear, the writer of which is something of an expert on the subject. He notes the transition in dinner wear from white tie to black tie with a dinner jacket during World War I. Above we have Downton Abbey's Lord Grantham in traditional dinner apparel; below, the relaxed dinner jacket that came with the war.

The author notes his lordship's mother's warm reception of such societal trends:

Lord Grantham: I nearly came down in a dinner jacket tonight.

The Dowager Countess: Really?  Well why not a dressing gown?  Or,  better still, pajamas?

If you haven't seen Downton Abbey, I hereby forbid you from reading this blog for one more day until you've watched at least the whole of Season 1. Get you to the website and start watching!

As a runaway style trendsetter, and with all the authority invested in me as a man of the cloth, I hereby pronounce that appropriate dessert wear with one's Valentine when you're stuck home with a sick baby shall henceforth consist of tweed, white oxford, Bill's Khakis, and a red bow tie. To prepare to comply with this new standard, purchase this one-of-a-kind bow tie turned from a 100% silk necktie, and we'll throw in the white twinkles for free.

Happy Valentine's Day,

Andy

366 Bow Ties: Day 46

EDIT: Link to bow tie listing fixed!

I know I'm posting out of order. Valentine's Day bow tie will come later.

Ellie's Valentine's Day present to me was awesome. AWESOME. She set up a very manly dressing area for me. She took my valet and added to it a beautiful mirror, an antique bench, a tie hook, and a shoe horn. This in addition to pretty much overhauling our bedroom--new blinds, curtains, bedside lamps...the works.

It must have been this old fashioned gentlemanly environment getting to me when I reached for the suspenders (or as I should say, in old gentlemanly parlance, "braces").

An, of course, she made me some new bow ties from the pile of old neck ties. This one a 100% silk club diamond cut. I love this bow tie. But I'm going to part with it anyway. It's yours if you're quick.

I should also say that Ellie took these thrift store chinos in a bit in the leg for me. Which makes her even more awesome.

So awesome that, when she says "jump!", I am prone to say "how high?"

Thanks, hon.

Cordially,

Andy

366 Bow Ties: Day 44

Mondays have become my day off lately. Hence, I usually loaf around the house or--when the stars are properly aligned--work in the yard. It's only when supper time rolls around that I get all dappered and take the family to, yes, Chick Fil A.

When I look over this ensemble, I kind of think it's overdone. It was well-intentioned, but it's really just too busy. Different plaids on the bow tie and lapel flower: not a great idea. Especially when considering the jacket is patterned, too. The blues aren't exactly complementary, and neither are the greens. The rust silk pocket square is just too pushy and doesn't coordinate well. And of course, it's too much for Chick Fil A.

Oh well--you win some, you lose some.

But still. The bow tie itself is fantastic. It's a narrow (even narrower, by 1/8'', than our normal "narrow cut") butterfly tartan. We used to sell it in our store, but it's long been sold out. Ellie happened upon some leftover fabric and did it up for me. Go and get you it.

What I think does succeed, however, in this outfit, is the silk repp striped D-ring belt with the jeans. It's a Polo Ralph Lauren from the local consignment store.

Cordially,

Andy

366 Bow Ties: Days 39-43

AKA, Catch-up post. I'm just going to throw these out there without too much play-by-play. Enjoy!

Day 39. I reached for a new spring TCC bow tie--the Chadrick-- a gorgeous madras thusfar only available to our Bow Tie of the Month Society members. Sometimes you just have to pack the family into the minivan and head off to Moe's. You don't necessarily have to rock a bow tie on such occasions, but if you're going to be interfacing with the world's greatest soda machine, you might as well wear the world's greatest piece of neckwear.

Just this one's available in straight batwing for now ... until the spring line is released to the general public later this month.

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Day 40. A guy has a couple sartorial weapons at his disposal: the carrot and the stick. The stick is loud, obnoxious, GTH. The carrot says "I don't need to be noticed, but don't you enjoy noticing me?"

This is all a bunch of nonsense, of course. I just happened to be having a low-calorie snack when my photographer was available. This is a truly original bow tie: the Alan. It's about as out-of-the-box as we get. Brown with reddish-orange, silver, and tan threads of of different sheen and weave mixed in. I think it looked good with my JandHP lapel flower, dark jeans, ridiculous green argyle socks, longwings, and my favorite Donegal tweed. This very bow tie is available here at a discount.

I used to head to the hospital several times every week. In my newer line of work, hospital visitations are pretty infrequent, and actually constitute a nice break in the routine. Special enough occasion to photograph myself in the mirror-laden elevator, at least.

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Day 41. I keep stealing bow ties from the forthcoming spring collection. This is the Barrett: probably my favorite. It's a simple red linen, which almost looks like chambray. The texture is rich. The fabric is luxurious and costly. Rendered here in diamond-point, this one alone is available to you at a preview discount.

(A classic butterfly cut shown here for a closer look at the color and texture.)

One more wear for my Oak Street Bootmakers penny loafers before they're due for their first cleaning and treatment. These things still smell so dang leathery. A glorious shoe.

The whole family headed to Amelie's French Bakery in Charlotte to meet our friend Caroline Fontenot of Back Down South. All the boys wore bow ties, of course, including Wycliffe. Here he is just before he ripped a bust off the table, which went crashing to the floor and ended up on the counter in a pile, pictured below. Smooth move, son.

Deacon doesn't mind dressing up a tad, though Owen despises it. We had to bribe Owen with "doughnuts" (i.e., gourmet eclairs). Sometimes Deacon can seem like such a grown-up, like when he was patiently sitting in the car waiting to leave.

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Day 42. Ellie raided the enormous pile of death-row neck ties for this yellow silk with purple foulard. She made a beautiful straight batwing shaped bow tie that seemed appropriate for another hospital visit, this time to see our friends' and my colleague's newborn.

Saturday night was the coldest it's been here all winter. It all started just at dusk while we were snapping these photos. Brrrrrrrrrrrr.

You can snag this one-of-a-kind bow tiehere, until it's gone.

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Day 43. Sometimes I go a little nuts and get all the accessories coordinated. Red, white and blue on the straight batwing silk bow tie, the socks, the grosgrain watch band, and the pocket square.

When you pull something like this off, you get a little spunky and start karate kicking the camerawoman.

Grab this one-of-a-kind former necktie-turned-TCC bow tie now, or it's gone.

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And there you have it. 5 days of bow tiedness. All in one post. Almost more than any of us can handle. Don't forget that all the proceeds of the 366 bow ties I wear go to our favorite project in Haiti, helping children in poverty have a chance to be released from its clutches into lives of personal flourishing. So buy often.

Cordially,

Andy

366 Bow Ties: Day 37

We're real high brow, you know? Which is why we hit up Chick-fil-A almost every Monday night for free kids grub. I'm not alone in bow tie wearing when we go, either. There's a gentleman who refreshes beverages that always wears a bow tie. It's probably subconsciously why we crave a Number 7 and a chance to let our boys get all their energy out of their system at least once per week.

Monday's tie: the Dexter. It's been elusive. Hard to capture the color exactly. Blue. Green. Subtle check. Definitely wooly, but soft. Very much wintry. Only one left--part of my personal collection. I'm willing to part with it. You should be very willing to take it off my hands.

Kids playgrounds smell like feet. You can tolerate it for a few minutes, but phew.

The little guy has been very much anxious to participate in whatever nonsense his older brothers happen to be up to. Wrestling before bedtime, and now apparently CFA playground tag, too.

Felt like the blues and browns played nice off each other: blue in the bow, brown in the sweater (looks like I copied Winthrop, our mannequin) blue in the 501s and a tad in the argyles, and then brown again with the Oak Street Bootmakers pennies.

Grab the last Dexter now or you'll quite regret it. There's a reason the fabric's all gone and mine's the only one left--it's a snazzy bow tie.

Cordially,

Andy

366 Bow Ties: Day 36

Sundays are work days for preachers. But if we've got any spiritual equilibrium at all, it's our favorite day of the week. Our musicians jumped in at the last minute and led music at a sister church in town, and one of my interns preached. Then we had our evening service a bit early, in order to watch the Super Bowl afterward. (Of course I didn't watch the Super Bowl. I saw a little of Madonna during halftime, though.)

Sometimes I reach for silk on Sundays. I reached for an oldie but goodie this time around. Can't get much more classic. Navy and gold. Available in our store--just this one. (If you ask real nice, we might just re-list them. I've discovered a stash of fabric good enough for a small batch.) This one's yours for $29. They're usually $35, I think. It all goes to Haiti.

So far, Hill City Church has been meeting for services in what I'm calling "Tursi Chapel"--really just our friends' living room. And kitchen. And dining room. And bedrooms. These are really sweet times. Music is not slick, but heartfelt. People sing. Loud. Everybody participates. It's cozy. If we grow, which I hope we will, we won't be here too much longer. But we'll never forget how great our times in this intimate environment were, and what happened to our souls and our community while we inhabited these quarters.

I'm apparently not the only preacher in history who reaches for the bow tie on Sundays. I'm pretty sure I took these photos at Peachtree Corners Presbyterian Church in Norcross, GA., which was formerly Doraville Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church. Whoever said "never trust a man in a bow tie" didn't have one of these fine chaps as their preacher.

Now this is great. This fella is dignified, but delights to be photographed with, let's presume, his dear daughter. A cordial churchman if ever there was one.

It's good to breathe the mercy-filled air on a Sunday morning, and bid the daylight farewell on a Sunday evening, while in the company of fellow pilgrims.

Cordially,

Andy

366 Bow Ties: Day 35

The occasion was Char Cam's 30th Birthday. Since it was his birthday, he celebrated it his way: firing guns, igniting things, showing off his new pigs, and eating other people's food.

It was an opportunity to try a little Country Gentleman style. I'm not sure I succeeded. What goes with a black jacket-vest? Probably not an old powder blue cardigan and a pale blue bow tie. Oh well. So I brought my pretty lady friend along with me, and that covers a multitude of sins. Ain't she pretty?

I'm not even certain what this bow tie is made out of. I'm guessing a silk-wool blend. Very luxurious hand. Subtle herringbone weave (is that what you call it?). Muted green and tan pattern. A snazzy bow tie that would do the trick in winter as well as spring.

The reason we call him Char Cam ("Charles Cameron") is because he came to a town that didn't have room for another "Cameron". See that truck there? That's Cameron's truck. Which Cameron? CAMERON Cameron. I.e., not Char Cam. See how that works?

I'm so not an outdoorsman. I love being outdoors, but that's not the same thing as being an outdoorsman. But with the Wellies and the old Custom Deluxe on the farm, I'd have fooled you, no?

These two fire photographs are a good metaphor for the evolution of a bow tie wearer. You start out guns-a-blazin'. BOOM! I'm wearing a bow tie! Everybody, look! No one can miss your bow tie. You are self-conscious about it all day. You're almost exhausted at the end of the day because of how self-conscious you've been, and from fielding questions and replying to comments about your bow tie all day.

By the time you've worn a bow tie 366 times, however, you almost forget it's on. It's natural. People are used to you in it. The fire is a slow, steady burn. Nice to look at, but not obnoxious.

Okay, that's pretty silly.

Buy this bow tie.

Cordially,

Andy

366 Bow Ties: Day 34

So I've been doing this silly thing since about September where I take photos of my socks. Why? I don't know. These are supposed to be pink flamingos, but they look more like velociraptors. This is probably me writing a blog post in Ellie's studio.

The bow tie is a new linen from the forthcoming Spring/Summer line, to be released soon. We're trying to make it so you can't stand the wait. Is it working?

100% linen--chalk full of texture and plaid awesomeness. I wore the classic butterfly, so that's the one up for grabs. I've shown these images here with diamond-point cut so you can see the texture.

Get one before anyone else. Get one before the thing even has a proper name. Get a bow tie and send $29 to Haiti. Get this bow tie!

PS--many of you have been after us to re-list the Maxwell neckties. By popular demand, they're back on in our store, available in point-end or square-end varieties. Pictured just above.

Your business supports our children's developing passions. This one has a loud developing passion.

366 Bow Ties: Day 33

Due to the encouragement of our friend and southern style photographer and writer Caroline Fontenot of Back Down South, I've been reaching for the denim jacket pretty frequently during this crazy bow tie-wearing run. It really only works with khakis, in my opinion. Denim head to toe would be a little too ... I don't know ... too much denim.

I know I sound like a broken record, or a One-Note Johnny as one of my professors used to say, but I like the way you can casual-ize things when you throw in a piece like a denim jacket. Khakis and penny loafers (and some would argue, even a bow tie) are already technically "casual". But it's all relative these days.

I could be mistaken, but it appears from Caroline's Instagram feed as though her husband Mark has grabbed a pair of Oak Street Bootmakers penny loafers just like mine. I'm going to be vain and assume that she's coaching Mark on his wardrobe purchases and daily ensembles with a bookmark in my blog series. Yeah right. That guy's got a great personal style.

I should mention that the visual identity of Caroline's blog was created by my neighbor and colleague in all kinds of mischief, Mr. Stephen Crotts. Pretty snazzy logo, don't you think?

I'm looking forward to meeting Caroline next weekend in Charlotte. They've been gracious enough to do a post or two about us on their blog. I might have to throw the Levi's jacket on again in hopes that she snaps a photo of me. (Vanity! All is vanity!)

Not all is vanity. I'm glad to have friends like Mr Cameron Bunce, bona fide artists, who keep it real for us. Here Mr Bunce is giving a handful of us our fortnightly impromptu art history lecture. Compelling. We were gathered for The Dead Preachers Society of Ebenezerville, and it spilled over into a critique of pop culture superficiality as exemplified in movie posters and DVD covers.

Oh yeah! The bow tie! This is a sold-out Vito, easily my favorite bow tie of this last summer. Ellie found two orphaned halves and reunited them. And now that I wore it, I have to sell it. Buy it, love it, thank me later.

Cordially,

Andy

PS--I mentioned Stephen Crotts. In grabbing the link to his portfolio, I saw this poster that he just produced. And I all but wept. Very good work, sir. 

366 Bow Ties: Day 32

We've talked a good bit about bow tie attitude. The discussion is really a bit overblown, actually. Bow ties don't really communicate all that much, inherently. And yet there is a certain amount of chutzpah required when rocking said piece of haberdashery.

I like to think of it like any other pursuit. You're an individual. You've got peculiar idiosyncrasies, a unique gift mix, particular passions, and a temperament all your own. You've got to take that 'self' with you into everything you do. Half the battle is convincing yourself that you're not a fraud. The other half is figuring out a balance between confidence and humility. It doesn't serve you or anybody if you're a punk; nor does it do anyone a favor if your self deprecation is not so much humorous as a perennially employed defense mechanism.

It's not so much about "image" or even "self-image". It's more about poise, countenance, bearing. How do you carry yourself? How do you respond to different environments? Are you uptight? Are you provocative? Are you pushy? Are you a pushover? Or have you learned to take yourself less seriously, and take others, and your calling in life, more seriously? There's the difference. You can wear a bow tie and still put everyone at ease. (So much for Tucker Carlson's funny line about a bow tie basically being a middle finger protruding from one's Adam's Apple.) Likewise, you can wear jeans and a t-shirt and still immediately demonstrate that you care about things, including your calling, and that you do in fact know what you're talking about. It's not the clothes that make the man (was it Alan Flusser that sort of said that?), but the countenance that makes the man. Same for ladies.

I think this idea goes a long way toward establishing the difference between vanity and personal style. Your poise should put people at ease, regardless of what people's initial reaction to your style may be. It used to be that a man's wardrobe in particular was about gentlemanliness--the art of wearing the right thing at the right time so as not to make people uncomfortable. But in our day, when everything is done with a high degree of self-consciousness, and in which there is no established "uniform" for the workplace, for dinner, or even for the Inaugural Ball, you're going to have to set people at was by your poise rather than your clothes. You're going to be "out of uniform" to someone in any situation these days. You'll have to let your bearing bear you along, and bear others along.

All this from a photograph where I'm looking like a punk. Huh.

At the end of the day, The Cordial Churchman can sell you bow ties. We can't make you cordial. You're going to have to look to another Supplier for that sort of quality.

But we'd still like to sell you this bow tie: a new Donegal Tweed in gray with subtle flecks of awesomeness. 100% wool. Diamond point. Poise not included. When you buy it, $29 goes to help change lives in Haiti.

As Cordially as Possible,

Andy

PS-- My comrade and distance mentor Steve Childers gives some sage advice on how to maintain poise and spiritual equilibrium. We thought it was so good that we put it on our chalkboard in the kitchen.