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A Cordial Drop-In

[caption id="attachment_2895" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Photo credit: Virginia McCallister Photography

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366 Bow Ties: The One-Eighties

189.

Bill's Khakis: M3s. Pretty much the perfect khaki. I've worn these more than any other pair of trousers in 2012, and they're holding up great. They wear like iron, and looks sharp without an iron. (See what I did there?) They're definitely showing the character that comes with age---my knees have made their presence felt in the shape and drape. But they look great. Here's to Bill's again for supporting our efforts to make a difference in Haiti through this project.

There's something appropriate about pairing American-made khakis with such an American bow tie. Needless to say, you'll want to jump on this one quick.

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183.

A simple narrow madras. Can't go wrong here at all. Especially with a wrinkly white Oxford button-down and some red chambray shorts.

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182.

What happens when you're a preacher at the end of a long Sunday? Well, you have a root beer float before you go to bed. You also look like you're going to fall over.

Diamond-point floral / gray chambray reversible. A handsome bow tie you'll be delighted to add to your wardrobe. 

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180.

The Screwtape Letters at the Knight Theater. Max Maclean. Great show. Threw on the Bill's Khakis Nantucket Reds, a pale blue / white stripe Brooks linen button down, a tan odd jacket, and a former necktie converted to a zany floral silk bow tie in classic cut. 

Lady Churchman looked especially stunning. I'm a lucky man to have such a pretty girl and a great entrepreneur as a partner in crime.

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That's all for today.

Cordially,

Anyd

366 Bow Ties: Not 100 Days Old

This is what a Presbyterian church looks like 3 minutes before a service starts. From the front. From the preacher. Who should probably not be snapping photos with his iPhone. From behind the cover of the church bulletin.

Moving right along ...

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Day 210. Sunday I wore this beauty. Gold with paisley on one side; red linen on the other. Straight batwing.

I hate it when I forget to have someone else take my photo, and have to take one myself. I look like so much of a goober when someone else takes the photo. And much more of a goober when I take it myself. Ah, well....you already knew that.

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Day 211. This is what a fella who wears a bow tie every day looks like at the pub on a Monday night after opting for a Woodchuck Apple Cider, wearing Wolverine 1000 Mile Boots and socks (he never wears socks in the summer!). [Photo credit: CL].

And here those boots are, in all their glory. [Well.... in most of their glory---no natural light, since the sun has already gone down.] Wolverine 1000 Mile Boots. These good folks sent along this gorgeous pair of boots (along with one for Mrs Churchman) in support of our 366 Bow Ties for Haiti project.

There. That's better. Gorgeous boots. Fall, come-on, baby.

Oh yeah---the bow tie. [Thanks a lot, Wolverine, for stealing our thunder.].

Club diamond shape. Fully awesome. Yours for $29. 

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Day 212. Got a couple new oxfords. By chance, the bow tie the Church Belles made for me today had blue and yellow, as did the oxford I picked out. Nice.

I'm loving my re-soled Bass Weejuns, by the way.

Used to be a Nautica necktie. Flags. Nautical, I imagine. (Who knows---it's an outdoor sport so, beats me.) Yours for $29. 

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Speaking of sports: congrats to all the athletes who "went out there and did [their] best", "gave it [their] all", "just went out there and had fun", and managed to memorize the only post-competition interview script ever used in any post-competition interview in any sport at any time since the advent of sports. 

I promise that when I hit my first home run in Saturday morning softball, if someone interviews me, I'll tell them that I can hit home runs in my sleep without even trying, and that I never practice, and basically sit on the couch all day eating potato chips.

Seriously, though, I'm loving the Olympics and all the #NBCfail tweets. 

Enjoy the bow ties.

Cordially,

Andy

366 Bow Ties: A hodgepodge for sure

Day 121. It's funny to see all these photos from the not-too-distant past of Yours Truly with a silly handlebar mustache. Not quite as silly is this bow tie, complete with four pretty unrelated fabrics, none of which can really be hidden no matter how you twist and turn the tie. Is there order in the chaos? Or is this bow tie all at sea? You make the call. But you'd better make it soon, because someone with an itchy mouse finger might get all impulsive and swipe it.

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Day 116. Looking at this bow tie makes me want it to be fall. Right now. Day 116 would have been late April---probably the last reasonable chance on an unseasonably cool day to wear a donegal tweed jacket and a wool reversible bow tie in narrow cut. But here we are in---my goodness!---almost August. It's high time to start gathering together your fall neckwear, and I reckon this would fit the bill quite nicely.

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 Day 124. This is a handsome floral-pattern bow cut in classic shape and sure to provide some top shelf bling to your spring-summer wardrobe for years to come.  I'm not sure why I was so frowny in these photos. I must have been late for something. Or maybe the sun was bright in my eyes? Or maybe I was juice-fasting? Or maybe I was thinking about that one girl who dumped me in 7th grade? Or...

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Day 152. This was Orlando. This weird Indian restaurant was one of the best things about Orlando. Orlando didn't have very many best things about it against which this weird Indian restaurant had to compete. That's my assessment of Orlando. I'm glad to be persuaded to come back and poke my nose around again--see if my impressions change---if, say, the Chamber of Commerce wants to fly me in, wine me and dine me, take me to a cool theme park if there is such a thing in town. I'll even publicly recant my Orlando pronouncements.

For now, though, I'll just try to sell you this bow tie. Shouldn't be hard.

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Well, that's enough for right now. Sooner or later, I'll actually get caught up. Stay tuned for the past week's bow ties, coming in the next couple days.

And don't forget that every cent of every one of these 366 bow ties goes to help children get education and a new hope through a sponsorship and schooling opportunity in Haiti.

Cordially,

Andy

366 Bow Ties: More Catching Up!

Day 190.

I'm pointing at the bow tie, but everyone assumed I was showing off my freshly shaven baby face. People! Let's not get distracted from the nicely coordinated ensemble here. Red chambray Levi's shorts, blue oxford button down. Red, white, and blue seersucker check bow tie in classic cut.

It's a sharp tie; there's no denying it. Yours unless you tarry.

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Day 191

It's an honest, and an important, question. But let's put the on hold for the moment. The real question is, do you own a hot air balloon bow tie? It's 492% more likely that you've hugged a Presbyterian.

This unique number was once a neck tie. You can kind of tell if you look close at the knot, which just so happened to show the seam where the emblematic fabric was brought together to form this bow tie. (Usually it is discretely hidden.)

This is really gone forever and ever and ever, amen, once it's gone. Buy now or regret later. (How's that for a pushy, decidedly non-Presbyterian altar call sort of approach to sales?)

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Day 193

It's my firm belief that pink is a very legitimate color for any men's garment, save briefs. Pink chambray in a punchy diamond-point cut. Can't go wrong. You get an extra credential on your Man Card. And buying it sends $29 to children in Haiti.

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Day 194

I'm sorry, but you've just got to love this. Yes, that's two shades of gingham patched together on one 'wing' of this classic butterfly cut bow tie. The scale variation in the navy gingham is also a subtly awesome touch.

You're probably going to want to grab this now while it's still summer. Then wear it every day until Labor Day.

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Well, that's four new ones for you to goo and gah over. Enjoy.

Cordially,

Andy

366 Bow Ties: The Reversibles

This post is all about reversibles. Actually, it's all about me finding something in common among the dozen or so bow ties that I've worn but not yet blogged or listed in our store.

Reversibles! The great thing here is that you really can wear these suckers in any number of ways:

See what I mean?

So, for the reversibles at hand...

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How about Day 165? A Clarkson on one side and Green Seersucker on the other. Snappy.

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Or consider Day 136: A striking navy silk foulard paired with yellow gingham. The whole is way greater than the sum of its parts.

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Day 126 will grab your colleagues by the collar and say "hey, I'm a snappy bow tie. Notice me." Not in a bad way, of course.

There's a distinction to be made here. This is not a 'reversible' but rather a 'two-toned' bow tie. Instead of one pattern on one side, one on the other, you get half one pattern and half the other. Confused? Eh, just buy it. This one's got a handsome madras paired with red gingham, cut in diamond point for just a little extra boo-yah.

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Don't forget that all of the proceeds for all of these 366 Bow Ties go to Haiti. Grab some reversibility and help us meet our goal or raising $10,000 for school children in Haiti through MTW's OneChild sponsorship program.

Cordially,

Andy

366 Bow Ties: Day 171 - With Our Haitian Partner

I had the great privilege of meeting Esaie Etienne at The Cordial Churchman booth at the PCA General Assembly last month in Louisville, KY. Esaie is a missionary with MTW (Mission to the World), who heads up several projects in Haiti.

The main one The Cordial Churchman is supporting is this school, where all of the children are sponsored through the OneChild sponsorship program. It's still staggering to think that 316,000 died in the 2010 earthquake, which also left 1.6 million Haitians homeless and displaced. The children OneChild has enrolled still have a lot of challenges ahead of them. But their lives have been radically altered by the work of Esaie and his colleagues.

The bow tie of the day was this handsome green seersucker / madras reversible in classic cut. Every penny of the mere $29 you slap down for this or any of our 366 daily bow ties goes to this project just off our shores in Haiti.

Consider jumping in with us and sponsoring a child in Haiti or in several other places through OneChild for about a dollar a day. That's very close to nothing for you and me, and very close to everything for one of these dear children.

Cordially,

Andy

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PS-- If you'd like to hear Esaie preach, listen here.

PSS--Here is an interview with Esaie 20 days after the 2010 earthquake, reflecting on his ministry of mercy in Haiti.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y28mn7SGKt8]

366 Bow Ties: Day 200!

Well, for Day 200, The Perfect Melancholies had a gig at The Old Town Market, but alas, the rain prevailed and we (probably wisely) opted for non-electrocution and threw on the towel. Too bad. But on the bright side, we got coverage by our local daily without actually having to perform.

Erica entertained us on the banjo while the rain did its rainy thing.

The great thing---a true providence, I would reckon---was that we got to dine at Erin's Restaurant on its opening night in its new Old Town Rock Hill location. It was a fantastic, and historic, experience.

The bow tie was a  straight batwing shape (an obvious choice for the eve of the debut of The Dark Night Rises) reversible with a complex plaid on one side and a simple, wonderfully textured pale teal linen on the other side. I twisted the bow to show off the teal linen in the knot---one of the many possibilities when you're rocking a TCC reversible. Grab it here.

Eat local. Listen to local music. Wear bow ties. Especially ones that put your money toward a local, homegrown business which employs local artisans, and which also puts a small dent into the hope-thirst of a few dozen Haitian children.

And smile.

And eat dessert.

Cordially,

Andy

366 Bow Ties: Day 199

366 Bow Ties for Haiti

For the year of 2012, we have taken on an interesting project that is working quite well.  My husband, Andy Stager has committed to wearing a bow tie every day of the year and he blogs about them and we sell them through our online store   EVERY BIT of the money we make from the sales of his daily bow ties goes to support these children in Haiti.  Sofar, we have been able to use the sales to build them a dining area in their school and repair their bathrooms.  The next bit of funding is going to go to purchasing them school shirts with the school's name on it.

I wanted to share with you some photos that a friend Kay (who was the Cordial Churchman's first hired seamstress!) who is the director of OneChild took on a recent trip to Haiti.  These are the children that YOU have been able to help by purchasing the bow ties from the 366 Bow Ties project!  This is the school that we have been able to help renovate for these children.

It is so amazing to be able to help in this way.  Won't you consider helping too?  If you are a business owner and have resources to help these children, we'd love to get them supplied with clothes, art supplies, instruments and other things that would make their education that much more rich.

Are you a family that would consider sponsoring one of these children through the One Child program for $35/mo?    The best way to find out more about how to sponsor a child is to e-mail the organization at OneChild@mtw.org

And thank you for your support through the 366 bow ties project!  We have raised a good bit of money and sold almost every bow tie that Andy has worn.

We also want to give a special thanks to BILLS KHAKIS, OAK STREET BOOTMAKERS and WOLVERINE 1000 MILE BOOTS.  These companies have supported the project by supplying Andy with clothes and shoes to wear with his this year.    If you are interested in supporting the project in this way, e-mail us at andy@thecordialchurchman.com  We'd be very happy to wear and review your products on our blog.