Pocket Squres: Compliment – Not match

Incase you are wondering how to rock the pocket square with your bow tie, the word is coordinate, not match.

Here’s some combos we love from our upcoming summer collection (Available May 1)

Yellow Madras (Coming Soon) with Navy Gingham

Navy Dot Linen (Frederick) with Salmon Madras

 

Pink Gingham with Light Blue pinstripe Linen

 

 

White Pique, Navy Blazer, Blue and yellow striped bow tie and a yellow seersucker pocket square.  When wearing one of our lapel flowers, we think its best to go as subtle as possible with your pocket square.  The White pique is one of the best pocket squares because it adds interest and texture but can go with everything.

How To Tie a Bow Tie

I am loving everything about this commercial.  Especially the look on the Jay Bilas’ face as he’s trying to tie his son’s bow tie.

One of our customers is a teacher and when his students ask him how he ties his bow tie he says it is just like tying a neck tie while being strangled and 10 minutes late.

I think it is easiest to learn while in front of a youtube video and a mirror.

Here is one of my favorite videos that is actually teaches us how to tie one by our favorite science guy, Bill Nye

And my other favorite is this one produced by a wonderful gentleman’s shop in Columbia, SC.

Milk and Sugar

Since this week has quickly become seersucker week after selling more seersucker bow ties than we thought possible, I thought I’d share a little about this special fabric.  Maybe I’m a geek, but I think it is pretty cool.  Here’s what Wikipedia has to say:

Seersucker is a thin, puckered, all-cotton fabric, commonly striped or chequered, used to make clothing for spring and summer wear. The word came into English from Hindustani (Urdu and Hindi), which originates from the Persian words “shir o shekar”, meaning “milk and sugar”, probably from the resemblance of its smooth and rough stripes to the smooth texture of milk and the bumpy texture of sugar.

During the British colonial period, seersucker was a popular material in Britain’s warm weather colonies like British India. When Seersucker was first introduced in the United States, it was used for a broad array of clothing items. For suits, the material was considered a mainstay of the summer wardrobe of gentlemen, especially in the South, who favored the light fabric in the high heat and humidity of the summer, especially prior to the arrival of air conditioning.

The fabric was originally worn by the poor in the U.S. until undergraduate students in the 1920s, in an air of reverse snobbery, began to wear the fabric.  Damon Runyon wrote that his new habit for wearing seersucker was “causing much confusion among my friends. They cannot decide whether I am broke or just setting a new vogue.”

Making Old Things New – Turning an old necktie into a bow tie.

One of the things people love us for is how we can turn a neck tie into a bow tie. And to be honest, it is a little magical.

Nearly every day, we receive packages with neck ties from all over the country. We rip them open and check out what is inside.

We take out the seams and press them out.

We add our own interfacing and sew them up.

And just like that.

Its Magic.

Voila!

We get to make something new again – and we love it.

If you’re interested in purchasing this, you can do it through this link.

*the really good photos – #2 through #5 in this post were taken by our customer and friend and fellow artist, Joe Jackson.  Thank you, Joe for making it look so cool.

In the TCC Bow Tie Studio

We are so fortunate to have our work room on Main Street in downtown Rock Hill.  It is an old historic building with giant windows, tall ceilings and really good lighting.  In this place, we laugh, eat lots of candy, listen to loud music and obviously make plenty of bow ties.  Sometimes we are amazed at the beautiful things we get to see throughout the day.  One of our seamstresses (and abstract artist in her spare time), Dominique took these shots.

We have really good light.

Our “model” is named Bancroft. Here he is wearing a lapel flower and a channing bow tie. We have good times dressing this guy up.  It’s always nice to be able to point to him when a visitor picks up a diamond point freestyle bow tie and says what does this one do? 

If you’ve ever sewn, you know the glory that is the magnetic pin cushion – or pin collector I guess. It’s not very cushy.

Yes its true, even our trash piles are a work of art.

And the floor after a series of Neck tie to Bow Tie conversions.

And finally, a pile of freshly pressed four toned gingham bow ties that so far have only been available to our Bow Tie of the Month Society.

366 Bow Ties for Haiti: Lots of Silk

Day 264 is a handsome silk reversible. My high school colors, in fact—blue and gold. Classic cut. Grab it here before it’s gone.

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Day 263 is about as classic as it gets. I was offered an honorary doctorate at an Ivy League school just for wearing it.

Silk, of course. Navy and red.

And don’t yo like the chambray detail on the band? Nice touch, Church Belles. Grab it here. All $29 (can you believe it’s just 29 bones??) go to Haiti. _______________________________________________________

Day 265 would represent only 100 days left of this project … if it weren’t a leap year. Actually, it still might. I always get confused with these calculations. Do you count inclusively? Exclusively? I dunno.

The wools are coming out, and I’m happy about that. This one is particularly nice. Yours hear for $29, all of which goes to Haiti.  Grab it here. _______________________________________________________

Day 262 is a sharp, classic batwing navy foulard of vintage necktie silk. Get it here.

You’ve got to love the smart, near-geeky shape of the batwing bow tie, no? Some think it doesn’t go with their face, or their body shape, or whatever. Pssshhhh. _______________________________________________________

Day 261: more classic repp stripe-age. Diamond point cut this time around. Please don’t buy this. I want it for myself. No. I’m being selfish. You can buy it. Besides, all the cash goes to Haiti. Yes, do buy it. (But then give it as a gift to me!) Here it is: go get it.

Enjoy,

Andy

366 Bow Ties for Haiti: Feeling the Fall

Usually we can’t get them to be happy and be in bow ties. Owen’s favorite line is “Lame. I don’t want to dress like Papa.” He’s a pre-teen at age 4. But this time around, they both decided they wanted to be magicians, so they needed a bow tie and a cape to go with their wands. Okey Dokey.

Today was the first day for tweed. Great to get my favorite Donegal out, with the elbow patches and all.

And Day 270 called for a straight batwing silk repp stripe X gray velvet reversible.  It’s really one of my favorites of the year. Yours for $29, all of which goes to Haiti. Grab here.

The other great thing about Autumn is that it’s now sock season.

Yesterday’s bow was actually also one of autumnal Donegal, but this time in the bow tie. Half of it, anyway. Check out this gorgeous tweed with a reversible cotton plaid in diamond point. Grab it here.

More autumnal awesomeness: boots. Wolverine 1000 Mile boots, to be more precise.

And scruff, too.

Saturday night I got to see and hear The Secret Sisters from Muscle Shoals, AL. Good tunes in the Old Town Amphitheater. And a good occasion to wear — you guessed it!— a bow tie.

This vintage necktie silk crossed with rust velvet in butterfly shape — Day 267.  Can’t ever get this one again after this one’s gone. Grab it here.

Was pretty wiped after the show, I guess.

Cordially,

Andy

366 Bow Ties for Haiti: The Fat and Skinny

A weekend ago we at The Cordial Churchman enjoyed our second appearance at the esteemed Indie Craft Parade in Greenville, South Carolina. This was a delightful experience, as it was two years ago, and one that we look forward to sharing with artisans and crafters in the coming years.

Somehow in all the hustle and bustle of selling bow ties, showing guys and gents how to tie one of these suckers, and making very, very strategic trades with Sweeteeth Chocolate (!), I forgot to snap a photo of my bow tie of the day in action. But here it is in its boring, static form.

Sheesh, you can’t even quite tell that this is dark navy blue. Ah well, you’ll have to take my word for it. Half vintage necktie silk; half red linen. Sharp as nails. Get it here.

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We also had the pleasure of meeting a couple fine young television journalists with SCETV at The Cordial Churchman studios this past week. Ellie and I clumsily told the story of TCC’s origins and prognosticated about its future. Let’s hope these journalists are also stellar editors so that they can come up with something coherent that doesn’t make us look like the goobers that we kind of are! Ultimately, it will be available for us to see here.

I chose a distinctly fall and winter bow tie: a gray tweed wool diamond point. Simple, but smart, you’ll agree.

Grab it here.

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Ahhh, Sundays. Love them Sundays. That’s a pretty table there, but pretty quickly after the photo was taken, it was covered with hot dogs, pickles and chips and crowded with kiddos and grown ups for a delightful Sunday supper.

And here was the setting for said meal: a beautiful home in Historic East Town Rock Hill, SC. Our friends recently moved here partly in order to be really close to where our church meets and ministers. I’m glad they did, because that means frequent hot dog suppers!

 

Picked a super duper skinny reversible silk bow tie—navy with polka dots and gray, made, I’m assuming, by Dominique, our most abstract visual artist and haberdasher—for my Sunday swag. Snappy smart, I think. Kind of hipster, too, whatever that means.

There may be more super duper narrow bow ties coming your way, but this is one of a kind. Grab it here.

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Friday I found myself attending the inauguration of Reformed Theological Seminary’s new Chancellor, Mike Milton. I enjoy all the pomp and circumstance of these occasions. It’s also stimulating to hear from and interact with folks who have been working in my field for longer than I’ve been in existence. It helped remind me that, D.V., I’ll have another of my own lifetimes to do some neat, meaningful things.

 

I chose a great, subtle, versatile, classic shaped, season-stratling bow tie for the not-exactly-summer/not-exactly-fall occasion.

See these subtle hints of blue and red in with the neutral foundation? See the fantastic texture? Go and get it.

And don’t forget that all these proceeds go to Haiti, to help children get a good education in a stimulating, life-changing environment.

Cordially,

Andy

 

 

 

 

 

366 Bow Ties: Luxury and Versatility

Day 245.

At first it appears to be your average colorful diamond-point plaid bow tie from The Cordial Churchman. But don’t be fooled.

Side one.

Side two.

The thing about having a couple seamstresses who are art school graduates is that, when faced with the need to come up with 366 unique bow ties over the course of AD 2012, they don’t fret.

On side one, you can display the punchy, bold primaries of the plaid and the quirky yellow linen. On side two, you can tone it down and Autumn it up with the subdued reds and hunter greens of a a classic plaid paired with a green  chambray with yellow undertones.

Twist and turn to create several other possible configurations. A remarkably versatile and personality-rich bow tie if there ever was one. Get it here.

You may have noticed that I’m pretty obsessed with my Wolverine 1000 Mile boots. Pretty much wearing them every other day lately. Boy do I love these boots.

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Day 254.

Liberty of London fabric. It’s a big deal. And you can’t deny that it’s beautiful. It’s also luxurious and very much top shelf. This is your chance to grab it before it goes public. You won’t find anything comparable for so low as we’re offering it: $49. Plus, all the cash goes to Haiti.

Grab it here.

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Day 256.

Speaking of luxurious bow ties, how about this throwback from The Cordial Churchman archives: The Johnny Cashmere. Simple gray with all the cashmere fluffy awesomeness you’d expect from that supreme fabric. Classic Cut, and sure to be a classic of your Fall/Winter 2012 wardrobe—-if you jump on it now.

When I saw this in the studio, I couldn’t wait for cooler weather to rock it. Thankfully we had one of the most pleasant pre-Autumn days yet, and the university stripe button down and Bill’s Khakis fit the bill with this killing-me-softly bow tie.

And—surprise, surprise!—I threw on the Wolverine 1000 Mile boots again.

Cordially,

Andy

366 Bow Ties: Day 233 – Transitional Season Reversible

Day 233

First, note the Wolverine 1000 Mile Boots. Okay. Good.

A striking reversible: vintage blue striped necktie silk on one side; yellow medium-scale gingham on the other. Cut in our very popular straight batwing shape, which yields a thinner bow and a fatter knot, and instantly increases your IQ by 15%.

The great thing about reversibles such as this is that they’re multi-seasonal. During the autumn, keep the blue silk facing forward and you have a subtle yellow peeking out from behind the batwing bow. Come spring, usher in the sunshine with the bold yellow gingham front and center. In transitional seasons (ahem—like right now), twist as you tie the bow and get a combo look. (See above.)

Run and grab it here.

You’ll never believe it, but I was the only one wearing a bow tie to watch their kids take a tae kwon do lesson. I think that Master Pak was pretty intimidated.

Cordially,

Andy