Are men in bow ties modern day Beau Brummells?

Four members of the North Carolina House of Representatives are in an exclusive group of legislators – the “bow tie club.” 

These four lawmakers sat for their formal portrait photographs wearing spiffy bow ties. The other 87 men in the House opted for conventional stuffy neckties. 

One men’s fashion writer observed that Winston Churchill, Albert Einstein, Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Edison and Mark Twain wore bow ties. “Did they wear bow ties because they were geniuses or were they geniuses because they wore bow ties?” 

The smartly dressed “bow tie buddies” in the N.C. House are: Terry M. Brown Jr. of Charlotte; Mike Clampitt of Bryson City in Swain County; Bobby Harig of Powell Point in Currituck County; and Jeffrey C. McNeely of Stony Point in Iredell County. Brown is a Democrat; the others are Republicans.

 

Rep. Terry Brown

Rep. Mike Clampitt

Rep. Bobby Harig

Rep. Jeffrey McNeely

For the record, none of the 34 men in the North Carolina Senate chose to wear a bow tie on “picture day.” 

(There are 29 women serving in the House and 16 in the Senate. They are not expected to conform to coat-and-tie standards.) 

Few men ever wore a bow tie better than Sir Winston Churchill, British prime minister from 1940-45, who often wore his iconic navy blue and white polka dot bow tie. He was declared the “best dressed political leader of all time,” by Bows-N-Ties, an online clothing retailer, based in San Francisco.

Company founder and CEO Hendrik Pohl said: “Churchill’s ability to lead Britain through one of the most tumultuous periods in world history was second to none, and the way he went about dressing further helped to cement him as being a leader that the “everyman” felt comfortable following." 

Following Churchill’s fashion lead was Michigan governor G. Mennen “Soapy” Williams, who served from 1949-61. Biographer Thomas J. Noer, said: “Sporting his instantly recognizable trademark green and white polka dot bow tie, Williams was a flamboyant character.” 

“He was also known for his energetic campaign style,” Noer said. “Williams could say ‘hello’ in 17 languages and would shake hands with as many as 5,000 factory workers a day.” 

(Why did they call him “Soapy?” His grandfather Gerhard Heinrich Mennen was the founder of the Mennen brand of men’s personal care products in 1878. Because of this connection, G. Mennen Williams was tagged “Soapy.”) 

Bow ties used to be worn by mad scientists and absent-minded professors. But now, most fashion writers agree: “The bow tie is associated with class and style. Today, bow ties also exude confidence, quirkiness and uniqueness.” 

British fashion writer Beth Kennedy said the bow tie evolved from the cravat, a form of a neckband, in the 1800s. She said: “When starched linen cravats were worn, perfection in the art of tying them was one of the great accomplishments of a dandy.” 

The term “dandy” applied to “a man who placed great importance on style and fashionable dress.” The most famous dandy of all time, a man who truly changed the course of men’s fashion, was Englishman George Bryan “Beau” Brummell (1778-1840). 

The Encyclopedia of Fashion reported that “a typical outfit for Brummell included a large bow-tied cravat, a scarf tied around his neck.”

“Brummell took up to five hours to dress every day…was one of the first to take regular baths, priding himself on the fact that he did not need to wear perfume.” The reference book noted: “He sent his shirts out of town to be washed because he didn’t think London laundresses could bleach them white enough.”