An Esoteric Accoutrement

                                            BOW TIES

"To its devotees the bow tie suggests iconoclasm of an Old World sort, a fusty adherence to a contrarian point of view. The bow tie hints at intellectualism, real or feigned, and sometimes suggests technical acumen, perhaps because it is so hard to tie. Bow ties are worn by magicians, country doctors, lawyers and professors and by people hoping to look like the above. But perhaps most of all, wearing a bow tie is a way of broadcasting an aggressive lack of concern for what other people think."

—Warren St John, The New York Times

Good grief! I blog so much about the 11th Doctor I might have to change my name to 7&10&11!
Can you blame me? How can I resist?
Recently receiving my Shetland Tweed in the mail I was finally able to get around to taking some bow tie pictures.

Finally.

Let's start with Series 5

 The first bow tie we see 11 wear is a burgundy pre-tied bow tie. Here I am using this as a stand in. I don't really want to sink to the depths and buy a pre tied satin bow tie.

Yes this is the clappers bow tie from eBay.

It came with a cummerbund. I have a free cummerbund if anyone wants one...

Now this bow tie is a real WIN for me.
I did want a pre-tied bow tie for S5. It was impossible to find one that was the right blue.

I found this one at Tommy Hilfiger. I got them to pull it off the mannequin for me. It's royal blue, but not too dark it looks black. It is just the right size too. I detest chunky bows. Perhaps, so does 11.

(In my searches I bought a textured blue bow, which turned out to be too light. A bit of dying and it might be ok)



On to the good stuff:
Series 6

Here is the Clappers bow tie again. It looks right at home with the Shetland Tweed. It lacks the floppiness of the screen worn basket weave bow. But it does have a nice texture to it.

It has been called the "Bark Pattern" bow tie but also a "denim" pattern. I don't know what I should believe, it's hard to say from screen grabs. Even the folks on the RPF haven't nailed it yet. Although they think they did.

This bow tie was a shot in the dark for me. I looked much blue-er on my computer screen. It has a mysterious check to it.

Now comes the silk-satin. Which should really be with S5 collection. However this is self-tie.
From eBay again. I posted about it on dw_cosplay sales awhile back. I really like this tie. Great color and it ties up into a terrific mess,

I wasn't going to feature this one at first, but you talked me into it!
Another one from Tommy.
Although not canon, I believe it has the correct colors of the Aztec Key tie. It is blue with dark blue stripe. A bit wider than the other ties I have featured but not gaudy.

As I recall this was part of a display...

And now we get off the track to a more adventurous style all my own.
Beyond the obvious pattern mixing I think this tie is a real gem. Once again Banana Republic came through, offering slim size self-tie bow ties. I think the dots are spaced well enough apart that it isn't too over powering.

I felt bad this time and asked a salesperson to take it from the display mannequin.

And then comes the pride of my collection:
I don't even know what to call this one. It is also from eBay, a one time affair. Unlike all the other ties this one is made with a woven pattern. Be warned, with use expect some fraying. I suspect that the Aztec Key bow tie 11 wears is not woven, it looks like a raised pattern on silk to me.

This tie has a wonderful blue/burgundy pattern. It looks very Gallifryan to me.





And there you have it. Two bow ties from Season 5 and six for Season 6. By far they have been the cheapest part of my wardrobe. I got some of the Tommy ones on sale. Expect to pay $10-15 on eBay.
You never know where they will pop up.

Also,

LEARN HOW TO TIE ONE.

It's not that difficult.
Plus, do to their complexity they have come to be known as an whimsical accessory.

Oh yes, this entry also features a whole new range of shirts I've never debuted or mentioned before. If you're lucky I might blog about them. Otherwise shoot me an email.

See you in the UK on Wednesday!