Tutorial: How to Tie a Bow Tie

Just like any other sartorial know-how, tying a bow tie is a life skill that not enough of us have. You may have seen one of these little guides floating around the interwebs. They are complicated looking, I know. So guys (and girls!) listen up. This is how it goes:

I'm working here with a double-sided Diamond tip bow tie from The Co-Op Holiday collection (available starting tomorrow!) in Deep Red Silk and Gunmetal Chevron. 

Start with the tie around the back of your neck. Let one side fall about an inch below the other... like a regular necktie. Then take the longer end, lay it over the short, and pull it through from underneath. Just like how you start to tie a shoe.

 Make it as tight as you want the end result to be; you can't really adjust it once tied.

Take the longer side and make a loop and lay it flat across the center of your neck. This will be the first half of the bow. Hold it in place right above the knot with index & thumb.

With your free hand, take the shorter end (which should be behind the first loop you just made) and pull it over the top of that loop.  This will create the center tie part of the bow. Hold this in place with the center knot that you've been holding. Multitasking, I know.

Here's where it gets tricky. Pull the hanging side behind the first (and still only) bow loop.  There will be a small gap behind the loop that you will push the base of the hanging part of the tie through.  This will create the other half of the bow. This will take practice.

Now take a second to adjust the sides so that they are even, the bows are pulled to look even, and everything is centered.

Something you probably won't realize when tying, and get frustrated by: the loop parts will not be both in front. Only one side will have a front loop, the other side will have the end of the tie in front. So just when you thought you messed up, like magic, you've got a great looking bow tie.

Need more visuals? Check out a tutorial with Swizz Beats on Dynastee, and hooray for them shouting me and Co-Op ties today! Be a friend and show them some internet pleasantries.