Bow Tie Underneath Crew Neck Jumper/Sweatshirt: Yay Or Nay?

[andydonaldson6]

Looking around the internet I've seen this argument come up a few times, my work's night out is due in about a month and thought I'd start planning what to wear.

I have a more or less basic look in my head that revolves around a shirt/bow tie/vintage sweat and was wondering if this is acceptable? The idea is to subtly bring the smartness of the occasion with the shirt/bow tie combo but dress it down with a casual flair via the sweatshirt/crew neck jumper (something I wear often).

Hopefully (should it be an alright look) I'll be pairing it with some smart chinos and shoes.

[Nath6644]

I'm not a massive fan of bow ties personally, but it sounds like its a look you could pull off if everything fits okay. Though I'd have to say that a knitted tie would be my choice for that vintage look. Also, a sports jacket in a vintage fabric like tweed or corduroy would top everything off nicely.

[Pin Money]

It sounds cool, but I think it's one of those editorial-type looks that may not work so well in the context of reality.

Do you work with fashionable people? Will you be going somewhere trendy?

If you are going with a bunch of fashion conscious people to a stylish bar in London, I can see this working, providing that you get it right. If you are going to Wetherspoons in Swindon or Oceana in Grimsby, I fear that no matter how well executed the outfit may be, you will just end up looking "odd".

[rusty]

I think the shirt+bowtie can be really cool when done right, but I would go with a blazer rather than jumper everytime.

Like this dude (even if I'm not a huge fan of his choice of pocket square):

[Santino]

I agree with PM. It all depends on who your going with and more importantly, where you're going.

I much prefer a normal tie personally. I look a bit silly wearing a bow tie.

[Brown]

I think the bow-tie can very quickly trip into the "try hard" / "everybody look at me" category, which is a shame. Depends on the rest of your outfit, your crowd, location etc.

I think this is a particularly subtle example of a bow-tie with a v-neck and blazer, which really works. I couldn't pull this off, but I like it.

[andydonaldson6]

Cheers fellas, whilst the restaurant is one of the more stylish places of the area, the town itself lets it down (having been voted "one of the worst places to live in the UK). Though some of the people I'm with are stylish themselves, I can see from the majority of comments that this look may seem a bit too much.

Could I opt for the more accepted knitted tie, as Nath said, I have a lovely burgundy one from next - the same (or similar) look just without the boldness of the bow tie. The only reason I didn't think of the tie first is the fact I do wear it often and also bow ties are simply cool (Matt Smith simply bosses the look for me).

[Pin Money]

I think the bow tie would be fine with a knitted crew neck, but a vintage sweatshirt would be too far imo

Post a pic of the sort of thing you are going for, that would help a lot

[Brown]

Having said this, I walked past a guy last night who had was rocking a bow-tie with a check-shirt and cardigan, burgundy chinos, converse, flat cap and those nerd glasses. He looked cool as fuck. But I guess he dresses like that ALL the time..


I'm not one for pointing out skin colour (EVER), but he was a black guy, and was working the whole "Andre 3000" look..

[Nath6644]

I'm also not one for pointing out skin colour, but I have to concede that black guys can ALWAYS pull off geek chic better. They just always have the swag to counteract the geeky element.