Covet List: DandyLion bow ties

lovingly handmade by a real butch dandy

I’ve been obsessing a bit over dandy fashion for a while, but I went into womb-fury mode after GeekPornGirl posted this article all about butch fashion.  In the links at the bottom, I made my way over to DapperQ where my eyes EXPLODED with double fancy butch eye candy.

And also this really cute story about bow ties and family by Titus Androgynous

“Okay, so I knew I could pull it off. What I didn’t know was how put it on. How to tie it, that is. (Because there’s no way a clip-on was going to grace this neck.) Tying a bow tie seems to be a preciously held men’s secret akin to membership in the Masons. I have seen written instructions, graphic instructions and numerous instructional videos, and they all make sense up to a certain point and then it’s like, “Turn around three times, spit, cross your fingers and there! It’s done!” Hunh?

Lucky for me, my (mostly femme) girlfriend used to work in a vintage clothing store and was endowed with the privilege of passing the secret knowledge on to worthy young men. I guess this boi measured up. She wrapped her arms around me and showed me the mysterious bit that happens behind the scenes when creating the perfect bow. (There’s this little hole at the back that you have to find and poke your finger into and then pull part of the tie through. Stop smirking.) When I turned around to face her after getting the tie just right, she gasped a little and had to catch herself as her knees went weak. (Now I like to surprise her by showing up at her door wearing one just to see her reaction.)”

This sounded remarkably similar to when I first wore a tie.  Despite all my best efforts with rope, I’m still pretty hopeless with knots.  My ever-crafty wife, however, is amazing at them.  Something having to do with years of crochet and other girly things that lie somewhere beyond my grasp.  I’ve tried to follow patterns on the interwebs for tying a tie, and I can sort of manage my way through it if I picture the scene in Dexter where his father teaches him how to do it… but it always comes out kind of fumbly.

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sissa’s deft hands do a much better job

….and it always makes me kind of hard and wet to have her pretty little fingers working their way so precisely around my neck

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There’s something dead sexy about having a femme tie your tie.

It makes me think of all these husband-wife scenes in black and white movies.  The wife comes over to help her husband tie his tie because he’s frustrated and overwhelmed about something or other.  Its the wife’s way of showing support and deference.  Its a quiet, friendly kind of power play that’s intrinsically gendered.

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(photo from http://thenonblonde.blogspot.com/)

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Even if learning how to tie a tie is something passed from father to son, it always seems to work out in real life as something the wife does for the husband.

It amuses me no end that as much as crisp ties are a symbol of masculinity, they are often made so crisp and neat by the woman… not the man.

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yeah… I know that this is a sister-brother moment

read into that however you like

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Anyway, I’ve never worn bow-ties, partially because my nerd quotient is so high already… I’m kind of afraid of what might happen if it went up any higher.

But I think its time.

Let the bow-tie coveting begin!