Bolo ties becoming fashion statement

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This article was published 20/08/2018 (2890 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Bolo tieS, the official neckwear of Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, and the ne plus ultra for the western cowboy for over 60 years, are having a moment on fashionable young necks.

In Paris, French luxury fashion house Balmain featured US$550 gold-toned bolo ties in their spring 2018 menswear show-and promptly sold out.

On Instagram, the #BoloTie hashtag has 50,446 posts and counting of both guys and gals being equally ironic and serious (or seriously ironic) in their style choice. On the internet, searches for “bolo tie Amazon” have increased 120 per cent over the past 12 months, according to Google Trends.

The word “bolo” is derived from boleadora, an Argentine lariat or rope used to lasso, although the neckwear’s actual origin is a mystery.

Victor Cedarstaff claims he is the creator: in the late 1940s, he was riding his horse when his hat flew off.

So, as not to lose his hatband, he simply slung it around his neck and an iconic accessory was born.

The neck lasso — or bolas, bootlace, or shoestring ties, as they have also been called — made it into mainstream fashion in the ’80s when it was coveted by Rockabilly and New Wave bands and has continued to pop up on eccentric celebrities ever since, from Billy Murray to Johnny Depp, Ed Ruscha to Bruno Mars and Macklemore.

And like the resurgence in ugly sneakers and all-things archival, that brings us to where we are today.

“This summer, we definitely have seen a lot of grooms purchase these for their groomsmen and/or themselves for their big day,” said Hayley Faw, co-founder of the jewelry brand Apse Adorn, which has been making bolos for about two years.

“We even designed seven custom bolos for one groom who wanted each of his groomsmen to sport a different pendant style.

“Bolos are a really simple and meaningful way to test the ‘accessory waters’ without going into full-blown jewelry,” she said.

Designer Gogo Ferguson has seen this trend before.

“Bolos seem to come and go like the tide,” she said, “but I have held that they are a unique twist to an otherwise boring tuxedo.”

Investment analyst Evan Ratner and Vinnie Buehler, an associate at a law firm, this summer launched Caliny, a brand that uses interchangeable pieces so guys can match their bolo with their outfit.

They call it the “Urbolo.”

“I am in my early 30s and don’t feel I can pull off the Southwest look on a daily basis, so we created a bolo with an urban edge,” Buehler said.

The idea came together last summer over drinks in Manhattan’s Union Square, when he was listening to his friend and now business partner vent his frustration on the lack of neckwear options for men.

“We’ve noticed that people enjoy wearing them around their neck for more formal occasions, but friends also have enjoyed loosening them up and wearing them with a tee,” Ratner said.

Breaking the chains of the necktie monopoly one bolo at a time.

— Bloomberg