One of the advantages of maintaining a long-running blog where I have the freedom to post what is on my mind is that I can look back and discover things that even I would otherwise have forgotten. For example, it turns out that I got my first proper bow tie about this time last year (I thought it was earlier that autumn) and, coincidentally, that I’d used two different tags (now standardised on bow tie).

Most of this term’s band gigs – the main situation when I have to wear a bow tie – have been clustered at this end of the term so I did find I’d got a bit rusty at putting it on. I managed it each time but it could consume quite a few minutes and I was anxious in case I needed to redo it while out on a gig. My solution, last night, was to go back and look for some basic information again. I found this page from fashion retailer Oliver Wicks very useful because, instead of having to watch through a video, it provided a simple diagram.

It turns out the trick I needed was the direction I folded the front bow in. Perhaps I misremembered or perhaps I got confused by videos people had filmed in mirrors? My intuition that I needed a loop and spare end on both sides was correct but I’d been doing it the wrong way round. The simple solution is that the loop of the second bow is what gets pushed through the back. Do that and it is easy to tighten and then finesse.

No more band gigs this year (and nothing in the diary until late April) but I might find a few more opportunities to practise over Christmas and I think I’ve now got it licked. It reminds me of an important heuristic (thinking strategy): if things seem tricky, don’t be afraid to go back and revise the first principles of the matter as you might be missing something.