Dear Shaded Viewers,
This writer's fondness for bowties is public. What is not, perhaps, is the reason of the fondness. What I like about the slightly old-fashioned accessory is certainly the shape – delicately asserative with a hint of childhood – but most of all the rituality it requires. Tying a bowtie is an affair of patience and concentration, and I am all for patience and concentration. I normally do not wear pre-tied bowties, in fact: all the effort is gone.
Recently, however, I came across the ceramic-yes, ceramic- bowties created by up-and-coming Italian label Cor Sine Labe Doli (it is ancient Latin for Spotless Heart, taken directly from the city crest of Corato, Puglia, where the guys behind the label come from). Far fom being a pre-tied knot, it is a frozen one. It is a frozen bowtie altogehter.
When I first got one into my hands, I was pretty shocked: although very light, it is in fact kind of imposing. Looking at it from a different angle made me relax, however, the ceramic bowtie, at least as I see it, is not even a fashion accessory, but a beautiful object. It has nothing to do with the rituality, let alone my fondness for the old times. A ceramic bowtie implies a shift of very contemporary, post-post modern. In other words, I'm fascinated by the mental challenge it implies.
I've worn mine – I have two- only once, and, to be honest, I felt like sporting a necklace. But I'm sure there's tons of men out there, a lot less rigid and prescriptive than I am, that will carry it out with panache. I've seen them already in all the right fashion spots.
True to their friezing agenda, the guys at CSLD have recently introduced neckties with a ceramic knot. They clearly have a plan to land ceramic touches whre you'd least expect it, and I'm thrilled to discover where they'll go next. They're stubborn, and, you know, stubborness and vision go a long way. (af)
