So Teri and I spent a little time a few weeks ago deciding on the color coordination of outfits for the wedding party. We arrived at this very nice turquoise pattern for my vest and bowtie. Simple enough to pick them up and then set about acquiring the tux, right? Right.

You see, nobody wears bowties that you actually tie anymore. You can't get them at a tux shop. Not only has the wraparound clip-on bowtie become mainstream, but it seems that fashion has adapted to this as well. Shirt collars are intended for that thin strip of fabric around the neck. Traditional bowties that you physically tie are now called "old style". Do I care? Nah, not too much.

Until I get razzed a bit by a co-worker: "What if you want to go all James Bond at the end of the evening and let it hang loose? Do you want a thingy dangling from one end?" Argh. Can't be all that hard to get a real bowtie, right? Maybe even have one made if I can get half a yard of the fabric. As reality would have it, not only does a tux shop have a total inability to identify (let alone contact) the manufacturer of an item, not only do such manufacturers not even produce "old style" bowties anymore, but it also seems we may have chosen a pattern that is proprietary to the manufacturer. Figures.

I've received some good recommendations from people in the know about how to secure a big enough sample of the fabric, or maybe even get a custom job done. All this for a tie. Doesn't matter that I've never tied a bowtie in my life and am not quite sure how I'll figure that out. Doesn't matter that I probably wouldn't let it hang loose at the end of the evening anyway. You do this once in a lifetime, right?

It tasks me, and I shall have it.

Am I putting FAR too much attention on such a trivial thing, when my energies would be better spent on logistical and spiritual preparation for this special event? Probably.

But I'll give it the old college try before letting go!