All Tied Up

For his evening outfit on the actual day (AD), Eric Banana's original plan was to match it with a scrunchie cravat. Then he thought about it - and decided to buy a bow tie for good measure. A proper black silk one - none of those clip-on crap that come in funny colours offered by the bridal studio.

At first, budding fashionista DGT suggested that Eric Banana should buy his bow tie online and recommended a pretty good website - Beau Ties Ltd. The online store carries a wide selection of bow ties and Eric Banana was about to order a bow tie... when he realised that the shipping charge for international orders will amount to at least US$25. The only way to rationalise such a purchase would be to do a bulk order but Eric Banana doesn't need that many bow ties (although they do carry other stuff like neck ties and coordinates as well) and he has no time to assemble a "purchase consortium" (or what some people term as a "spree"). In the end, Eric Banana gave up the idea and bought a simple bow tie from Takashimaya S.C.

Buying the bow tie was the easy part. Sometimes, Eric Banana just exhibits his classic male shopping pattern brazenly to shock the sales assistants with the speed in making his purchase decision. DGT was concerned that Eric Banana may struggle with tying the bow tie and asked him if he wanted to get the sales assistant to do a demonstration. The confident Eric Banana said that there was no need....

... and promptly regretted his stubborness once he tried to tie the bow tie around his neck back at home. Actually, tying a bow tie can be quite confusing for a first-timer.  The attached instruction sheet was not very helpful. Looking at a few diagrams on the Internet didn't help much also. After a long while, he managed to tie the bow-tie but it was done wrongly. It didn't help that he has two left hands either :S It was only after watching the second online video that he finally got it right.. Phew! The end-product was not the most beautiful of bow ties but it sure beats having to put one's tail between the legs and run back to the sales assistant for help :P

To widen his styling options on the AD, Eric Banana also bought a black skinny tie. He already realised that tying bow-ties is not quite the same as tying a normal tie. Doing one after the other can add to the confusion. For skinny ties, it makes more sense to go for the four-in-hand knot. Eric Banana thought he knew how to tie a four-in-hand knot. But somehow, he has never really tied one - he usually goes for the windsor knot. Besides, he doesn't need to wear a tie at work, so it's hardly surprising that he lacks practice in this department. Oh well, this was not a problem that the Internet cannot solve. A Youtube video later, *voila* it's done :)

Okay, let's hope Eric Banana won't forget his newly-acquired skills on the AD...