Posted on 01/07/2014 11:43:13 AM PST by nickcarraway
Last weekend's win by the San Diego Chargers was the talk of the town-- that is, until quarterback Philip Rivers showed up in his bolo tie.
The string tie, as it's often called, fell out of fashion in the 1980s, but it appears Rivers is bringing bolo back.
The one-of-a-kind design comes from the mind and garage work shop of San Diegan Ted Williams.
The 76-year-old Williams hand-delivered the bolo tie to Chargers headquarters. It's cut from elk antler and has a polished stone in the center.
“We had to go to coat and tie this year,” Rivers explains at a news conference. “That was my way to not have a neck tie.”
It's a peace offering of sorts for Williams, who is a fierce Chargers fan. But last season’s disappointment lead to terse words about the team and its quarterback.
“I feel bad about the stuff I have been saying about him,” Williams said. This season’s playoff seat and multiple wins has made Williams a changed man.
“After they won the Denver game, he (Rivers) had another a different bolo,” Williams said. “I said, ‘Shoot, he outta have one of mine.’”
Williams says he doesn't wear bolos; he's a t-shirt guy. But Williams was wearing something else after seeing Rivers in his artwork: An ear-to-ear smile.
"Sure enough, there it was," Williams said.
"It made me feel good."
What a neat story.
I like them and wear one when I have to wear a tie. I HATE normal ties.
It really is beautiful.
Bolo ties are awesome on flannel
Bolo ties are out of style?
I heard that laid-off kicker from Minnesota traded his ties and bolos for a pearl necklace.
I recently went back to full western clothing all the time.
My wife threw out my boots almost 30 years ago when we first got together.
She came back from shopping at a thrift store with some cowboy boots last summer.
I took that to mean the ban was finally lifted!
Not many Bolo ties being seen these days, my eight grade shop teacher (1966) always wore one - but he would take it off to demonstrate power tool safety.
Hmmmm...in my part of the country string ties are just that, some sort of string or thin ribbon that is tied (usually with a bow knot). A bolo tie is a cord or length of braided leather with aiguillettes tipping the ends and secured with a slide-clasp.
I like bolos. Greatest problem I have is the same as with regular neckties, finding them in long enough sizes!
Ummmm .... bolo ties have always been in fashion for the truly well-dressed Westerner gentleman. Especially well-made, work-of-art ones of hand-crafted silver with semi-precious stones.
Yep.
Many years ago, I even bought one from two young Navajo kids selling bolas on the side of the road out in the middle of nowhere (near Jacob Lake on the North Rim). The ties were cheaply mass-produced, but the Navajo kids insisted they were hand-crafted on the reservation.
What are ya gonna do? I laughed and bought one. Occasionally still wear it.
I have three that belonged to my Grandpa. They’re beautiful; I’ll never part with them. :)
“...he would take it off to demonstrate power tool safety.”
When I was in college my bio professor always wore bow ties, I wondered if that was because he was doing lab work.
It actually makes sense.
I like all these things - I just like to see men in something other than jeans and t-shirts.
I watched the Vienna Symphony on New Years on PBS and the conductor had no tie on, just some oddball open collared shirt. It was strange, it looked like the old time shirts men used to wear and then they’d put those stiff collars on, like in the late 1800s. Eh, I wasn’t thrilled with the look, not on New Years Day, on TV! It was all very fancy. Julie Andrews narrated, I loved it. (end tangent here!)
“What are ya gonna do?”
Good on you, gotta help a wee one out - and you’ve gotten years of use from it, so that’s good.
they’re pretty out of fashion in the parts of AZ I frequent. I don’t know anybody that wears them. Pretty much the only time I see them worn is when there’s a mariachi band around.
The bolo tie is one of those things is never IN or OUT of fashion.......they just are.....
Typically, I'm the youngest man wearing one, and I'm in my mid-fifties.
Kinda sad. The tradition does appear to be dying out. But on the other hand, I receive numerous compliments when I wear one. The locals love to see "young people" wearing them. Lol.
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