Famous Fictional Bow-Tie Wearers
Photo courtesy hellomagazine.com
Characters in films have often been known to influence fashion, whether it was John Travolta's white suit in Saturday Night Fever or the sunglasses worn by Tom Cruise that led to a boom in people buying Ray-Bans. These iconic characters gripped the world, altering consumer behavior in the process, and changing pop culture. From Doctor Who coming to 3.6million US homes on TV to Pee-Wee Herman in the 1980s, there are plenty of examples of stars wearing bow-ties onscreen. So we've compiled a list below of some of the most prominent bow-tie-wearing stars from the screen for you to be inspired by.
Photo courtesy Esquire
'Indy' is one of the most loved film characters in the history of filmmaking. The character played by Harrison Ford first shot to prominence in the early 80s in Raiders of the Lost Ark. The mild-mannered university professor who loved nothing more than hunting for archaeological treasures away from his sedentary life in education, opened up a world of adventure for movie goers. His tweed three-piece suit, striped shirt, and burgundy bow tie he wore to 'work' was every bit as important as the fedora and leather jacket he wore in the action scenes.
Indiana Jones has inspired across generations and through different forms of media too. Tomb Raider, the game that sees Lara Croft heading around the globe in search of hidden gold, came about because of Indiana Jones and there have been countless other gaming titles created in his image. Foxy Bingo has several titles based around the John Hunter character, namely, J Bermuda Riches and The Secrets of Da Vinci's Treasure, with more than a passing nod to Indiana Jones. The imagery is very much on brand, right down to John Hunter's hat, and the themes of treasure and exploration fit as well. Of course, there have been Indiana Jones games on consoles and, latterly mobiles too, and Facebook was the platform for Indiana Jones Adventure World in 2011, 30 years after the first movie's release. However, we're yet to see him in a digital bow tie, so maybe that's still to come.
When people think of James Bond, they almost certainly think of the bow-tie too. He's been seen wearing many of them; it's hard to think of a style Bond hasn't had around his collar. From the batwing bow-tie worn in the '60s, right up to the diamond point style worn in the most recent sightings of 007. This shows how important it is to the persona and style of the world's most famous and most loved British secret agent is to the whole story.
Much like Indiana Jones before him, the image of Bond transcends into digital media, but this is one place where 007 trumps his action-film peer. The games of From Russia with Love and A View to a Kill and The World is Not Enough feature Bond looking radiant as ever in his tuxedo and bow-tie, in digitized form. He's coming back again too for gamers, with Project 007 being released for gamers in the next year or so.
In fashion magazines, there are articles showing people how to dress like Bond, or pieces that highlight all his best black-tie moments, all featuring the bow-tie. No matter where you look, who you ask, Bond is synonymous with the bow-tie, and it's undoubtedly going to be part of his wardrobe for many years to come.
Photo courtesy wikipedia
Once the understudy to Charlie Chaplin, Stan Laurel loved nothing more than wearing a bow-tie onscreen. Laurel was the onscreen comedy persona of Arthur Stanley Jefferson, one half of the duo, Laurel and Hardy, who were icons of the silver screen in the 1920s. Hardy was always seen onscreen in the black and white movies in a bowler hat and a polka dot bow-tie and featured in over 107 short films and feature films.
Laurel always looked in fine fettle throughout all of his appearances, and it's said he was the pride of black and white TV and certainly loved to wear his bow-tie with pride. Their legacy continued beyond the passing of the two greats of movie history when in 1966, Hanna-Barbera brought a cartoon of the pair back into homes in The Animated Adventures of Laurel & Hardy. Of course, Stan was there in his bow-tie some 40 years after he first appeared on the screen.
If our story of these movie icons have inspired you, then head over to our homepage here at Knotzland to pick up a bow-tie to pay homage to your hero.