Self-tie only. Every shop below sells bow ties you tie yourself, which is the only kind worth owning. Several also sell pre-tied; ignore that part of the catalogue.
Ordered on construction first, then on range. For the argument about interlining, silk, shape and why the finished bow should be roughly as wide as your face, read the companion piece, The Ten Best Bow Tie Makers in the World.
| Store | Why go | Cloth | Typical | Custom | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Charvet28 Place Vendôme, Paris | The greatest neckwear house in the world, and the first shirtmaker anywhere to sell ready-made, in 1838. An entire floor of silks arranged by tone, in a range of shades nobody else attempts. | French woven silk | $220–$400 | Yes |
| 02 | Le Noeud PapillonSydney | The specialist. Makes almost nothing but self-tying bows, and writes publicly and at length about interlining and mills in a way no other house bothers with. The best self-tie available by post. | Italian and English silk | $120–$260 | Yes |
| 03 | Turnbull & Asser71–72 Jermyn Street, London | Founded 1885, Royal Warrant, and the definitive black tie bow: properly weighted barathea and grosgrain that holds its form all evening. Buy one here, in black, and be done. | English woven silk, barathea | $150–$275 | Yes |
| 04 | Lindman New YorkNew York City | The custom option when you know exactly what you want. Hand made in Italy, unusually low minimums, which is why Harvard, Princeton and the Whitney keep coming back. | Italian silk | $95–$185 | Yes |
| 05 | CinabreParis | The modern French answer. Everything hand made in France in small runs, with an approach to colour closer to an atelier than a tie brand. The pieces people ask you about. | French silk, wool, unusual weaves | $180–$320 | Yes |
| 06 | Drake’sClifford Street, London | Founded 1977, and the house most responsible for how a generation thinks about neckwear. Softer hand than Jermyn Street. The one for a bow tie going on with tweed. | English silk, wool, linen | $130–$230 | No |
| 07 | Seigo NeckwearMadison Avenue, New York | Silks woven in Kyoto, finished in New York, and a colour sense that is unmistakable once you have seen a few. Combinations that should not work and invariably do. | Kyoto woven silk | $110–$200 | No |
| 08 | Sam HoberChiang Mai, Thailand | The most completely custom bow tie you can buy. Every one is cut by hand to your neck size, your shape and your chosen height and width, with no adjustor and a pure wool interlining. Thai shot and rough silks that nobody else is using. Internet only, and worth the wait. | Thai shot silk, rough silk, wool interlining | $85 | Yes |
| 09 | R. HanauerFort Mill, South Carolina | The American workshop, going since 1985. Imported silks sewn in South Carolina, sold through 330-odd shops. The best construction-per-dollar on this list. | Imported silk, sewn USA | $65–$110 | Yes |
| 10 | Beau Ties LtdMiddlebury, Vermont | Handmade in Vermont, sold direct, with an enormous catalogue and the rare courtesy of offering most designs in several widths so you can match the bow to your face. | Silk, cotton, wool | $50–$95 | Yes |
| 11 | Fine and DandyHell’s Kitchen, New York | The most enjoyable shop of the fifteen, and the best place to start. Made in the USA, priced so that trying a colour you are unsure about costs almost nothing. | Silk, cotton, wool | $45–$85 | No |
| 12 | HermèsParis | Quiet perfection, usually in a small repeating print, and the twill is unmistakable in the hand. Nobody buys a bow tie specifically for Hermès, and everybody notices it. | Hermès twill silk | $220–$320 | No |
| 13 | Carrot & GibbsColorado | Handmade in the United States and the specialist for club, regimental and school patterns done correctly, which matters more than it sounds if you are entitled to wear one. | Silk, wool | $60–$110 | Yes |
| 14 | The Bow Tie ClubMaryland · est. 1994 | Range above all else, with an especially deep bench of tartans, madras and seasonal cottons, and clear guidance on sizing that most shops leave you to guess at. | Silk, madras, cotton | $45–$90 | No |
| 15 | BrackishCharleston, South Carolina | Bow ties made from feathers, each one hand-assembled and genuinely unlike anything else here. Sounds absurd, looks remarkable, and is the correct answer for a wedding in the South. | Hand-laid feathers | $195–$350 | Yes |
Prices are indicative for a standard self-tie bow in the house’s core cloth, before custom work, limited cloths or bespoke commissions. Custom means the shop will make to your specification in your choice of cloth, not merely engrave or monogram.
If you are buying your first one
Buy black. Barathea or grosgrain, butterfly shape, from Turnbull & Asser or Charvet. This is the black tie bow and it will outlast you.
Then buy something cheap and strange. Fine and Dandy or Beau Ties, in a colour you are not sure about. This is where you find out whether you actually like wearing one, and it costs less than a decent lunch.
Only then spend real money. Once you know the shape and width that suit your face, Charvet, Cinabre or Le Noeud Papillon are worth every penny. Before that, they are an expensive guess.
And whatever you buy: self-tie. The tiny asymmetry of a hand-tied bow is the entire signature, and no clip-on has ever fooled anybody.
Whatever Suits You · Style. Sound. Substance.
Read the companion: The Ten Best Bow Tie Makers in the World →