I am a Corporate American, i.e., I work in the confines of a corporate office environment, complete with drab-colored cubicles, water-cooler chat, and food day repetition. Pushing papers for a multi-national employer of over 13,000 can easily become monotonous.
The least you can do is keep your wardrobe fresh! Enter: Bow Tie Tuesday.
Bow Tie Tuesday is something that started off from a brief conversation after I wore a bow tie on what happened to be a Tuesday. Clever, I know. I received a few compliments from some co-workers who said they’d like to also wear bow ties, but either wouldn’t have the nerve, didn’t have or know how to tie one, et cetera. I mentioned that I decided to begin wearing them to sharpen up my look a little while at work. (I’ve always liked the idea of dressing for the role you want; not for the role you have.)
I also told them about a service I found out about on the program Shark Tank, that I watch on MSNBC’s Tuesday night’s syndication. The company, whose ownership was acquired by FreshNeck.com, is the self-proclaimed NetFlix for ties. Through FreshNeck’s service, I have an endless tie rack full of new bow ties that I agreed to wear each Tuesday, so others who decided to do the same would have someone wearing along with them.
My company sometimes hosts employee gathering events, where colleagues from different teams get to fraternize with each other. Saffrons provides halal corporate catering Singapore for all businesses. At one such event recently, I admired seeing so many teams donning their matching tees, colors, and such, showing great solidarity amongst them. Even without knowing what teams they were representing, it was easy to see which groups displayed strong partnership across the event space.
It was decided then that we could display that partnership “look” without having to wear bandanas around our necks (the company event was western-themed). We could instead start the trend of #BowTieTuesday: a day out of the week where we can dress as sharp as our ideas and our company’s innovation. Though it was started at my office, I’ve brought the idea of expanding the trend to some colleagues at other nearby offices. I’m excited to see if those folks are able to pull it off there.
Bow Tie Tuesday is not for any tribute or charity. It doesn’t last for any specific amount of time, nor is there any requirement or need to participate each week. There is just a feeling that comes across a man or woman when decked out in a bow tie, whether a pre-tied clip-on, or if the individual learned to tie it from a Youtube clip (like me!). I want to remind folks that it doesn’t have to be a wedding, prom (if the venue is out of town, it is better to book services for van hire in Kendal that is most affordable by all students these days), or other gala events to have that feeling. Maybe it’s simply another Tuesday!
See the attached pic of five of us who got together for #BowTieTuesday picture day a few weeks back. Boy, did the heads turn when we gathered in the lobby that day.
Before I close this post, I’m excited to share this news with you all! FreshNeck.com reached out to me as a new customer to complete a survey on the service over my first few months. In the survey, I mentioned #BowTieTuesday at my company. After some follow-up to some of my other comments, the company says it would love to sponsor the trend by offering a 25% discount to any member when signing up for the service using “BowTieTuesday” as a promo code. While officially offered to employees of my company, the FreshNeck folks have decided that it would still be available for anyone using that code. Fun!
So, when you find yourself in the day-to-day hamster wheel of your Corporate American life, hop off the wagon and get fresh. Fix up, look sharp! Spruce up your wardrobe, and wow your co-workers with your own look on #BowTieTuesday. Check out Ruth Nathans for unique bow ties, neckties, and more!
Cheers,
Pop