Wear this bow-TIE Fighter to your next geeky gathering
Filled with vivid images from gaming and geek culture, Birties Bow-Ties are just the thing to help you stand out from the crowd.
When "="" movie"="" shortcode="link" asset-type="article" uuid="f298387a-2975-471a-986c-ed6cbe490c8c" slug="reasons-to-get-excited-for-star-wars-the-force-awakens" link-text="the new " section="news" title="Reasons to get excited for 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens'" edition="us" data-key="link_bulk_key" api="{"id":"f298387a-2975-471a-986c-ed6cbe490c8c","slug":"reasons-to-get-excited-for-star-wars-the-force-awakens","contentType":null,"edition":"us","topic":{"slug":"culture"},"metaData":{"typeTitle":null,"hubTopicPathString":"Culture","reviewType":null},"section":"news"}"> finally debuts later this year, it'll be a pretty big occasion. And thanks to a company called Birties Bow-Ties, you can be prepared with formal wear -- a bow tie imprinted with an image of an Imperial TIE Fighter!
Of course, you don't need to wait till December to wear it -- or any of the other geeky bow ties from creator Omarseeto Ontiveros. Though bow ties themselves might skew a little formal (or just pretentious), the images on these keep things fun and light.
There's the TARDIS from "Doctor Who," a Nintendo 64 game controller, snippets of Power Rangers outfits and a scene from the original Mario Brothers video game, among many other cool designs. We've assembled a gallery of our favorites below.
"The idea for Birties was a spontaneous one," Ontiveros told me. "Originally I had aspirations of creating a T-shirt brand, mainly to impress a girl. Although that venture failed horribly, it evolved into what is now Birties."
What sets his bow ties apart from many other mass-produced versions out there?
"When I say each bow-tie is handcrafted, I quite literally mean it is," he said. "From hand-cutting the fabric, to hand-folding each bow tie to seamless perfection. The true art is in the editing. Each design has to be digitized and manipulated to fit ever so faultlessly on each bow tie. I print the image on vinyl and press it to the cloth. Each bow tie is folded like origami -- one created and designed by yours truly."
If you're not good at tying a bow tie (after all, this isn't the 1920s), you should still be fine with Birties Bow-Ties, as they work on that convenient hoop and hook design you may be familiar with from senior prom. The bow ties are available for $25 each (about £15, AU$35) on Ontiveros' website.
