For 25 years, I have been wearing bow ties.  My grandmother got me hooked one day when she and I were on our monthly “date” in Pittsburgh.  We were going to see a musical at The Benedum Center and arrived in the city a bit early…early enough to stroll into Brooks Brothers.  That night she bought me my first bow tie and the salesperson at Brooks Brothers taught me how to tie one – on my leg.  I still wear that bow tie to this day and think of my grandmother fondly when I do. One day, the artisans here at Wendell August, who I am sure think my bow tie fetish a little weird, wanted to have a little fun with me.  So, a bunch of them got together and as a joke made a metal bow tie for me in our workshop.  I honestly don’t think there is anything these guys can’t make.  The gag bow tie was modeled after a version from the 1970’s I’m convinced – really big. They were cracking up and knew I’d get a kick out of their little razzing of me and my bow ties.  I cracked up…and absolutely fell in love with the bow tie they made.  In all seriousness, I asked Chuck Ertzberger, our VP of Operations, if they could make one a little smaller that I could actually wear.  He looked at me a bit incredulously and said “Really?”  And I said “Absolutely!”  I thought it would be a hit with other guys who like to wear bow ties. Amazingly enough, a few days later, Master Craftsman Lyle Sherman walked back to my desk with a final version…and I was blown away!  I began wearing the prototype at trade shows and events I was attending…and literally every single time I would wear it, I would get stopped numerous times by people wanting to know where in the world I got the coolest bow tie they had ever seen.  One day last December I was working in our Flagship store and proudly wearing my bow tie and within one hour I had sold two bow ties…one to a young man of 17 who wanted to wear it at his senior prom and the second to an 81 year old man of distinction who wanted this amazing bow tie to wear for the formal nights on all of the cruises he and his wife took! With those purchases, we knew we had something.  We partnered with international website TheGrommet.com to launch the metal bow tie last month.  And I can’t wait to walk around towns across America and see men of style and distinction wearing our new fashion trend!  We now excitedly launch the Monet Metal Bow Tie in our stores and on our website.  Once more the creativity and talent of the finest American artisans and craftsmen come to life in the workshop of Wendell August! So if any of you know famous guys who wear bow ties like Questlove from Jimmy Fallon’s show or Bill Nye the Science Guy, let us know…we’d love to get them wearing one of our bow ties! - Will Knecht