Elliott Robinson is a bow tie guy.
When he wears one, it makes him feel good about him and he wants to spread that feeling around to other men.
“How you present yourself to others is important but so is how you perceive yourself,” said the bow tie-loving divinity student and head of the 13/30 Men’s Ministry at Saint Philip AME Church in Atlanta. “When people dress up, there’s a difference in how they feel about themselves.”
Robinson has put together a series of workshops at church, 240 Candler Road S.E., designed to help men with issues of developing their self-esteem and to help them the understand that how they present themselves and what they wear will affect them on a daily basis.
The first event on the art of the bow tie, will be held from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday Saint Philip.
The video, shows “that there are some skills that aren’t being passed down and one is how to tie a bow tie,” said Robinson. “Barber shops used to be that intergenerational space but they’re not such much anymore. Young men all the way up to seniors used to share lessons with one another.”
Robinson converted from ties to bow ties several years ago. He likes them because they’re smaller, cleaner and he doesn’t have to worry about them being food catchers when he’s eating.
The Saturday seminar is open to all ages of men. Robinson and the men’s ministry have reached out to area schools and youth organizations to build support. The event is free Youth ages 18 and under will be able to buy ties for $4 each.
Another bow tie-loving guy is Jay Austin who has about 2,000 ties in his collection.In terms of his customers, Austin said his “sweet spot” are men ages 18 to 44 and he’s seeing more younger men buying them.
Austin, also known as the "Bow tie King of Atlanta", didn't start wearing bow ties until he was 40 and was so hooked that shortly thereafter launched his business, Jayaustinbowties.com, an online retailer based in Atlanta. He said there are a number of social groups for men and women who love bow ties including the Bow Tie Gang on Pinterest.
“If I had to whittle it all the way down, if you want to be taken seriously, first you have to take yourself seriously,” said Austin. “I think the bow tie is the one accessory that does that. A guy with a bow tie takes himself seriously. It’s definitely a statement piece.”
It’s part of a trilogy of sessions to build self-esteem among teens and men. The next session, “Style vs. Fashion”, will be held from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. March 26.
While the style workshops may help build self esteem, however, Robinson wants to put things in perspective.
“This is about how you feel about yourself,” he said. “We don’t want to give the false narrative. In this society you can have on a suit and still be judged.”
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