The bow tie shirt

The bow tie shirt.

The bow tie shirt, the neck tie shirt, the secretary blouse and of course; the pussy bow shirt.

This versatile item has, had many names and many functions.

It has been used as a political statement, a protest, a joke, a feminist message, a feminin signal and just as, a, very versatile, part of any womans wardrobe.

When Margaret Thatcher wore it, during her time as Prime Minister of United Kingdom ( 1979-1990 ), she was quoted for saying that it, made her, rather, brusque measures, appear more feminin and when Meryl Streep portrayed her, in the movie, The Iron Lady, it was worn for easy recognition and identification of the character. It has also been used in the soap opera, The Crown, worn by Gillian Andersson, in her satiric, caricature of the former PM.

Before that, it has been worn, as a political statement, for instance, in Sweden, in 2016, to show solidarity with the secretary of The Swedish Academy, that administrates the Nobel Prize in literature, when she had to resign because a man, allegedly, had sexually harassed her. The incident made Swedish women wear the shirt, to visibly express their support.

I have worn it, when I worked as PR manager, for a punk record label, with biker boots and leather jeans or just with a blazer and very out worn jeans, for contrast.

When I wore it as a contrast, it was as a joke and ridicule of the stereotypes from the 1980`s, where it was called the secretary blouse. I have never been a secretary, but I liked the shirt, in its own right, and I still do.

It originates from the mans cravat, that could be tied in different ways to send different signals of status and political beliefs . It can be dated back to 1700`s, when the men, that could afford it, dressed up and spent time and money, looking their best (“Man, your name is Vanity”, as Voltaire, once, said, referring to Shakespeares, Hamlet, where he seems to call a woman self obsessed, obviously, before the social media, where the world is seen through a mobilephone and your self perception is measured in self portraits ). When it was adapted as womens wear, it reminded someone of the bows, the house cats wore, and it got its name; the pussy bow. It hasn`t got anything to do with, soon to be, former American presidents, references to female anatomy.

When the women began to wear it, it was refined and still is today, late 2020, where I am quite certain that Margaret Thatcher would have had difficulties with seeing the, recent, Gucci campaigns, where it is worn by men or Harry Styles, casually wearing it, because he likes it. In her mind, it was a symbol of femininity, not feminism or gender fluidity. In the 1980`s, it was also interpreted as the female edition of the mans tie, when women began to get jobs, that, earlier, were reserved for men.

The 1980`s also brought the Power Suit, the womans suit, with extreme broad shoulders and a, tiny, emphasized waist. Mostly known from designers like Thierry Mugler and Claude Montana, but also worn as the character, played by Joan Collins, in the American soap opera, Dynasty, as it signaled that women in power, were ruthless Iron Ladies, not feminine as Margaret Thatcher, in her bow tie shirts, but tough cookies.