# Bolo ties: Who wears them for what sort of occasion? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 28, 2025, 10:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bolo-ties-who-wears-them-for-what-sort-of-occasion/1017597 "2025-04-28T10:35:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2025, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bolo-ties-who-wears-them-for-what-sort-of-occasion/1017597/21 "2025-04-28T15:40:39Z")
The ubiquitous kerchief notwithstanding, it seems many scout troops wear them [![](https://www.melrosetroop68.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/boloties1600.jpg) ](https://www.melrosetroop68.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/boloties1600.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![gkster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gkster/32/14107_2.png) [@gkster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gkster)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2025, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bolo-ties-who-wears-them-for-what-sort-of-occasion/1017597/22 "2025-04-28T15:42:26Z")
The last time I remember seeing them was at an airport, a big hub, maybe Houston or O’Hare, around 7 years ago. 3 or 4 men in a group, all with long hair (some in braids, some loose), were wearing white collared shirts with bolo ties. And the beautiful silver and turquoise slides on the ties were very striking. They might have been members of a musical group? ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2025, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bolo-ties-who-wears-them-for-what-sort-of-occasion/1017597/23 "2025-04-28T16:03:00Z")
There is actually an official Boy Scout bolo tie (or there was in the 1990s) which is considered an acceptable part of the uniform as a substitute for the traditional “neckerchief”. When I was in Scouts back then our Scoutmaster started wearing one, and that kind of started a trend. Pretty soon most of us had gotten one (or got our parents to get us one, really), including myself. ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2025, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bolo-ties-who-wears-them-for-what-sort-of-occasion/1017597/24 "2025-04-28T16:16:15Z")
They’re pretty common here in South Texas. They’re definitely more of a cowboy / ranch / western item as opposed to southern / redneck. They are worn at any semi-formal to formal occasion, whether a wedding, funeral, a business meeting, job interview, etc. They would seem out of place in a casual setting, like at a ball game. For the most part, I’ve only seen them worn by those who are actual ranchers or cowboys. At an event like this, people wearing them are a common sight. > **[Special Events - King Ranch](https://king-ranch.com/visit-us/special-events/)** > > Come enjoy an authentic, hearty, cowboy breakfast, cooked and served outdoors on historic King Ranch for its Annual Ranch Hand Breakfast. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2025, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bolo-ties-who-wears-them-for-what-sort-of-occasion/1017597/25 "2025-04-28T16:18:16Z")
Writer Isaac Asimov wore bolo ties. Supposedly his 2nd wife Janet objected to him wearing clip-on bow ties so he switched to bolos. (They were married in 1973, so he started maybe around then.) Definitely not a westerner. The tie piece doesn’t have to be metal. Can be stone, leather, etc. I put bolo tie wearers into 3 categories: just regular folk who like western-styles, temporaries like people who attend a rodeo or some such once in a while, and people like Asimov who “want to make a statement”, e.g., they think wearing traditional styles stupid or something. Note that it’s not just boy scouts that wear kerchiefs. They are also part of western wear and can be worn with it turned around with the loose “flap” in front. (They can be used as dust masks or to wipe ones face.) But I don’t think they are considered “formal wear” anywhere. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2025, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bolo-ties-who-wears-them-for-what-sort-of-occasion/1017597/26 "2025-04-28T16:35:49Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Although they are often associated with “dressing down” in the US Southwest they may be considered appropriate for any other reason you’d might wear a tie I’ve always associated it with business casual, like if a woman wore a distinctive necklace & pendent with a blouse. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2025, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bolo-ties-who-wears-them-for-what-sort-of-occasion/1017597/27 "2025-04-28T16:49:33Z")
The first time I visited my parents after they retired to Arizona, there was a local crafts show going on and we went. I bought a bolo tie that I really liked. It had a braided black leather cord with sterling silver tips, and the slide was also sterling with a floral/leaf motif and a nice malachite stone. I used to wear it with a black shirt dress with a black leather belt with conchos (fairly “dainty” ones) and black boots. I never felt I was wearing a costume. Maybe because it was overall black? ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2025, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bolo-ties-who-wears-them-for-what-sort-of-occasion/1017597/28 "2025-04-28T16:52:15Z")
Various neckbands, cravats, and bow ties can be formal, or at least fashionable (up to the wearer to make sure not _too_ old-fashioned), but I do not think that has much to do with a Scout’s uniform. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2025, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bolo-ties-who-wears-them-for-what-sort-of-occasion/1017597/29 "2025-04-28T18:11:06Z")
I think that outfit sounds lovely. My brother and I bought a bolo tie for our mom one Mother’s Day. She was into country music and used to wear it when she went out line dancing. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2025, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bolo-ties-who-wears-them-for-what-sort-of-occasion/1017597/30 "2025-04-28T18:21:42Z")
Dress up western wear for men. Go to a cattle auction, a cutting horse show, or any kind of cattleman event in the western part of North America and you will see them, along with silk neckerchiefs called ‘rags’, pearl snap button shirts with yokes, and straight leg new denim jeans. And cowboy hats. These people are not in ironic costume, they are dressed up. They don’t do irony out there. ---
**Author:** ![Jaycat.again](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat.again/32/11525_2.png) [@Jaycat.again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaycat.again)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2025, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bolo-ties-who-wears-them-for-what-sort-of-occasion/1017597/31 "2025-04-28T21:34:05Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Outside of that, they fall into that sort of sartorially splendiferous items that are worn by men who are way out of touch with modern trends- really old, goofy men in Texas or elsewhere might wear them, or the same sort of doofus who’d wear a utilikilt out in public anywhere. [Nobel Prize-winner sporting a bolo tie.](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/ba99e04/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1024x743+0+0/resize/1200x871!/format/webp/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F71%2Fa1%2F7dd26dd5f909206f95659a809266%2Fla-et-cm-bob-dylan-national-portrait-gallery-2-001) ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2025, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bolo-ties-who-wears-them-for-what-sort-of-occasion/1017597/32 "2025-04-28T21:34:43Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > I’ve always associated it with business casual, like if a woman wore a distinctive necklace & pendent with a blouse. My mom actually had a pendant necklace that strongly resembled a bolo tie. In fact, I sometimes think that’s what it is. I suppose there’s no reason a woman couldn’t wear one as a fashion choice. It’s not like women don’t wear other typically masculine items from time to time. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2025, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bolo-ties-who-wears-them-for-what-sort-of-occasion/1017597/33 "2025-04-28T21:50:26Z")
> [@kferr](#): > > My dad (born 1921) would wear one when going out square dancing but on no other occasions. I think my dad had one for square dancing as well. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2025, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bolo-ties-who-wears-them-for-what-sort-of-occasion/1017597/34 "2025-04-28T22:28:00Z")
My grandfather had one of those rock tumblers for polishing perfectly good skipping stones, so I had a shit-load of bolo ties in my drawer as a kid (1960s-70s). Like normal ties, they seemed kind of pointless to me and I rarely wore them. I wish I’d saved the stones on the clasps though…for skipping. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2025, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bolo-ties-who-wears-them-for-what-sort-of-occasion/1017597/35 "2025-04-28T23:20:37Z")
> [@Ulfreida](#): > > Dress up western wear for men. Go to a cattle auction, I went to cattle (dairy) auctions as a kid with my grandfather. The people there wore just everyday working clothes. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2025, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bolo-ties-who-wears-them-for-what-sort-of-occasion/1017597/36 "2025-04-29T00:12:47Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > > [@kferr](#): > > > > My dad (born 1921) would wear one when going out square dancing but on no other occasions. > > I think my dad had one for square dancing as well. I have seen them when square dancing. Generally on men who are dressed up in “Western style”. Often, on men who match their wive’s outfit. (His shirt might be the same fabric as her skirt, for instance.) I’ve never seen a traditional tie worn at a square dance. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2025, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bolo-ties-who-wears-them-for-what-sort-of-occasion/1017597/37 "2025-04-29T00:55:13Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > I went to cattle (dairy) auctions as a kid with my grandfather. The people there wore just everyday working clothes. Because they were dairy cattle. Dairy cattle live on farms. Beef cattle live on _ **ranches** _. It’s a thing. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2025, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bolo-ties-who-wears-them-for-what-sort-of-occasion/1017597/38 "2025-04-29T01:00:39Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > A nitpick on the nomenclature: > > A bolo tie (aka bola tie, aka shoestring necktie, aka bootlace tie) is made of leather and jewelry, and is a Western thing. > > “String tie” usually refers to a string bow tie, which is made of the same fabric as a conventional necktie or bow tie, and is a Southern thing. (Famously, worn by Colonel Sanders.) Exactly this. Bolos have some manner of slide, usually ornamental, and don’t use knots to tie the two ends together. Bolo ties: [![](https://theboldbowtie.com/cdn/shop/files/il_fullxfull.6344762274_gc8v_f7b738d7-97a7-4751-b38e-be7f2fec70c5.jpg?v=1730582296&width=1170) ](https://theboldbowtie.com/cdn/shop/files/il_fullxfull.6344762274_gc8v_f7b738d7-97a7-4751-b38e-be7f2fec70c5.jpg?v=1730582296&width=1170) String tie: [![](https://www.outwestshop.com/cdn/shop/products/tie_black_QC_b7358517-0f46-4b51-9f36-f0bfe839c4c7.jpg?v=1532467956) ](https://www.outwestshop.com/cdn/shop/products/tie_black_QC_b7358517-0f46-4b51-9f36-f0bfe839c4c7.jpg?v=1532467956) ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2025, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bolo-ties-who-wears-them-for-what-sort-of-occasion/1017597/39 "2025-04-29T03:47:49Z")
I saw several this past winter at the Annual Meeting of the Minnesota Horse Council. Fairly typical dress-up for western or horsey types even now. P.S. They are a lot easier to keep clean and presentable than a regular necktie. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2025, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bolo-ties-who-wears-them-for-what-sort-of-occasion/1017597/40 "2025-04-29T17:52:50Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > My mom actually had a pendant necklace that strongly resembled a bolo tie. In fact, I sometimes think that’s what it is. Yes, there are some necklaces that are designed almost the same as bolo ties, but aren’t really meant to be that. Mostly because bolos typically have leather strings, and necklaces are mostly made of metal/chain. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bolo-ties-who-wears-them-for-what-sort-of-occasion/1017597.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bolo-ties-who-wears-them-for-what-sort-of-occasion/1017597.md?page=3)