HORACEHUGH has launched on Kickstarter to raise funds for the World’s First Smart Self-Tied Bow Tie for men. The recently patented BetterBow (www.kickstarter.com) consists of a collection of fashion bows invented to make tying a bow tie a breeze.
Owner Janice Howard is no stranger to solving design problems. As the Founder of menswear clothing line HORACEHUGH (and formerly Howard-Sneed Architecture) she has consistently looked for unconventional ways to solve problems and blend them with contemporary design.
The idea for the BetterBow happened one night when Howard watched her husband “lose it” struggling to hand tie a formal bow in front of the mirror before a charity event. She thought to herself, “There’s got to be an easier way to do this.”
Howard has been in the Men’s clothing business since launching her Luxury Shirt Collection at Saks Fifth Avenue and other specialty stores in 2011. After spending endless hours at Trunk Shows, pairing bows with her formal shirts, she perfected the trick of tying a bow tie on her leg and then slipping it over the top of headless mannequins.
“With my new found leg tying technique, I was able to tie the perfect bow and I was confident that there might be a way to solve my husband’s problem. Only one problem remained, how to get the tied bow off your leg and over a guys head once it’s been tied?” she continued.
Howard spent 18 months researching, developing and testing what would become the BetterBow. “I didn’t set out just to sell bow ties, I wanted to solve the problem,” she states. She experimented with buttons, snaps, Velcro and then on a trip to Asia she stumbled upon very strong earth magnets that were being used as jewelry clasps. That’s when the idea hit her; she could manufacture her fabric bow tails as two separate pieces, which could then be connected with a strong neodymium N52 magnetic clasp.
To wear a BetterBow, the wearer loops the tails through the clasp, ties the bow around his leg (above or below the knee), exactly the way he would tie his shoe. Then he unclasps the bow and fastens it around his neck. “The magnetic clasps are strong and intuitively find each other and lock into place behind your neck via ridges cast into the mold. It’s an amazingly simple idea and since most men don’t have the same neck size as the circumference of their leg, our bows are fully adjustable after they have been tied. Neck sizes range from 15.5 to 18.5”.
The BetterBow is made from 100% woven silk fabrics and cotton prints by Liberty of London. The Collection includes cotton print skinny bows, bows for office attire and formal 100% silk bows. “The BetterBow not only makes it easier for men to wear a hand tied bow, but it allows for greater personal expression. Since our tails come as 2 separate pieces, different color fabric tails can be mixed and matched. Clasps can be monogrammed or made with custom corporate logos” states Howard.
HoraceHugh’s Better Bow Kickstarter Campaign launched on February 8th and ends March 11th. Backers will have access to Limited Edition Bow Ties, Cufflinks and HoraceHugh Luxury shirts at greatly discounted prices.
Howard is confident that BetterBow will be a success because lots of men would love to wear a hand tied bow but could never master the technique. “We know the demand exists, we just need to get the word out to the consumer and the Kickstarter Campaign is the first step in doing that!”
