Yes, Bolo Ties Are Actually a Thing Now
Why the Wild West is making it to a neck near you
Bolos, the official neckwear of Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas and the ne plus ultra for the Western cowboy for over 60 years, are having a moment on fashionable young necks. In Paris, Balmain featured $550 gold-toned bolo ties in their spring 2018 menswear show—and promptly sold out. On Instagram, the #BoloTie hashtag has 50,446 posts and counting from both guys and gals being equally ironic and serious (or, seriously ironic) in their style choice. On the internet, searches for “bolo tie amazon” have increased 120 percent over the past 12 months, according to Google Trends.
The word “bolo” is derived from boleadora, an Argentine lariat, or rope used to lasso, although the neckwear’s actual origin is a mystery. One fella, Victor Cedarstaff, claims he is the creator: Back in the late 1940s, his hat flew off while he was riding his horse; so as not to lose his hatband, he simply slung it around his neck, and an iconic accessory was born. And so it goes.