Dresses with bows are trending big time, and the style is beautifully elegant, but how do you tie them without getting in a knot?
Bows have always been a popular addition to dresses, but they reached the height of popularity in 16th century Paris, where rubanniers, as ribbon weavers were known, had their own guild. Men, women and children used small looms to weave exquisite ribbons for bows, however the introduction of larger looms in the 17th century, the industry was revolutionized.
The popularity of bows waxed and waned throughout the ensuing centuries, with ribbons on shoes, hats, sleeves and jackets of both men and women falling in and out of favor,
until the 20th century, and Karl Lagerfeld gave the ribbon a new lease of life, sealing its place in the heart of closets everywhere. Dresses with bigger and bolder bows became the ultimate in stylish femininity, hitting the catwalks, closely followed by the high street.
Although they can be tricky to get perfect, but once you know the easy way to tie a bow, you’ll be adding them to everything!
How to tie a bow on a dress
We’ll look at tying a bow around your waist – which incidentally would look stunning on a glorious maxi dress, as that is probably the easiest to get the hang of.
Lay the fabric around your waist, and make sure it’s as flat a possible. Imagine one end is A and the other is B
Place A directly over B, going to the right
Then take A directly under B and pull up – that’s the first tie
Take the excess bit of B and make a loop
Bring A directly up, behind, around and through the B loop, creating another loop, remembering to keep the fabric as straight and wide as possible
Expand the loops and adjust the hanging ends, creating a neat, rounded bow
As you can see, it’s exactly the same as tying shoelaces, but on a larger, neater scale, and can be readily adapted for a bow around the neck, or at the back, or side, of a dress. The chic and elegant pussy bow blouse usually has the bow pre-attached, however, now you know how to tie one, it need never worry you again.
For an easy-to-follow guide showing how to tie the perfect bow, have a look at this video
