Looking For A Bow Tie Store In Sydney - Think Of Le Noeud Papillon And Call Us Day Or Night On +61413140994

 

Sometimes I Feel A Little Like Melanie - New Bow Ties Just Loaded

 

For years I thought that the roller skate song belonged to Janis Joplin until in May by a campfire I realised it was Melanie. In her magical song Brand New Key which I love for its attitude, its simplicity and its childlike almost nursery like beat (if that were the correct musical term here); there is this lyric that really resonates with me at the moment when she says: 

"I ride my bike I rollerskate don't drive no car, Don't go too fast but I go pretty far, For somebody who don't drive, I've been all around the world, Some people say I've done alright for a girl."

Sometimes I feel a little like Melanie. Don't go too fast, gone pretty far and you know what, some people say I've done alright for a girl (I would like girl to be gender neutral here please). Wink emoji. 

New bow ties have been loaded onto the website and to all those that have put up with me for all these years and still use our website, I don't deserve you, but I thank you anyway.

www.lenoeudpapillon.com

The Seiko Alpinist Review - I Took It Into A Proper Blizzard And It Was Fantastic

 Let me start by saying I strongly disliked Seiko as a young man. I once bought a quartz diver's watch off a friend and I regretted it a few weeks later, it was totally underwhelming. 

I always associated Seiko with the following - a series of diver's watches that I never wanted to own, a few knock off designs that looked like a scalloped Rolex day date and some digital watches or hybrid digital watches from memory that were solar powered. I considered them to be a Toyota, not even a Lexus. 

One of my closest friends insisted that they were unbelievable watches with extraordinary bang for buck, but he was a diver's watch fan, though I'd never seen him dive once (whereas I did, and I used a Suunto freediver's watch for many years) and they were big clunky pieces of metal with large rubber straps that seemed to be all over his wrist. 

Roughly 30 years after I bought my first Seiko I was strolling through the Stand Arcade after dropping off stock to a store that we work with when I decided to drop in watch store on the ground floor which sells used and new watches. I had no intention of buying a watch, none at all. 

To my surprise as I was casting my eye over the Seiko range I discovered this watch that to me looked as elegant as an IWC and it had a lovely green shimmy in the lights of the store and so I enquired about it and asked to try it on. It was on my wrist for all over 5 seconds before I told the sales assistant to bag it up. The watch came with a black leather strap with a deployment clasp which I knew I'd switch out with one of my favourite green crocodile straps. When she added that it was their "Alpinist" model that had been reissued and was Seiko's first ever outdoor sports watch, well, a very happy look came over my face. I was to depart for the mountains in under a fortnight. 

I am now a Seiko fan. I took that watch deep into the Snowy Mountains in blizzard condition and it didn't fog up, worked a treat and at night it lit up like a Christmas tree so I always knew what time it was. I cannot fault this watch and given that it is just over $1000 AUD I think it's one of the best bang for buck watches I have ever owned. 

If you are looking for a watch that is both elegant and functional for sports - look no further. 

Shop them here. 

The Snow Brumbies By Le Noeud Papillon - A 90x 90cm Kerchief And Pochette

If there is one thing that I hold myself to it's that if I say I am going to do something I make sure I do it. It was something left over from my childhood, my mother used to give us a stern talking to saying "if you are going to do something, do it. Don't be an "I'm gonna". Do it!". 

So nearly forty years later I am still like a petulant child unable to focus on anything except what I want and when I am focused I am laser like. At other times I am a sloth, but we can delve into that on another occasion. 

The genesis of this was sighting wild brumbies on the plains of Currango in the National Park. Two months later we produced the first of the brumbies silks which I will show you in a separate post. Whilst I was sketching the initial concept, and I can't lie here, the bulk of the work was done by my illustrator Lucy, but when I began, concurrently as I was sketching a woman named Jilly Foster passed to me a book to read on the subject of wild brumbies. On the cover was a brumby in what appeared a very cold and stark environment though not necessarily snowing. I took a photo of it, and that's where this new silk came to life. 

Referencing Hokusai and Japanese woodblock printing I instructed Lucy to begin sketching with references the simplicity of Japanese wood block design to create three horses braving the winter snows. I think she has done a superb job and I am super happy knowing it's at the printers and come September we will begin sampling. 

Stay tuned. 

N. 

 

It Would Be Ashame To Miss It - New Printed Twills Have Been Uploaded

 

They are rare and delicious and if you don't make the most of them it won't be our fault. www.lenoeudpapillon.com to seek out this limited run.

The Best Black Satin Silk Bow Tie You Have Ever Owned Or Your Money Back With No Hassles - Try It!

 

SHOP ONLINE FOR OUR BLACK SATIN SILK BOW TIES

I will NOT be keeping it brief today so log off if you have better things to do.

An E Book

Firstly, I am beginning today a complimentary ebook for our customers and friends. The subject? Never Look Like A Fool At A Black Tie Event Again – The Rules And How To Break Them
I would say it’s ambitious.

A Price Rise

Next on the agenda is that we are going to raise our prices. I am still working on the new model at the moment but we haven’t changed our price on black bow ties for almost ten years now so it’s necessary that we factor in changes to our silk prices, prices of our inputs, our make costs and the increase in our marketing costs.
Appointments

That being said, we will always negotiate where customers are buying many bow ties for wedding parties etc. That being said also, we prefer it when customers come directly to us at the Studio by making appointments. It’s a lot easier to negotiate face to face. Book by texting +61413140994

The Competition

It saddens me but when I started we had no competition. I came before Mr Porter, before Tom Ford, before self-tying bow ties were even on the menu. I came from a position of craft and quality. Today if you search for bow ties on the web you will find Chinese made ties where the business pays $1-3 for them and they charge $35. The are invariably polyester, they invariably are not cut well. But they are there and I can’t deny them – they are very good at selling mutton as lamb. In fact, if I advertise my quality as ‘the finest bow ties’ they simply create a google ad to capture that search.

Satisfaction Guaranteed

In order to combat this I am changing my policy in line with a small price increase in our most prized bow tie, The Majestic Black. I am going to have some sleepless nights over this but I want to make it clear we really do make the best bow ties, Australian made, the finest Italian silks, the most unique shapes and details. And to that end my Satisfaction Guaranteed offer is this – if it isn’t the best black bow tie you have ever owned, we will give you your money back and come pick up the bow tie anywhere in the world.

My Personal Time

Apart from writing this new E Book I wish to offer my time to all of you, your friends, and people you know who may need my help. I have fourteen years of making men and women dress more elegantly and with a great knowledge of what they put on their bodies. Specifically,I have pushed the agenda of natural fibres -  be it cotton, silk, wool, cashmere. I am also, having done at a minimum 40,000 hours working in this trade and honing my craft and knowledge base. And still I am learning! And sometimes from my customers! But I offer you my time by Whatsapp or Text or Face Time or at the Studio merely by my private phone number +61413140994 .

And if I can’t help you, chances are I am going to point you in the exact direction you need to go.
So try me!

With great love for your patronage,

Nicholas.

The Latest Limited Edition Silk Features Leonardo Da Vinci's Star Of Bethlehem

 

I was reading up on Leonardo Da Vinci - specifically Walter Isaacson's biography, and there was an appendix in which many of his artworks were referenced. One particular sketch stood out which was his Star Of Bethlehem botanical illustration. I took a photo it and sketched my own version out using pencil and then an Artline marker in a couple of weights to produce a sketch which was then imported into Illustrator and run as a trace. I continued with a number of other smaller sketches that were derived from Boticelli botanical sketches and out the other side came this wonderful silk which I proudly present to you. 

Anyway, as usual, if you require any of our fabrics made into any number of our products, we will talk to you day or night on +61413140994. Or visit www.lenoeudpapillon.com

When It Is Quiet, I Make Perfumes

 

The latest addition to the family is Batch #8 - made for the Australian winter. It features rare ingredients including white ambergris, Tonkin deer musk, as bases, with top notes of mint, peppermint, bergamot, cloves and roses. I highly recommend you try this one before it is sold out. www.lenoeudpapillon.com

New Bow Ties Are Online - Visit The Sydney Studio To Have Your Bespoke Tie Come To Life

 

New limited edition ties have arrived. I would encourage all of you seeking out something different though to come and see us directly at the Studio in Sydney's Vaucluse. Call +61413140994 day or night to arrange an apppointment. Or visit www.lenoeudpapillon.com

Wedding Bow Ties - Bespoke Orders +61413140994

 The lead up to a wedding is a wonderful period (for most) where friends get together to organise dinners and rehearsals and so on. But one of the experiences that is also very enjoyable is both a trip to the tailor to collect your suits and a trip to Le Noeud Papillon's Studio to choose your bow tie and cummerbunds, your pocket squares and lapel flowers. It is always fun when the wedding party comes through, friends try on different shapes of bow ties, are introduced to our scents and of course we have so much more to show our visitors other than just wedding accessories. In the end many walk out wearing our swim shorts or sporting our silk eye shades. 

If you would like to experience touching fabrics, smelling scents and being schooled in the art of finding the right bow tie for your face and ensemble, text +61413140994 to get the ball rolling. 

See you soon,
Team LNP.

Constantine - A Skinny Diamond Point Bow Tie

Admittedly I was of the opinion that my grandfather, or papu as we say, was wearing a pre-tied bow tie in this family portrait with his  immediate family. But, I was bent on trying to make the same bow tie in a self-tying bow tie and I have come exceptionally close. This is a wonderful new addition to the family, it is named Constantine after my grandfather Con Atgemis. I am going to sport it at my next black tie function. We have sold through the first batch but if you would like to secure yourself one on the next batch just text +61413140994. Or shop online at www.lenoeudpapillon.com next week.

 

New Arrivals At Le Noeud Papillon

 

The chances are we have it and the chances are that we can also make a cummerbund in it too. So, you have a choice, scour the web to see if you can find the same thing, or text or call us on +61413140994 and see if we can do it for you. We are here to serve you. 

www.lenoeudpapillon.com

What's News At Le Noeud Papillon

Hello and how are you?

Today I thought I would write about what we have been up to. For the most part it’s just been black tie and weddings with the slow and more considered development of silks for weaving. 

I was supposed to be in Japan sourcing silks at the end of this week but I have had to delay my trip because the amount of red tape involved in getting a business visa to Japan at the moment made it impossible for me to travel. 

I have had my wings clipped for two years now. My other sourcing trip last December was thwarted by omicron and my Italian counterparts telling me to postpone too. 

And, admittedly, by January I had given up. I feel off my bike whilst cycling forcing me to rest up for weeks and just after contracting Covid a couple of weeks prior I was in that mode of thought by mid January of “fuck it, I give up”. 

The only thing that snapped me out of it was the wedding market where there is a continued interest in our products and thanks to our existing customers and their word of mouth we continue to garner the reputation of the world’s best bow ties which is a subjective accolade that I will gladly accept but for which I never rest on. 

We have been having a great deal of interest in our cummerbund sets of recent. They seem to be making a big come back but for what reason I am not sure. They are super elegant of course and our make is very good if not the best. They are hand cut, hand-pleated and finished with a silver clasp and adjustable band which gives about 2 inches on each side of the measurement which is passed across by the customer. Incidentally, the measurement is not your jeans waist size, but by taking a tape measure around your belly button to ensure that if you have a large stomach it is allowed for. Some men, for example, are a 32 in jeans and a 32 in waist, some are 32 in jeans, but owing to their shape, become a 38 at the waist.

And in the vein of black tie and weddings I have been making my own tailoring mostly about exactly that. Two jackets have been commissioned, one of which came in last week on the same day for collection as I was joining a black tie charity event at the Star Casino in Sydney. I have a relationship these days with the tailors in Sydney where I will occasionally exchange our work for theirs and in doing so create unique items for our window and blog content. 

For this jacket it was the first time I have made a jacket with no natural fibres but which in a compromise that is often the case in fabrics, had the most remarkable texture and weave in what would roughly be described as an abstract moire with shimmy in a vibrant cream that bordered on a light gold. I will post it below. The jacket was by Alex Goodman, a Sydney MTM tailor that for the most part works in the wedding space out of the Sutherland Shire in Sydney. What I liked about Alex was that it was probably the most comprehensive MTM experience I have had. The jacket is near enough to perfect in fit but my only complaint might be that he made it tighter on the shoulders that I might have liked. I am as I get older becoming more like Nicholas Foulkes enjoying a more filled out and relaxed tailoring silhouette than the more tightly measured garments that younger and slimmer men wear. However, I believe for this jacket, Alex was right, the narrower shoulder block gave a more movie star finish to the fabric. I paired the jacket with some trousers in a barathea wool in black, my own white shirt with turned back button cuff, our new 8cm batwing bow tie in black velvet (Domenico model), braces by Albert Thurston, silk socks by Bresciani and a pair of Gaziano And Girling patent evening shoes which I could not recommend more highly.

And then my own tailor Guy finished in the same week a jacket which I am super proud of. There was a tailor named Velardi, he closed down many years ago, having been located in Double Bay and having served the well heeled from Frank Packer to Neville Wran. Their clients had mostly passed away and the pool didn't renew itself which is sad but a sign of the times. Velardi himself passed away a few years back but his garage was filled with accessories and fabrics which is wife wished to sell. I was invited to look through them. How sad to see these wonderful remnants of fabrics become nothing. So I bought them. I didn’t negotiate very well either. I decided I wanted to tell a story with the stuff I found. English made gold and brass buttons, old Chanel buttons from alterations they had done and so on. 

The buttons I rejuvenated by bathing them in Coca Cola for a number of days, a nifty trick Mrs Velardi showed me. I put the wool to good use taking 1 metre here and 1 metre from there to make a schism jacket. I added in the Chanel buttons. For a different look I decided to experiment with different weights of tie linings instead of that more spongy English horsehair canvas for the lapel and chest lining. The result was perfection and when I was at a bar on the first night I wore it the bartender immediately asked where he could source it and I ended up converting him into an Instagram follower. 

The average Australian throws out 23kg of clothing each year. I am no exception. I end up giving t shirts to friends of a similar size just so that I avoid putting it in the clothing bin. Besides which I put so much time and effort into weeding the metallics and design that goes into our t shirts that I can’t bear to throw them away. And that is certainly a message I wish to convey to you all, if you have a way of salvaging fabrics in your life, try to. We are sending too much to landfill each year. And that goes for our bow ties, I hope you never move them on, someone will want them, find that someone. 

So that is the news of the company. Myself, my seamstresses, my tailor. 

I hope all of you are well. I look forward to hearing from you and in the near future we should start to put into play new limited editions but to be fair, many of you are no longer shopping the website so we won’t be putting the same effort into our limited editions until we start to see some traction again from the website. In the meantime and as always, I am a message away - +61413140994

And can I please ask if you have not done so already, we love testimonials and there are a big help. Click here to leave one. 

Cream dinner jacket with shawl lapel by Alex Goodman custom tailors in Sydney

Using the remnants of bolts of wool from the now closed Velardi tailors of Double Bay in Sydney

A bespoke bow tie for the father of the groom

Congratulations to our customer Joffrey who is expecting his first child with his partner. He is wearing a bow tie from 2014

The simorg, a mythical creature that was capable of swooping down and flying away with a whale or an elephant... the next limited edition silk scarf

Going back to recreate illustrations by Da Vinci and Botticelli on their botanicals. 

A Rare Cream Grosgrain Silk Bow Tie Which Has Been Reversed With Our Australian Alpines Limited Edition Silk - More Details ? +61413140994

 

We Are Still Here, Still Serving Our Customers Across The Globe - Le Noeud Papillon Sydney - Finest Hand Made Bow Ties And Accessories

 You can google us to read the most recent testimonials we have received and we are enormously proud to deliver beyond customer's expectations and accordingly we have, touch wood, been reviewed with as many stars as is possible. We won't be resting on our laurels any time soon as it is our dedication to honing our craft and the pursuit of great beauty in neckwear that keeps us going even in this unusual time of covid and changes in the workplace and working from home. Keep us in mind when you are ready and you can drop us a line directly on +61413140994 .

Team Le Noeud Papillon - makers of fine silk bow ties, ties, silk kerchiefs, pocket squares and more.

www.lenoeudpapillon.com

Silk Face Masks - Stunning To Look At, Washable, Re-Usable

 You might as well wear a face mask that is made of the finest materials if you are going to wear them every day. Our face masks are lined with the finest Swiss or Italian cottons and feature our limited edition silks amongst many other classic designs of grosgrain, satin, ottoman and more. See www.lenoeudpapillon.com for more details. +