Briggs, and How to Tie a Bow Tie

Posted on 2013/10/06 15:56:24 (October 2013).

[Wednesday 2nd October 2013]
I popped out at lunchtime to get my hair cut. The last time I'd gone to look for somewhere new to try in St. James's I'd discovered Briggs, a tiny little place hidden away in one of the back streets behind Jermyn Street. It only opens Mondday to Friday, so I'd ended up going somewhere else last time, but this time round I was determined to give Briggs a go.

It was a rather lovely experience - the barber, Phillip, is in his 80s, and has been running the place for half a century or more. He said a lot of his regulars are gentlemen from the St. James's clubs, a world I'm rather fascinated with. It somehow felt more traditional than any of the other St. James's barbers I've tried (and I think I've been to them all now). He didn't waste any time with tedious conversations about what "style" I wanted - it was obviously going to be a short back and sides, with a side parting. I was rather pleased with the result actually.

Whilst on Jermyn Street I decided to have a quick lunch at Getti's. It wasn't bad I suppose.

Continuing in the theme of the last few days, of gradually acquiring all the requisites for black tie attire, I also took the opportunity whilst on Jermyn Street to have a quick look round some of the shirt shops for evening shirts. Couldn't find anything that was quite right though.

Today I also received a "proper" (i.e. self tie) bow tie in the post. It had actually taken a little while to track down a non-silk one which looked relatively decent.

I then spent a large chunk of this evening annoying myself by not really being able to figure out how to tie it properly, despite watching numerous YouTube videos on the subject. I eventually figured out the basics - see picture - although I think there's still some work required to perfect it.

Post a comment