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The Cordial Churchman sponsors great things.

We here at The Cordial Churchman like things. Bringing these liked things to people who may also be numbered among their grateful appreciators is a recent delight of ours.  This week we'll tell you about two events that we sponsored mostly because we're proud to stick our name alongside these bits of well-crafted culture.

The first event was held at Friday Arts Project's Space 157 in Old Town Rock Hill. As most of you know, Ellie has written, recorded, and performed songs for a decade and a half now. Along the way, she's performed alongside some very talented, full-time touring musicians. Two of our favorites, whom we have had the pleasure of watching mature into bona fide troubadours, made new fans after performing with Ellie at this special intimate concert.

After Ellie opened the evening, backed up by our friend and banjo player Mr. Stephen Crotts, the lovely and talented Hannah Miller made eardrums very happy with her set from recently-released EPs Journey to the Moon and O Black River. You may or may not be aware that an exquisite music video from the former features a dozen or so of our own bow ties.

The main event was a man who figured that Dallas really was that bad and moved to Hartsville, SC.  Dylan Sneed explored the tension of home and the open road, the familiar and the adventurous in an hour of pure American straight-up, knock-down audible boo-yah.  If you haven't heard of this fella and have yet to hear Texodus, change that as fast as possible.

The audience gathered in the very spot where many of our fine bow ties are produced---fitting for the first concert sponsored by our humble haberdashery.  We hope that many more will follow.  We don't anticipate that many will top the first.

Muse Fest VIP Gala

Above, Mr Rinehart of Rinehart Realty picks out several bows to add to his massive collection. This could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

It's been a pretty phenomenal VIP Gala for Muse Fest at Gallery Up in Rock Hill. We're proud to be citizens and entrepreneurs in this town.

New in the Store: Cordies by Young Man / Old Man

We're proud to unveil a new collaboration.  Are you ready?

Why should your survival precautions render you unstylish?  We know this is the perennial question of mankind.  So we're offering an answer.

Behold: Cordies.

You've never seen a happier marriage of form and function.  You'll also be the only person you see in your town wearing such a killer pair of sunglass retainers--that is, until Conor of Young Man/Old Man becomes rich and famous for his one-of-a-kind sartorial innovation.

I'm not at all an outdoorsman, and I rarely feel the obligation to be the hero-in-waiting, prepared with whatever Macgyveresque supplies would be necessary to save a small village.  What I care about is looking cool--or at least looking like I know I'm cool, even if, in fact, I look like a goob.  This is why I wear bow ties in a world where Madonna has convinced everyone that it's ok to wear your underwear on the outside in public.  And this is why I'll be rocking Young Man/Old Man's collaboration with The Cordial Churchman on my Ray Ban Clubmasters whenever theres the slightest bit of photosynthesis happening in the plant kingdom around me.

I've always felt that the popular version of sunglass retainers (I hear they're called 'Croakies'?) just looks a little too--what shall we say?--collegiate for yours truly.  With undergraduate days almost a decade in my rear view mirror, I was looking for something a little like an upgrade from flip flops to bucks, from a Jansport to a leather satchel.  Cordies are just the ticket, I think you'll agree.  And, of course, one is not excluded from taking a more grown-up sartorial stance in one's undergraduate years.  It's just that I wasn't cool enough to have struck such a pose in my days at Kent State.

Before I undercut sales by sounding like a pretentious jerk-head (oh…it's too late? I already have?), let me just lay these out on the table for you to admire.  Handmade.  Available in royal blue, olive, black, orange, and camouflage.  Hand-knotted in Carolina.  Lasts you till you lose it.  Might just save your life.  $18.

Wedding Complicity

It's certainly one of the great privileges of The Cordial Churchman to be an artistic flourish, a quirky detail, in such monumental events as weddings. As you might imagine, it makes us beam with pride when we see the wedding pictures. Right in the middle of all that mushy lovey doviness and all that everything-must-be-just-so-ness: a Ryan patchwork madras / seersucker reversible bow tie or a customized yellow gingham necktie.

Just like being an accessory to a crime implicates you, being an accessory to vows of matrimony squeezes us into that weighty and joyful romantic conspiracy. We're happy to be complicit. And we're happy to give you a glimpse not just into our complicity, but into two of those romantic conspiracies themselves. Enjoy.

Imogene+Willie. You can't get much more American.

I am not sure that I have ever been in a cooler shop in my life.

Our vacation took us through Nashville, and thank goodness our good friend Hannah Miller  urged us to visit Imogene+Willie in the 12 South district.  I'm so glad we followed her counsel.  Little did we know what we were in for.

Imogene+Willie make blue jeans right in their store.  The patterns, the manufacture, the treatment, and the tailoring are 100% Nashville, Tennessee.

It's rather humorous to contrast Imogene+Willie's story with that of The Cordial Churchman, especially considering that Carrie and Matt knew exactly what they wanted to do--after spending 9 months on their business plan.  These folks breathe and bleed denim, and have for years.  They also ooze with Americana style.  They knew their niche and went after it hell-bent for glory.  We just sort of stumbled upon ours.  You can't but respect these folks.

When I first started paying attention to clothes and attempting to consciously develop my own personal sense of style, I went very, very traditional.  I have a master's degree in history for Pete's sake.  I wanted to dress like my grandpa.  I wanted to stick out like a really dapper sore thumb.

Somewhere along the way someone told me that blue jeans were for working in machine shops, cutting the grass, and possibly hiking in the woods.  But real traditional educated American men, the audacious story went, wore khakis and blue blazers everyday.  So I did a completely ridiculous thing: I did not wear jeans for 365 days straight.  Just because.  Completely self-righteous.  Completely worthless.  And, as it turns out, completely un-American.

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="530" caption="Otis James (Nashville) necktie with Imogene+Willie jeans"][/caption]

If I weren't so prone to such extremes, I'd say that it's really hard to believe that that was me.  Giving up denim??!!  The ridiculousness felt crushingly shameful when I walked into Imogene+Willie.  All my Ivy League wanna-be snobbishness was finally blotted out as I traipsed back and forth across their old repurposed gas station showroom, fitting room, and shop.  Had I not been 2 weeks into a diet and anticipating some size-flux, I'd have plopped $250 down then and there to spring my sartorial soul from purgatory and walked out with custom, Nashville-made blue jeans.

[vimeo http://vimeo.com/7283010] Nashvillian Griffin House's song "Give A Little Love" provides the background for this short video tour of Imogene+Willie's shop.

It was also very tempting to buy a pair of Red Wing boots, given that though my waist was hopefully changing, my feet were staying put.  Instead, I walked out with a leather card case by BillyKirk (which, incidentally, I haven't been able to locate all day). But mostly I walked out feeling really good about being a middle-American.  I walked out inspired to keep playing with my personal style, and especially to play around with the "workwear" stuff that, though classic, happens to be all the rage right now.

More than any of that, I walked out of Imogene+Willie with a fresh determination to steward the brand that Ellie and I have almost accidentally built.  It might even be time for me to learn to sew.

Hopefully before long I'll be doing so in a pair of my own Imogene+Willie blue jeans.

See if you're not inspired by their story:

[vimeo http://vimeo.com/17740792]

Put This On -- Personal Style

Ever wondered what goes on at the annual meetings of the Corduroy Appreciation Club?

Our man Jesse Thorn of Put This On explores the elements of 'personal style'. Enjoy. And keep your eyes peeled for a special collaboration between The Cordial Churchman and Put This On! [vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/26879757 w=500&h=281]

Put This On, Episode 7: Personal Style from Put This On on Vimeo.

Our Most Handsome Customer

It's hard to imagine how anyone was able to pay attention to anything other than this fella when he rocked our bow tie to a baptism recently. We've received a lot of photos from customers sporting our neckwear over the last 2 years, and a lot of them have looked like $1,000,000. But I think you'll agree that there could hardly be a close second to this handsome young gentleman.

The bow tie he's sporting is the Braden Madras, which can be yours, whether you're 7 mothns, 7 years, 17 years, or 77 years old. See our store here.

Did You Know Ellie Has a CD?

Yep.

And it's a really good record, too.  I wrote half the tunes to This Place, but she and Andrew Osenga made the record together in Nashville in the summer of 2007.  We've got maybe 300 of them left, and they sound a lot better in your CD Changer (haha, remember those?) iTunes library than they do in our attic.

And get this: it's yours for $5.  That's 50% off retail.

You can listen to her CD, This Place, here.

You can buy it from her bow tie store here.

Oh, and I mentioned Andrew Osenga, her producer.  Yeah, he's amazing.  And he's heading to space.  Yep.  You've never heard of so beautifully bizarre a recording project as this.  And you need to head over to his Kickstarter page, watch his video, and BACK HIS PROJECT now before time runs out (in like 68 hours from the time I write this!).

-Andy

Like Father, Like Son

Apparently everyone and their brother wants a bow tie this spring. It's been a crazy April so far and we're a mere 8 days in.

Actually, this week it seems like everyone and their SON wants a bow tie. We shipped out at least 5 or 6 father-and-son combos today. It's been a while since one of my boys and I rocked the same bow tie to church or a wedding. After packing up all these apple-not-far-from-tree deals today, I'm thinking it's time. All four of us guys in the same bow tie? Priceless. As they say somewhere, "you can hang THAT on the wall."

Some of our hardcore dads insist on tie-it-yourself ("freestyle") bow ties for their toddlers. Kudos. If that's your thing, more power to you. If you're lacking in dexterity or are perennially late like us, you'll want to go with the majority report and get an already-tied, velcro-attaching one for the little guy. It's got a nice elastic band, too, which allows it some 'give'.

If you're thinking of having us do your wedding bow ties, we always throw in a kiddie bow tie for the ring bearer gratis.

See all those bow ties there? We can make pretty much any of them in a kiddie bow tie, too. Why not have us make one for your kid with your next order?

Might I make one more selling point before I quit? If you're a single dad, and don't desire to be any longer, I challenge you to come up with a better way to woo a woman than going out to dinner with your little dude in a bow tie that matches yours. Next thing you know, we'll be making wedding bow ties for your groomsmen. Mark my words.

Let the Spring Weddings Begin!

We have big news. But that will have to wait. Momentarily.

For now, how about we welcome in the month of April with a celebration of the happy marriage of Spring and Romance? A fling with some Springy wedding bow ties that go good with sunny til-death-do-us-parts?

These are shipping out this afternoon for a smitten groom and his men. If you ask me, that candy-stripe green seersucker is just the ticket.