How to tie a bow tie in 007 First Light - James Bond game

2 days ago 10

Published May 29, 2026, 1:01 PM EDT

In what other world can I tie a bow tie on the first try?

James Bond ties a bow tie in 007 First Light

A few years ago, I had to learn how to tie a bow tie for the first time. It took me — and this is not an exaggeration — two full weeks of practice. It's the fold. Always trips me up. But James Bond can apparently nail it on the first try?!

"I don't suppose Q included instructions?" Bond asks.

Q, the stalwart quartermaster of MI6, did not, but is happy to get on the line with Bond and walk him through the steps. Over the phone. With no visual element to aid. "Listen, if anyone asks, I was never trained for this," Bond says.

And yet he goes through those motions with ease, controlled by the player in a lengthy series of quick-time events. He pulls on one side of the bow tie so it's longer than the other, then creates his first loop. He makes the first fold, then mirrors it with a second one, folding the bow tie and pulling it through the loop. At the end, he pulls it tightly to achieve the slightly imperfect asymmetry — sprezzatura, the practice of intentional sartorial carelessness — that distinguishes legit bow ties from clip-ons.

"I've disarmed bombs less complicated than this," Bond says, accurately summarizing what it's like to learn how to tie a bow tie.

Video games, particularly action games like 007 First Light, often let players live out a power fantasy; it's part of the allure. In these games, you can scale sheer cliff faces with the dexterity and athleticism of Alex Honnold. You can sprint as fast as a cheetah with limitless stamina. You can aim weapons with frightening precision and banter in conversation with the perfect witty response.

But these same games rarely let players live out the power fantasy of just... being really good at a moderately challenging yet banal activity. And before you tell me that tying a bow tie is baby work, congratulations on mastering something plenty of people still struggle with. Despite the best efforts of Esquire and its ilk at educating the populace, the general query of "how to tie a tie" remains one of the top 100 most-searched phrases on Google to this day. There's a reason the search results for "how to tie a bow tie" are an ever-rotating glut of men's magazines, style influencers, and Brand Blogs jostling for visibility. (Credit where it's due, Charles Tyrwhitt's ten-step guide is one of the better ones out there.)

Bond's bow tie scene in 007 First Light could've easily been a cutscene, but in making it an experiential moment, developer IO Interactive awards it the same weight as all the sneaking, shooting, and other forms of spycraft you engage within the game. Despite spending all that time years ago trying to master the art, I still struggle tying a bow tie. Takes me several tries — on a good day. But at least I can turn to 007 First Light and nail it in one go.

Why not just wear a clip-on? Q put it best: "Cheap."

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