The bolo tie is a necklace now
A cord, a slide and two metal tips. Worn with a shirt rather than a western outfit, it is the sharpest thing here.
The bolo is a braided cord worn round the neck, held by a decorative sliding clasp, finished with two metal tips. It is the state neckwear of Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, and for most of the last fifty years it has been worn almost exclusively by men. It is now being worn by women as jewellery, which is a much better idea than it sounds.
What makes it work is that it solves a problem a necklace cannot. A bolo sits on a collar rather than under it — it works with a buttoned shirt, which is exactly the garment that defeats most necklaces. Open two buttons, wear the bolo long, and the collar and the cord frame each other. A pendant in that position just disappears inside the shirt.
Length is adjustable by design, which is unusual and useful. The slide moves, so one bolo covers everything from choker-tight at the throat to sitting at the sternum. Long is the modern way to wear it; tight at the collar is the traditional one and reads considerably more formal.
The slide is where the money and the interest are — turquoise-and-silver conchos are the classic, but plain silver, stone, and simple geometric slides all exist and are easier to place with ordinary clothes. If the western reference is not what you want, a plain slide on a black cord is barely western at all and reads as minimal and slightly severe, which is a genuinely different and very wearable look.
Two practical points. The cord is usually braided leather and it perishes the same way any leather cord does — stiffening and cracking within a couple of years of heavy wear — but it is replaceable, and the slide is the part worth keeping. And the metal tips swing and tap against buttons; on a hard surface they scratch, so it is not the thing to wear leaning over a polished table all evening.
On the turquoise question: the same rules apply here as anywhere else in this category, and they are on the turquoise page.
How to wear it
- Over a buttoned shirt, worn long. This is the one thing it does that a necklace cannot.
- A plain slide on a black cord is barely western — minimal and severe instead.
- The cord perishes and is replaceable. The slide is the part worth keeping.
Sources
This page reports what the fashion press published. We have not handled any of the products below. How we work.
- Rocky Mountain Western — Timeless Western Style With A Vintage Turquoise Bolo Tie (read Aug 16, 2026)
- Copper Reflections — Popular Western Style Jewelry, Belt Buckles, Bolo Ties (read Aug 16, 2026)
