About
Bow Ties By EDJ is an accessory brand founded by Edmond “Donte” James. After realizing that I would never be able to find that ultra-unique bowtie with an EDJe (edge), I decided to forge ahead with a childhood dream of having my own clothing store, and designed my own line of bowties.
I am always asked the following two questions: How do your bowties work? What makes your bowties different? I am glad you asked.
First things first, all of my bowties are free style. This means they are self-tie bowties that you can Knot Yourself. If you know how to tie a bowtie, we send it to you freestyle so you are free to style it how you want it.
But we recognize that not every guy with exquisite style knows how to actually tie a bowtie. We offer a Ready To Wear option where we pre-tie the bowtie just for YOU. Once we send a Bow Tie By EDJ to you already tied, you can simply hook it on. You can even hang it on your tie rack already tied. Running a little late, just grab your Bow Tie By EDJ off your tie rack and hook it on. One look in the mirror and you are out the door looking great with your bowtie.
Most of my bowties are 2 in 1 which allows you to wear them on multiple sides. So you have the option to switch up your look instantly. But we always want to keep your bowtie style fresh…so stay tuned for the 4 in 1 Bow Ties By EDJ…coming soon!
Want to match your own bowties? At Bow Ties By EDJ, you can purchase half a bowtie and match (remix) it with another Bow Ties By EDJ design you already have. Everything is handmade and I love the process of selecting the fabrics that will ultimately become the accessory that will get you noticed.
The Story of Bow Ties By EDJ
I remember being in the 9th grade and my father asking me “What do you want to be when you grow up?” I said I want to have my own men’s clothing store. The name of my store would be DJ’s… “Shop at DJ’s and get all the babes.” I always liked fashion and dressing up. As a young man, I felt comfortable in a suit and could wear one all day.
After graduating high school, I went to Delta State University in Cleveland, MS. While at DSU, I pledged Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. Kappa Men, also known as Pretty Boys, always dressed nice and carried themselves a certain way, so it was obvious which frat I would pledge. I graduated DSU with a BBA in Finance and moved to Houston, TX to start my career. Since I had a degree in Finance, I started looking for jobs in accounting and finance. I eventually landed an accounting job where I worked for 3.5 years. I even got my MBA in Finance while I was working as an accountant. I didn’t like accounting so I made a career change after talking with a frat brother and entered the mortgage industry. It was booming. I even launched my own mortgage company EDJ Mortgage and Wealth Strategies. Of course, the mortgage and real estate industry went through a serious downturn. I transitioned and got my realtor’s license but business for me was not like it was before the downturn. I even went through a period of depression. For as long as I can remember, I have always received compliments about how I dressed and I loved wearing bow ties.
In October 2011, I started the process of starting Bow Ties By EDJ. In addition, I was looking for a permanent job and still trying to do real estate. I was networking with one of my frat brothers and he was in position to hire me as a financial analyst. This is the exact position I was looking for, at least that is what I thought. After working as a financial analyst for a few months, I realized that this is not what I wanted to do. I felt bad because my frat brother had blessed me with this job at a low point in my career. My heart and passion was with Bow Ties By EDJ. As I designed and made more bow ties and people started to buy the Bow Ties By EDJ, the energy and passion continued to build, and I could see myself taking Bow Ties By EDJ to great heights. The morale of this story is to do your passion. Even if you have a MBA in Finance, that doesn’t mean you have to work in that industry. I am sure that my education in Finance will be beneficial when running Bow Ties By EDJ. I decided to leave my financial analyst position and stop practicing real estate as a real estate broker and pursue my passion (Bow Ties By EDJ and a Men’s Clothing Store) full-time. I am having the time of my life and have not looked back.
Just Do It (Your Passion),
Edmond “Donte” James
Bow Ties By EDJ
www.BowTiesByEDJ.com