There is a debate in my office around the applicability, value-add, sense, morality and use of a tie. A neck-tie to be precise...
To me, it is the only bastion of male fashion differentiation left on this planet. Let's face it, every suit is the same - blue or black mainly, but some grey ones out there. Shirts are fairly standard unless you want to attract a swarm of bees (or worse - birds) on your lunch break walk. And who looks at your shoes... really?!?
To some, the tie exudes a sense of professionalism, decency and a working attitude. Professionals wear ties. They convey that you are trustworthy, upstanding and worthy of respect. Why? I am not sure, but I know that there aren't many people who are the opposite of that wearing ties. Not to say that absence of evidence implies truth, that would be a foolhardy error to make. After all... bankers and lawyers wear ties.
To others, ties are a ball and chain. A sign of oppression by a manager over a worker - like school uniform - a way to be told that you are just like everyone else. It may be that ties are uncomfortable to some people, however it is rare that a tie is uncomfortable... people just need bigger shirt collars. Ties are also a link to the past. A past of Taylorist managers and workers - metrics, accountants and the world of non-creatives... juxtaposed against the 21st century world of the twitterati with foursquare and facebook - ties seem so last millenium.
Ties are also appropriate in certain scenarios (weddings, funerals and the like) where a lack of a tie may be disrespectful. Ties bring a sense of decorum perhaps, solemnity and dignity to an occasion or event.
Consider perhaps that the tie, in this most modern of times, has been devalued for the wrong reasons: School children who have to master quadratics but cannot master a Windsor knot; weddings and corporate black tie events that often turn into late night revellry for some, boring hand-shaking for others and embarrassment for a hopefully smaller portion (P45's for a few too!); interviews and sales meetings only bring feelings of anxiety, nervousness and sweaty palms. And I needn't mention emotions and funerals.
I don't think the tie is dead. I think it is alive and well - just surviving quietly. It's fallen out of favour, like the fashion item that it is... but likely all fashion items (including neon leg-warmers and puffer jackets) it will make a return. Maybe not like it exists now... but after all what started as a cravat, gained popularity as a tie.
