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.
2 comments:
In Tudor times men wore short doublets over their hose and the shoulders of their coats were cut wide. I have no belief that there is likely to be a comeback of these fashion items any more than I believe that the necktie has any redeeming value.
I resent the notion that I need to wear a useless necktie to convey professionalism. I'd like my skills to convey that professionalism.
I would also like to point out that if you're 5'10" high with an 18 inch neckline, you're not going to get shorts off the rack that close comfortably around the neck. I also resent that I would need to spend double or triple the regular retail price for a tailored shirt just so that it has a neck built to make a tie comfortable.
I am very happy for the tie to survive quietly, as long as it does so outside of my personal wardrobe that is of no concern to me. I am a tie libertarian, I don't mind what others do with their ties, as long as there is no expectation that I wear one.
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