The necktie dilemma
Jeff Jarvis is Cutting the ties that bind
I haven't worn a tie in months, maybe even a year. It may have something to do with my partial unemployment and attempts to act heretical when I have to go to church, but even while still an executive, I all but stopped wearing them. A suit with a shirt became my uniform: my Conde Nast protective coloration, a friend said. I’m ready to throw them out and I’m wondering whether it's possible that at long last, the tie is out.Jeff has links to other articles discussing the untied situation.
Here in Princeton, wearing a necktie depends on your occupation.
Most of the professors at the University do not wear ties, but it varies by department: the school of engineering, for instance, is near-unanimously without neckties, as are the natural sciences departments. The English department has a more diverse neckwear component, with the Medievalists wearing neckties (a legacy from the hoods?) and others not wearing neckties.
Local lawyers and bankers, however, wear neckties. FBI agents wear neckties unless going undercover.
There are professions that should wear neckties: officials in all the branches of government should out of respect for their office. This may be a revolutionary concept among some, who through their behavior show little or no respect for the office they hold.
On TV, my favorite necktie-wearer is economist Larry Kudlow, whose snazzy pattern-on-pattern neckties and suits look great without looking fussy. Yesterday Larry was wearing a light-color summer suit, pink shirt and coordinating striped necktie that looked crisp and elegant. Here he is in bankers' stripes:
Now look at Kudlow: Custom-made shirts and suits, French cuffs, cufflinks, Windsor collars and silk ties like his spell one thing: M-O-N-E-Y, and they should, considering that's what his program is about. I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Kudlow briefly a couple of years ago and up-close his are top-quality clothes. And most importantly, he is completely comfortable in them.
The Husband hasn't worn a necktie since our son's Confirmation last year. Prior to that ocasion, I can't remember the last time he wore a necktie. For many years he deplored having to wear necties to work.
I asked Nick Hilton his opinion on the matter of why so many men hate wearing neckties, and he says that men usually hate neckties if they wear mass-produced shirts. The problem is not the necktie, but the shirt collar. Nick believes that men who wear custom-made shirts are more comfortable since the custom shirts shrink during the first five launderings only, but lower quality shirts continue to shrink for the life of the garment. All the same, The Husband won't wear a tie unless he absolutely has to.
I prefer a man wearing a very nice suit without a necktie to a man wearing an ill-fitting suit with a necktie. Call it the Horatio look:
A manly, well-dressed look, but with nothing superfluous.
I like that in a guy.
It also helps that Horatio is soft-spoken, but I digress.
Does this mean that fashion has degraded?
I think not. I think it has evolved to a more practical phase.
Would the gentlemen care to comment, please?
Updated, Sunday 15 June
Rob Bluey answers the question. Here's Rob (on the right) having a great time while wearing a necktie
Erik:
Since I sweat easily AND since I don't like sitting/standing around in a soaking (or a wet) shirt, I prefer a cool suit without a necktie and without the top shirt button closed...
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posted by Fausta @ 7:36 AM
13 Comments:
With the caveat that I am largely clueless in such matters, I tend to wear ties very seldom these days. When I do, it is either a) for a special occasion at church or b) to blend in chameleon-like at a client. I've had more than my share of conservative financial services clients over the years and one thing I've observed is that tie-wearing is an outward clue (though not an exclusive or determinative one) as to the flexibility of management culture.
It is all truly a matter of shirt and of being able to afford nice ties. People who have good taste on ties, even if they are flashy or exotic, wear them well, often and comfortably.
As for me, I am a bowtie guy. When I have to, that is.
I have maybe 35 or 40 ties, most are very good silk ties and some are very old cheap satin given me by my daughter that I wouldn't part with if ties were outlawed and only outlaws had ties. But, wearing or not wearing a tie with a suit (and yes, I've done that more and more often when I do wear a suit) is often, for me, based on the comfort of the collar of the shirt.
My favorite shirts have very comfortable collars; smooth, easy on the neck, easy to button and don't droop with a sharp V.
Less comfortable collar = No tie, everytime.
Time was, the necktie was a mandatory item of white-collar in-office attire. Today, there are few places where that rule still holds. In those offices where the rule has been repealed, one seldom sees the necktie. Why?
Simply this: the necktie has been a functionless holdover since the invention of central heating and deodorant.
The necktie was originally a functional item: it kept one's collar closed about one's neck. This was significant when buildings were unheated or ill-heated, and when male body odors went unattenuated by the marvels of modern chemistry. When these considerations ceased to obtain, the necktie became a purely decorative item with some traditional sentiment behind it. The discomfort it causes is no longer balanced by any practical consideration.
Myself, I haven't worn a tie since my employer ceased to require one. In fact, on the one recent occasion on which I did wear one -- in anticipation of a visit from a highly placed program manager from the Navy, to whom I was to make a presentation on a forthcoming product -- my boss told me to take it off.
"Why?" I asked.
My boss's response was memorable: "D'you think he'll arrive in a suit and tie?"
And indeed, he did not, nor did any of his entourage.
Tempora mutantur, et nos mutamur in illis.
From memory only, the necktie is the remainder of what was once the clan sash in the Balkans, which then got shortened, thinned and picked up by the French. The rest, as they say, is history.
As to a necktie, I have rarely worn them in life, but have a stash of the one thing necessary to any man who refuses to actually learn how to tie the things: the Zipper Tie! Semi-cheap, but with all sorts of fabrics available and even custom-made jobs, you can spend a relatively small amount compared to the suit and have an endless supply of easy to use ties.
Luckily, once collarless shirts came back into fashion, I no longer needed the Z-Ties and with health concerns I have no need to ever look formal again. I detest ties for myself... and the Z-Tie was the compromise.
Ties are great. I have lots of them. I can't see why any guy who works in an appropriate setting would pass up the chance to upgrade his outfit for so little effort.
Two points:
1) Having a shirt that fits is all important. You should be able to get at least two fingers in the collar or it's too tight (if you keep your dog's collar comfortable, why not your own?). If it shrinks and gets too tight, chuck it; it's probably not fitting as well as it used to in other places you haven't noticed yet.
2) Men who complain about ties don't realize how easy they have it. In my office, all the women struggle to find outfits that are comfortable, stylish and professional. If a man throws on a decent pair of slacks, decent shirt and understated tie, he's at the upper reaches of business casual. Toss in a jacket and he's casual-professional. How easy is that?
If men are smart, they'll stick to ties. Otherwise, they're going to have to figure out more subtle ways to achieve a sharp and professional look. And in my experience, the guys most eager to shed their neck wear aren't cutting edge fashion plates.
I always worry about the tie being used to pull me around. I don't see the personal point of wearing something around your throat that goes all the way down, if the outer coat is often buttoned up. I just don't notice them very often. Other people say what color ties the President wore, and I just had no idea.
There's a pretty conservative rule concerning the color of ties and suits. Maybe people are getting away from that a bit, at least in semi-informal settings like meetings.
Excuse my French, but screw how they look. Medical testing shows that they blur vision and impair short-term memory by interfering with blood flow. They're uncomfortable for a reason, it seems.
If you wear ties a lot, you might want to check out www.mynicetie.com
They have some pretty awesome designs
I shall "ditto" what gbarto posted above. Ties ARE great! I have LOTS of them!
The two points gbarto makes are very valid. And the first point is sums up the counter-argument against this new insistence that neckties are constricting and hazardous to health. Dummy: it's your too-small shirt collar!!!
As to the second point, years ago I read that the necktie is the one item of office apparel for the male worker where he can show individuality and express himself. (Of course, in these days of the decline of civilization into casualness guys express themselves in "anything-goes" ways!) I have one suit, a couple of slacks and half a dozen button-down shirts -- but my "LOTS of" ties allow me a colorful range of sartorial expression when I go to work or church.
When a man wears a suit and tie, or at least slacks, dress (button-down) shirt and tie, he shows self-respect and respect for others. Ever since firms with regular customers began having "casual Fridays" I've felt that to leave off the tie and wear a polo shirt on the final day of the work week sends a negative message to visiting customers. It says' "I don't care about you being here or what you want; I'm just ready to hit the golf links, the tennis court or the club."
Three cheers to my fellow necktie-wearers!!!
Here's another fellow who enjoys wearing neckties! And I enjoy seeing other men sporting the tie, too! It's about the only piece of apparel that's still associated with the male gender -- women have skirts, frilly blouses, dresses, panty hose, scarves, etc., etc. But we males of the species have only the necktie (and its brother the bowtie) left to ourselves in apparel.
Indeed, I resent that a few restaurants here in San Antonio, Texas, are having waitresses as well as waiters wear neckties. That's just plain "butch" or "dyke"!
And men CAN have fun while sharply dressed. Here in S.A. we're celebrating our ten-day party-to-end-all-parties: Fiesta. At the opening ceremony it's a custom to cut an ugly necktie on some official (supposedly to symbolize "business-casual" for the party), and in the last couple of years the emcees have insisted that ALL men wearing ties take them off. It really looks sad to see those men on the stage (and some in the audience) attired in suits, dress shirts and ties taking off the latter. I especially felt sorry for a former Texas Governor of very advanced age who a few years felt obligated to doff his beautiful neckwear with his arthritic hands! As cognicient folk know, a man in a suit and dress shirt without a tie looks rather naked still! So I firmly keep my tie on thru all the ceremony -- and if asked, I affirm that it's to show that I too am having lots of fun at Fiesta -- and clad in my necktie.
Last Friday the President of the Fiesta San Antonio Commission was one of those who removed his tie on stage. A couple hours later I saw him at another Fiesta event, with his tie back firmly in its place. I cogratulated him on looking sharp again, and encouraged him to wear the distinctive article of MALE apparel all during Fiesta, thus joining me in showing the world that we men CAN have fun while sporting neckties.
I think a tie makes one look neat and more presentable especially when officially dressed.I like the look of luxury silk ties.
............................
Laura Green
luxury silk ties
luxury silk ties
I am thinking of a tie. some tie are very well suitable for a businessmen but not for politicians. So be careful.......
Nishantha
luxury silk ties
luxury silk ties
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