# Friends don't let friends wear short sleeve shirts with a tie **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 18, 2011, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friends-dont-let-friends-wear-short-sleeve-shirts-with-a-tie/582287 "2011-05-18T04:30:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Cubsfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Cubsfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cubsfan)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2011, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friends-dont-let-friends-wear-short-sleeve-shirts-with-a-tie/582287/61 "2011-05-20T01:01:13Z")
> [@cards](#): > > Uh oh, looks like you’re swimming against the tide: > > [http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703421204576331413096197244.html?mod=WSJ\_hpp\_sections\_lifestyle](http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703421204576331413096197244.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_sections_lifestyle) Actually that article supports almost everything I said, in the places it’s even relevant to this discussion, which it barely is. The article is focused almost exclusively on short sleeve button up shirts, which I haven’t said anything at all about. The only blip about a tie says > [@](#): > > Adding a tie can be tricky. “You really run the risk of getting it wrong and looking like the IT guy,” says Ms. Rath. For neckwear, Glenn O’Brien, author of “How To Be A Man,” a style and behavior guide for men published in April, recommends wearing a slim madras or seersucker tie rather than a regular-width silk tie, since the shirts aren’t technically dress shirts. He cautions that sport coats and suit jackets “don’t look quite as good over a short-sleeve shirt,” as the shirt gets all bunched up in the arm area. > > Ms. Rath says that even with a tie, a short-sleeve woven shirt can be worn to work “only if you’re in advertising or work in some sort of creative industry.” Otherwise: “Save it for the weekend.” That means don’t do it unless you’re trying to look like a hipster douche and even then only on the weekend when it’s okay to look stupid (?). Hell, look at the guy pictured in the article for pete’s sake! Also from an earlier post: > [@](#): > > It was the standard summer school uniform when I was a child. And still is for most schools. Right. This is why you can’t be taken seriously in any kind of work environment because you look like an immature child if you’re a 20-30 year old wearing htis combo. Any age above about 40 and you just look clueless. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2011, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friends-dont-let-friends-wear-short-sleeve-shirts-with-a-tie/582287/62 "2011-05-20T02:20:40Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Next you’ll be telling us a woman shouldn’t wear a party dress with combat boots. :rolleyes: Like your muddah! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![sidle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee59a6/32.png) [@sidle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sidle)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2011, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friends-dont-let-friends-wear-short-sleeve-shirts-with-a-tie/582287/63 "2011-05-20T20:02:24Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > You can pry my ties from my cold, dead neck. I take pride in my ties. > > Serious question: What about a long-sleeve shirt and a tie, sleeves rolled up? Odd. While short sleeves and a tie is the stupidest looking thing ever, tie and long sleeved shirt, with sleeves rolled up haphazardly on a man = dead sexy. I don’t know why. I don’t make the rules. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2011, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friends-dont-let-friends-wear-short-sleeve-shirts-with-a-tie/582287/64 "2011-05-20T20:14:42Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > If Detective Sipowicz jumped off a cliff, would you do that too? Milhouse jumped off a cliff?! I’m there! ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2011, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friends-dont-let-friends-wear-short-sleeve-shirts-with-a-tie/582287/65 "2011-05-20T20:31:58Z")
If your fashion has to do with the rules of people over 40, then you’re already out of fashion. I don’t have a problem with rules per se, but I do have a problem when I my intelligence or skill is judged by my clothing. All you know is how seriously I take fashion or how formal I think the occasion is. ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2011, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friends-dont-let-friends-wear-short-sleeve-shirts-with-a-tie/582287/67 "2011-05-20T23:12:30Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > If your fashion has to do with the rules of people over 40, then you’re already out of fashion. > > I don’t have a problem with rules per se, but I do have a problem when I my intelligence or skill is judged by my clothing. All you know is how seriously I take fashion or how formal I think the occasion is. Fair or not, we get judged by our appearances in society. You should be able to roll up into a job interview in your PJs, carried through by your extreme talent and wisdom. Hell, I should be able to meet with my clients in jeans and tshirts- I’m good at my job and that should be enough. But _it isn’t._ ---
**Author:** ![Sarahfeena](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarahfeena/32/519_2.png) [@Sarahfeena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarahfeena)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2011, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friends-dont-let-friends-wear-short-sleeve-shirts-with-a-tie/582287/68 "2011-05-20T23:19:03Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > If your fashion has to do with the rules of people over 40, then you’re already out of fashion. > > I don’t have a problem with rules per se, but I do have a problem when I my intelligence or skill is judged by my clothing. All you know is how seriously I take fashion or how formal I think the occasion is. How formal you think an occasion is is important…it tells people how seriously you’re taking it. ---
**Author:** ![Daylate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9dc877/32.png) [@Daylate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daylate)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2011, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friends-dont-let-friends-wear-short-sleeve-shirts-with-a-tie/582287/69 "2011-05-21T01:00:50Z")
Back in my day, I regularly wore a shortsleeved shirt with a tie, and also sported a plastic pocket protector. Of course, this was expected of engineers. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2011, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friends-dont-let-friends-wear-short-sleeve-shirts-with-a-tie/582287/70 "2011-05-21T01:35:37Z")
Of course _[the Family Circus](http://img819.imageshack.us/img819/8310/324kb.jpg)_ has the final word on this [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friends-dont-let-friends-wear-short-sleeve-shirts-with-a-tie/582287.md?page=3)