That’s not a tie. 
Sounds like the writer from the paper and Carmine Lupertazzi from The Sopranos have a lot in common.
But apparently frowned upon in Europe
This is very much a cultural thing. Bermuda shorts are considered perfectly professional in (surprise) Bermuda. British and other Commonwealth military uniforms used to include shorts in warmer climes. (AIUI, some navies still do it, but armies have stopped.)
And cultural things can be changed if the culture at large decides that they should change, for whatever reason. (I, for one, think this is an element that should change.)
You care enough about what others say about someone who isn’t you that you feel shamed? I don’t understand.
No, kilts. Please, kilts. All the time, every time.
It’s a matter of pride and association. I and my neighbors bear collective responsibility for our choice of mayor. It’s our mayor out there, and his or her actions reflect upon our city.
I’ll do my best to give some comparable situations…
It’s like if you have a kid, and the kid acts out in public. That reflects poorly on you, as a parent. A mix of complicated emotions are involved, one of which (hopefully not the overriding one) may be the shame of being associated with the kid at that very instant.
Kids are tricky. Let’s switch out the kid with a friend. The friend acts out in public. Acquantences of yours might say, “that friend of yours doesn’t know how to behave” maybe with a subtext of “you don’t know how to pick friends”. The emotion I am referring to is the shame of being associated with your friend’s poor behavior.
Or let’s say you are a fan of your local sports team, and the team sucks, but this year the team chose a really ugly uniform. In previous years you could say “at least they look respectable”, but with the new uniforms, they don’t.
If you still don’t understand what I mean, I’m probably not up to the job of explaining it.
~Max
Mayors can’t wear shorts, because dignity?
JFK’s reputation survived being photographed in swim trunks, and even Dick Nixon didn’t look bad in them.
Now if we’re talking about Joe Biden and Donald Trump flaunting their legs in swimming attire, get out the brain bleach.
Remember Paul Tsongas in a Speedo?
You’re not the mayor because you wear trousers. You’re the mayor because you wear a giant gold chain.
Aaaauuughhh! Why would you do that? I thought we were friends!
~Max
Remember, this is Toronto. We have already suffered through Rob Ford. Anything John Tory (is that a name for politics or what?) does is a cake walk in comparison.