To me, the tie seems to be one of the most useless and somewhat ridiculous articles of men’s clothing. Is the tie of today a vestigial scarf that time forgot? Does anybody know its origins?
Can somebody help me out here?
Check out this link…
http://www.fashionmall.com/flusser_book/doc/ch4.htm
It’s a pretty complete history of neckties, and might answer some of your questions.
Nowadays ties are nothing more than fancy leashes. Companies feel it needed to remind you of the yoke you bear for their benefit and require you to wear them. They only “look nice” because a majority of people have bought into the game. What cracks me up is that some companies that disdain ties offer their employees nifty key/bagde chains that people actually wear! “Hey, we don’t wear ties here. Here’s your trendy new leash. Look! It says Tommy Boy!” Ick!!
My theory is that ties are meant to conceal the shirt buttons. They still serve this purpose, but one could easily argue it’s a purpose not worth serving. Another reason for their existence is to provide men (or the women who dress them) a modicum of creativity in an otherwise drab and conformist wardrobe. We could just drop suits altogether and have the same wide range of clothing options available to women, but I just don’t think we’re ready for that yet. Gray suit, white shirt … but a cool tie. That’s about as creative as I’m likely to get.
Cecil walks in:
What is, or was, the purpose of men’s neckties?
The gist of the answer is that they used to have a purpose, to protect the neck from the sun or cold. Fashion trends over the years have rendered them all but useless.
I once worked at a job where guys actually had to wear ties—and this in the late 90s! (It was in downtown Washington, DC.) So once I was leaning over my computer monitor and my tie fell onto the keyboard. Had a sudden flash of insight. If that had been factory machinery, I would have been a dead man but quick. Bluecollar laborers working on mechanical stuff obviously cannot wear ties.
So it is a mark of class. Similar to the extravagantly long fingernails of Chinese aristocrats of yore—they could do no work with their hands.
<recorded voice in the nursery>
I’m glad I’m an Epsilon … good thing I’m not an Alpha, who’d want to be an Alpha anyway?
</recorded voice in the nursery>
A lot of companies are going business casual now adays. I think the days of the neck tie are numbered. Like the hats they used to wear in the 50’s.
Just my two cents.
Jack
As for me, I like ties. It is a fun expression of my personality that lets me range from goofy to down-right subversive. No other piece of apparal lets a male make a statement like a necktie.
I have ties that will make the person I am talking to dizzy, I have ties that will embarrass them. I have donkey ties to wear when I am interviewing a pompus Republican, I have elephant ties for the opposite.
I have a tie that salutes Miles Davis. I have another that shows a multitude of paper airplanes. As a runner who has run the New York Marathon, I have a tie that shows hundreds of runners running the New York Marathon. The ties can cause people with similar interests to strike up conversations with me about interests we have in common.
I have hand-painted ties by artists who have become quite respected in the medium of framed canvas. Generally, the artist has given me the tie, he or she created, out of respect and friendship for me. When I wear one of them, it is like I am an extension of that work of art. I have other handpainted ties that date back half a century or more that a craftsman created in a shop someplace. When I wear one of those, it is something of a link to history and a time of craftmanship.
I have a leather tie that a tanner made for me. I have a tie made by a woman who does macrame. I even have a wooden tie made by a carpenter friend of mine. Clearly, each person who gave me a tie he or she made wanted to share a little of themselves with me and I feel honored in that.
I have neckties that show respect to the season at hand, whether it be secular or religious. I can make a comment on that season (whether in support or against) without ever opening my mouth.
Since I own and run my own business, a newspaper (well, the bank still has a percentage), no one is making me wear a tie. If it is a leash, I am not certain just who is holding it. Maybe it’s the kids at the local kindergarten who come by pretty regularly to see what tie I am wearing on a given day.
I suppose I could have ruder leach holders.
This is true. Strangely it is still popular for young guys to have one long fingernail, usually one of the pinky fingers. Sometimes, the nail is filed into a point. I’ve seen it in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, and a few other places. I remember asking a fellow about its significance. Expecting some interesting revelation based on thousands of years of history, I was floored when I received the answer. Not convinced, I repeated the question to other young Chinese men sporting an extra long pinky nail. To my complete surprise, the answer was the same.
I was shocked to say the least. Mind you the tradition could still be thousands of years old.
Sorry about the hi-jack.
Jack
I like ties too. I like really stolid ties, but with a fashion flair, like Armani, Dior, Versace, etc. And I don’t go for novelty ties.
I first latched onto this look when I was still a punk rocker and I saw a concert of one of my favorite bands, The Tubes. They came out for the second half of their concert wearing 3 piece suits and ties. I suddenly realized that this was the ultimate stealth uniform. As a punk rocker in a white shirt and tie, I could go places I could never go in my leather jacket and ripped clothes, and I could subvert things from the inside. Back in the 90s, one of my friends used to call me the “Punk Yuppie.” I don’t know if I was being insulted or not.
Ties are preferable to deciding soccer matches on penalty kicks.