Duane Gran’s log of thoughts

A Loosening of Ties

The president of IBM, in a recent e‑mail, announced that the cravat was no longer de rigueur for the once impeccably‑tied “wing‑tip warriors” of the giant multinational.  Gianni Versace’s latest book Men Without Ties is a runaway success.  And now, at the most progressive corporations of New York, Paris, and London, it is quite permissible for men to appear dressed for business with no trace of silk, rayon, or polyester about their necks.  What has come undone?  Why, after an unprecedented two‑thousand year reign, has the most useless, and yet the most fussed over, element of male attire gradually begun to whither in importance?

The article gives a pretty good history of the neck tie, which goes back nearly 3,000 years. I wear a tie about half the time at my workplace and I wish that it wasn’t such a rarity to be well dressed. On the other hand, most men have no idea how to properly tie the things, knot it well, produce the dimple or pair the colors. Don’t get me started on how a proper pocket square is more rare than hen’s teeth on most men’s jackets. The number of men who know what to do with a necktie is approaching a statistical zero.

But then, I’m talking of America and I have hope that our brethren across the pond will keep the tradition alive. It was only a few years ago that I emerged from my sartorial stupor, so there is hope yet.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 2nd, 2005 at 10:19 am and is filed under fashion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.