I’ve never been a fan of wearing a tie. My younger association of ties was my father, daily returning from work with the tie knotted loosely around his collard shirt. My tie fashion was hand me downs from him or rentals worn only on special occasions such as graduations, certain family holidays or proms. Coming out to NY for business the tie became a standard and finally moving here I started to build my collection.
Still, my original daily tie wearing job in NY was more painful for the environment than the wardrobe. Today I’m a tie when I have to for business. I have to encourage my engineer when he needs to wear one and often pre-qualify my meetings for appropriate casualness for the first introduction.
So it’s of applauding news I hear this story. I never knew there was a Men’s Dress Furnishings Association (the trade group that represents American tie makers) and they are now expected to shut down on Thursday. The Association has found the popularity of the tie diminished in American to only 6% of men wear one daily to work (down from 10% in 2002). When people start showing up to your yearly Tie praising meeting… tieless… you know it’s not going well for the longevity of the crew.
From the WSJ:
“Power is being able to dress the way you want,”
The problem for neckwear designers, as for regular guys, is that a tie no longer automatically conveys the authority and respectability it once did, even if it does cause some people to call you sir. In fact, it can be a symbol of subservience and of trying too hard.
Lee Terrill, president of the company’s neckwear group and an executive member of the trade association, is optimistic about the tie’s future and believes the current economic downturn is actually good for his company’s tie business. His reasoning: Laid-off workers will need new ties for job interviews.
Let’s hope I don’t need any new neck ties anytime soon.