Here’s a classic article I read about a year ago, and still love, about the importance of the necktie. It was penned by Ben Stein for Father’s Day 2008 in response to an article he had read in the Wall Street Journal.
It’s a great read, and something I wholeheartedly agree with, even though I don’t don a tie regularly for work (only when I go out).
Some highlights:
The necktie is a sign of a man who is there to work, not to play. It’s what a man who takes his responsibilities seriously wears. Men who want to look and act like small children dress like small children, or surfers, or hoboes, or something.
My fellow men: stop dressing like children. Start dressing like grownups and acting like grownups. The necktie is a start.
Whether the sentiment is true or not, the way it’s written smacks of old-fogey-ism (“Get off my lawn, you damned kids…”. Sounds almost intentional, but if so, it’s still ineffective. I’m surprised he didn’t complain about comic books and video games while he was at it.
Ties can look great on a guy. That’s a good reason to wear one. “Because Ben Stein told me to” is not a good reason to wear one.
Oh, of course I didn’t think the article was interesting because Ben Stein was the author. But rather, I liked the material and actually the “old-fogey-ism.”
Put into context of the buttoned-up business world, which is what he was referring to, I think ties should be a staple. I’m definitely more traditional with respect to certain formalities and I like to see them upheld. Important occasion/event/dinner? Best to be over-dressed than under.
I don’t extrapolate tie wearing to everyday occasions by any means. Wearing ties for me is almost always about going out, as opposed to anything related to business.
i’m surprised at your appreciation of this article. i appreciate a man in a necktie for the right occassion, but this comes across as very elitist – the tie like a sign of social class over taste. his son’s elite new england boarding school? really??
It’s nice to be able to rock a tie every now and then, but the less formal business attire gets, the better. Social situations should be about fashion; business situations should be about function. Ideally. So onward and downward with fashion in business.