Welcome back to the Gentleman's Gazette. In today's video, we'll try to get to the bottom
of why men stopped wearing neckties or, at least, men in general, since around here,
we definitely haven't stopped.
♪ Gentleman's Gazette Theme Song ♪
This video is another installment in our "Why Men Stop..." series, which documents formerly
mainstay menswear items that have fallen out of favor in recent years or decades. Case
in point: the necktie, which has gone from a nearly mandatory accessory to an often-overlooked
article. Of course, this change is all the more dramatic because of the position that
was once held by the necktie. Now, we've already covered the history of the tie in other videos,
most notably with our full article on the history and evolution of neckwear, and we've
also talked extensively about the neckties cousin the bow tie in this video. With the
origins of the necktie previously covered in those videos, then, here's the bumper sticker
version. It was originally associated with Croatian mercenaries in the 17th Century;
evolved from a Croat into a cravat, and by the 20th Century, into the tie, as we know
it today. It's an article that's almost synonymous with classic menswear and as ubiquitous as
the suit dress shirt or leather shoes. The tie weaved itself into the very fabric of
corporate,
social, and even romantic life. It was so ingrained with notions of masculine
dress that it became the go-to gift for Father's Day or for any hard-to-shop-for man. And returning
to its martial roots, it even became part of some military dress uniforms.
So, how could ties, having enjoyed such a central position for almost 400 years,
declined so rapidly in just a matter of decades? Well, we've identified six contributing factors
that we'll share with you today; that should "tie" up this question and "knot" confuse
the issue as we want this matter to be "blade" to rest for good. And if you think that was
good, I've got more.
[crowd cheering]
By the way, while all of these six factors could also apply to bow ties, we'll be focusing
mostly on long neckties today. If you'd like us to do a similar deep dive on bow ties,
just let us know in the comments below. Let's jump into our list then with the first reason
we believe men have largely stopped wearing ties: restrictive dress codes. Somewhat ironically,
the once mandatory nature of neckties may have ultimately contributed to their downfall.
In the 19th and 20th centuries, in addition to simply being a clothing accessory, ties
were also markers of social and class distinction.
Fans of the TV series Peaky Blinders may recall that many of the characters in the show often
appear without neckwear and sometimes even without collars as both of these items were
fairly expensive at that point in time. On the other hand, men of means were expected
to wear ties and, in turn, those ties were expected to conform to strict, rigidly-enforced
dress codes as to what tied designs, materials, and colors were appropriate for individual
times and occasions. These origins, then, established some foundational tropes about
ties - namely that they were a signifier of one's financial success, they identified one's
way of making a living, and they were expected to be worn by certain types or classes of
people. As the 20th century progressed, then, all of these factors would contribute to the
tie's undoing. And we'll get more into this with the second item on our list for today:
the countercultural revolution of the 1960s. For the first half of the 20th century, the
tie was regarded as a symbol of the establishment. It was an icon of authority and power worn
by magnates who captained industry and made money and by their employees. But, as we discuss
in our video on what men really wore in the 1960s, the seismic social and political changes
of that decade rocked menswear to its core as well. Disaffected with the inequality,
prejudice, and materialism of their world, counterculture and subculture figures rebelled
against the values and ethics of authority figures and this included rebelling against
icons of the establishment like the tie.
Many popular figures stopped wearing ties entirely, preferring more creative or expressive
neckwear.
These would include the cravats and ascots of the Peacock Revolution, seen here on musical
group Procol Harum, or nothing at all as seen here (or, I guess, not seen here) on pop psychologist
Timothy Leary. And in this outtake from the 1967 documentary film "Don't Look Back", just
consider the reaction to the very notion that counterculture icon Bob Dylan would even consider
wearing a tie.
[scene from "Don't Look Back"]
Now, counter-cultural figures didn't represent the entirety of the population, of course,
but their attitudes toward neckwear would snowball and grow throughout the culture at
large as time went on.
This brings us to our third item for today: the rise of "business casual." While the hippies,
beatniks,
and spiritualists were mocking the corporate shills with chains (i.e ties around their
necks),
changes were also taking place in the corporate sphere. After World War II, casual wear, worn
mostly on the weekends at first, was becoming a mainstay of Western fashion, especially
in North America. Eventually, this desire for more casual clothing crept into offices;
first as an advertising stunt in the 1960s to encourage men to wear Hawaiian shirts to
the office on what became known as "Aloha Fridays." This
would eventually morph into what we now know as the "business casual dress code," and,
tellingly, ties are optional here. And even within office cultures, the perception around
ties began to change. Ties were something that could be slipped on before a big meeting,
but they were fundamentally unnecessary and something of a nuisance to many men. And like
a stuffy jacket, ties were meant to be removed or at least loosened when serious work was
being done.
Next up today is number four on our list: an increasingly casual world. While counter-cultural
forces rejected the tie as an emblem of "the man" and businesses were willing to jettison
what was increasingly viewed as a superfluous accessory, the rest of the world was being
swept along on a wave of casualization, sparked primarily by notions of comfort and convenience.
Especially in the 1980s and 1990s, the clothing market emphasized perceived comfort over all
else. The implication was that, when one wasn't required to dress up, the default should be
that they should basically dress down. Baggy trousers, plush, loose flannels, and even
undergarments were held up as clothing that was comfortable to wear and, therefore, the
"best type" of clothing. A greater emphasis on perceived speed and deficiency in daily
life also hurt the tie as it was just one more thing to worry about when rushing to
get out the door in the morning because we're all just so busy, right? Also, when changing
outfits at places like the gym, ties could be easy to forget or misplace. In effect,
ties were coming to be seen as a relic from the past that was ill-suited to the needs
of the present day.
By implication, then, they were also becoming associated with stuffy, ill-fitting, constrictive
clothing. After all, a tie is literally a length of fabric knotted around your neck
and that just didn't sit well with these modern notions of casual fashion. Like any other
item of clothing, then, ties are also victims to fashion and, in particular, trendy fashion,
which brings us on to our number five item for today: tie fashion trends. While the conventional
tie styles of the golden age of menswear - with their rich colors and regular patterns - were
abandoned as being boring in the 1960s and 70s, ties with psychedelic patterns or made
from new materials like leather became very modish as they were the perfect subversion
of the "stuffy tie" ethos. And in Great Britain, in particular, extremely wide, so-called,
"kipper ties" became popular. This style was first popularized in the 1940s as a rebellion
against wartime rationing, but surged back to popularity again in the late 50s through
the 70s. These ties were loud, colorful, and extremely broad;
sometimes up to 5 inches or 13 centimeters in width. Essentially, they were meant to
ironically embody everything that was wrong with conventional ties. The 1980s saw another
wave of unusual ties with perhaps the best remembered being the bold "power tie." As
you'll see in our review of the menswear in 1987's "Wall Street", these ties are intended
to showcase one's wealth and, presumably, dazzle your enemies with the tie's brilliance
and silky sheen. Did I just make a Charlie Sheen joke?
The 80s also featured ironic takedowns of the tie, such as with the piano key necktie.
This one likely became popular because of its bold coloring and strong horizontal lines,
as well as the increased use of synthesizer keyboards in popular music. I recently learned
in the fashion documentary "Zoolander" that the piano key necktie was invented by noted
fashion designer Mugatu.
[scene from "Zoolander"] Mugatu: "I invented the piano key necktie!
I invented it!"
What... what's that? It's not a documentary?
The 80s also saw a fascination with other novelty
ties like these zany, fish-shaped ties by designer
Ralph Marlin. By the way, these ties had an equally zany commercial.
[scene from Ralph Marlin commercial] "These people, dressed reasonably well,
might as well be naked. The fact is: a man without a Ralph Marlin fish tie is like a
fish out of water.
Two different ties for just $19.95."
Things would get a little bit less silly in the following decades.
But, the 90s did give us those shiny watercolor ties and, by the 2010s, everything had gotten
extremely skinny, including ties, reviving a trend that had already come and gone several
times over.
As if just one round of skinny jeans wasn't enough. The point we're trying to make here
is that trendy tie fashion so closely associated particular types of ties with particular eras,
that all of these fads would become almost immediately dated. This led to the perception
that all ties would have a shelf life. And why would you want to invest in a quality
tie if it was just going to seem dated in a few years' time? Having brought ourselves
up to the present day then, we're now able to understand the various factors that have
gone into modern perceptions of the necktie; many of which are constantly reinforced by
popular media. This brings us on then to our sixth and final point:
popular and media perceptions of the tie today. Returning to our original point about ties
and power dynamics, ties were traditionally associated with men who ran businesses or
nations. But, because of implications of classism, inequality, or just being out of touch, many
politicians are now forgoing ties whenever they can. And in the business world, venture
capitalists and go-getters in industry are now more commonly associated with casual fashion
styles that eschew the tie and the corporate culture that it represents. Ties have unfortunately
become associated then with middle management, pencil-pushing types, who have to continually
run the rat race in business. And hip young professionals are often ignoring ties altogether
or trying to wear them in an ironic way.
So, ties are either consigned to the 9-5 daily grind
or used as an obvious attempt to impress others.
[scene from "The Simpsons"] Marge: "Homer, are you wearing a tie to impress
Laddie?"
Homer: "Do you think he noticed?" Marge: [grunts, rolls eyes]
Effectively then, the tie has become a symbol of constraint and artifice pitting the mundane,
money-making, overworking, corporate world against the genuine, fun, joyous world of
comfort and free time that we're all secretly daydreaming about. It's something that you're
bound to have seen in media so many times that it's actually become a real part of many
people's lives.
As soon as you get home from a long and taxing day at work, what's the first thing you're
supposed to do? Remove your tie as that first step into the world of comfort and relaxation.
To some extent, modern tie-wearing culture can be blamed for this.
Just think about all the times that we're still commonly expected to wear ties today,
like funerals, important business meetings, or fancy ceremonies like weddings. Not only
do most people dislike feeling obligated to wear particular clothing, but it's also hard
to find the joy in wearing a tie when it's so closely associated with tedious, boring,
or even sad events and functions.
And even for weddings when you can look forward to fun and excitement, the convention always
seems to be that the real fun begins at the reception when
ties are loosened, removed, or worn Rambo-style. Why do we do that? Overall, then, it can be
said that men today - at least, in general - are dressing more specifically for themselves
than for others with whom they might be sharing an occasion.
So, those are our six items. But, before we wrap up today, we'd like to briefly share
our take on ties.
The purpose of today's video is not to bemoan the decline of tie-wearing and we do firmly
believe that men should be able to dress for themselves. But, as with everything in life,
there are limits. In many ways, as we also concluded in our video on whether or not the
suit is dying,
stylish dress is better for all when we each have choice. In other words, we'd rather see
just one gentleman dress up and wear a tie because he wants to rather than seeing a hundred
gentlemen wearing ties when they feel like they have to. It is a good thing that ties
are no longer effectively mandatory to be considered a respectable person, and it's
also a good thing that men have increasing freedom to wear what they want when they want.
But, ties don't have to be a casualty of these attitudes and changes. If you love classic
style as we do here at the Gentleman's Gazette,
then ties will undoubtedly spark excitement for you as a way to creatively express yourself. And,
of course, there are still some circumstances where a tie really should be worn as a matter
of respect for the occasion and the other people present.
This shows not only that you're aware of other people's feelings toward a given event, but
also that you have put effort toward those feelings.
Remember that, to a reasonable degree, caring about what other people think of you is not
a sign of weakness, it's a sign of respect. Dovetailing into our last point then, it should
come as no surprise that we here at the Gentleman's Gazette think that ties are a supremely versatile
and creative way to accent your outfits. You can personally express yourself through the
color, texture, and pattern of ties that will make you feel confident and creative, not
confined or constricted. It's our hope that this video "seams" to be a real "tipping point"
and a "keeper" for you. And because it's my "neck" on the line and I would never tell
you "tails" that's why we got down to "bar tacks" today. I mean, brass tacks. See? I
told you I had more. In today's video, I am, of course, wearing a tie as the central
element of my outfit. It's a relatively new addition to our Fort Belvedere shop; an extension
to our line of jacquard weave, diamond pattern ties. The base of the tie is in a magenta
shade featuring elements of both purple and pink, and its repeating diamonds are in off-white
and green. I've tried to incorporate these colors elsewhere in my outfit as well, such
as with my triple clove boutonniere in magenta and my pale pink, linen pocket square with
pink x-stitching. Furthermore, my socks are
our two-toned, shadow-striped models in dark green and purple. To balance out these bolder
colors, then,
the rest of my outfit is simply in the grayscale today. We'll start with my plain white shirt,
which has French cuffs, into which I've got inserted our platinum-plated, sterling silver
monkey's fist knot cufflinks. I'm also wearing a collar clip in silver to accent my tie knot.
Other silver accessories include my pocket watch and chain and the buckles on my black
monk strap shoes. And, of course, my three-piece suit is in dark charcoal gray and features
a slight pattern and texture to its weave -
though it reads as a solid overall. And you can find all of the Fort Belvedere accessories I'm
wearing in today's video, along with a host of other designs, in the Fort Belvedere shop
here.
♪ Gentleman's Gazette Theme Song ♪