Ties. Why?

johnny_knoxvile wrote: »

...its people like you that turn Biffo into a sex symbol! Yuck yuck yuck!

Ewww...no!! I was thinking more of my other half in a suit.
Nice men.

Makes you want to take off the suit :pac::D

johnny_knoxvile wrote: »

so you prefer the birthday suit?

I hate wearing them, especially the tie, its so restrictive, it's the first thing to go. Though i don't mind rapping it around my head and re-inacting scenes from Rambo...

Yes, and the tie can wrap round another part of his anatomy

I used to have to wear a tie and shirt to school. Such a pain

Isnt that called DICKie-bow?

I quite like ties and I have a good few (although the ties for the last 5 years have been crap, in my opinion) but thats becase I don't have to wear them at work. If I did I would detest them.The ties survives because it's-with a few exceptions- the only part of menswear where colour , decoration and pattern can be displayed easily;the only relief from the miserable dullness of the males drab, sombre clothing.

OldGoat wrote: »

You've not had the pleasure of seeing my gold & yellow ZootSuit.

Hmmm.For that I suggest a more monochrome or small-patterned look, in red or a mid-blue perhaps.

However, what I dislike about the tie is the way it has been elevated into something more than a mere article of clothing by convention and tradition.The way it has acquired a strange 'fetishistic' status,standing for conformity, respectability,reliability and other male 20th century 'virtues'. The way that it is used to filter out those who 'belong' to those who don't. It is really ridiculous in this day and age that up to fairly recently men could be refused admittance to certain restaurants for not wearing a tie, no matter how well dressed they were otherwise. Although I think they are despicable in other ways, I admire the way Iranian diplomats refuse to wear them.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/4735270.stm
This link, originally posted by 'chin grin' in this thread above,is a perfect example of how with the doctors,the convention, the 'fetish', took precedence over practicality. It also illustrates the way that male dress convention,by-so to speak-putting all its eggs in one basket as to how to look respectable, denied itself other options. Without their ties, the doctors would feel odd,yet menswear doesn't offer many alternatives for looking professional without this piece of cloth. In fact on this very topic,I remember reading a letter to the style page of some newspaper or magazine from a doctor,at a loss as to how look the part without a tie.

Aidric wrote: »

That's poor but those ridiculously big chunky knots that some people favour irk me more.

You wear a tie knotted to suit the gape of the collar.
Narrow gape, narrow tie, narrow (four in hand)knot.
Wide gape, wide tie, full windsor.
Horses for courses really.
It only looks ridicolous when you get it wrong.