RIP the work tie

My husband dutifully donned his work tie every morning, I doubt he even thought about it, placing it around his neck was part of the morning routine.

A slightly more casual look had been creeping in pre-pandemic, tie-less with smart colourful shirts, open at the collar and often accompanied by a nice office jumper. But the tie-less were the few not the many.

Two years of sitting in the home office in his lounge suit has changed his perspective on office attire, as it has for the majority of men I am seeing in the work environment. It is a positive change, one of the many things the pandemic disrupted, our thinking on office attire and etiquette.

The tie is being dusted down and worn for more formal occasions and it is nice to have that distinction, it means an average suit can be elevated to a more important status with the addition of a small piece of material sitting round the neck. A tie can really add a touch of individualism to an otherwise boring outfit.

For those that choose to wear dresses and skirts, the tie does what adding a jacket and posh handbag can do to an otherwise casual outfit.

I remember wearing a tie at school, in six form the girls were allowed to wear a dark blue skirt (no trousers allowed, it was the early 80's) and their choice of white blouse and a grey/navy or black cardigan or jumper. The boys could transition to dark blue trousers, a white collared shirt and their own choice of blazer style jacket and tie.

It was amazing how difficult it was to choose a blouse that complied with regulations and wasn't boring, the girls all strived to differentiate themselves with a variety of collars and styles. I wore a classic, high necked Laura Ashley number that was totally impractical and limited my arm movements. I thought that went well with a wide collared mohair jumper that slouched slightly off the shoulder to show the lace work underneath.

We started school every day with chapel and notices (bit like an assembly but with hymns and a few readings thrown in for good measure). Every morning one particular boy would stride up the aisle displaying the most horrendous tie. He had a large collection, some were as wide as a dinner plate and many sported what I can only describe as bad 1970's wall paper patterns. Floral monstrosities, fish, fruit and some geometric patterns that are all the rage again now.

His name was Beazley and he got away with it because he carried it off perfectly and frankly it was entertaining (even the headmaster could be seen trying to suppress a smile when Beazley added the fish tie to his collection).

I would be sad to see the full demise of the tie, whilst a colourful shirt might take its place in the office and provide the wearer with the ability to show off their personality in a way that a tie cannot - a tie is still a statement, if you want it to be.

And it is a useful Christmas gift to purchase ones husband alongside the obligatory Christmas socks.