Are Neckties Going To Go The Way Of Bowties?

[josepidal]

I love tan shoes!

 

[Sir Jack II]

I used to work around Wall Street about 8 years ago and the preponderance of walnut wingtips with striped socks drove me nuts. I'm not proud to admit it, but I felt a quiet pride in the clunky PTBs in dark brown and black I wore (and still wear) nearly every day.

 

[RSS]

nothing looks worse than an undershirt visible around the neckline.

Now, now ... it's just the All-American Ritchie Cunningham look.

PTBs in dark brown

Yes!

About the only time I'll wear black is when dressing formally, wearing a cassock, donning academic garb, when dressing for a funeral, and on that rare occasion I wear a blue pinstripe. And there is that Richard Anderson db diagonal pinstripe that I wear to jazz clubs.

 

[Leiker]

The suit is often not very good and the wearer is often in warm-hued, walnut-colored shoes with a navy suit, often accented with fun socks. There are often too many bad things about the outfit for the tie to make any real difference.

This, this, this. Ubiquitous look around here.

 

[TheChihuahua]

Not sure how you can say this when it’s been increasingly casual over the last decade.

I agree people will want to spend on nice things for appearance, I just don’t think it’s going to the traditional CM items.

i guess it’s a matter of degree.
I first started working in midtown Manhattan In 2003. That photo from the my times article could have just as well been taken in 2005 as it could have been taken recently. That’s sort of what the streets of midtown have looked like for the past decade+.

but it hasn’t gotten more casual I don’t think. Some of the more conservativefirms have embraced this look a bit, but let’s be honest it’s not like all the employees at these places were dressed in formal suits the past 20 years anyway.

 

[TheChihuahua]

I used to work around Wall Street about 8 years ago and the preponderance of walnut wingtips with striped socks drove me nuts. I'm not proud to admit it, but I felt a quiet pride in the clunky PTBs in dark brown and black I wore (and still wear) nearly every day.

exactly…
At this point, walnut wingtips are not some trend or fashion forward statement. They are pretty common. And have been for a while.

if the goal is to cosplay 1950’s Carey grant movies, maybe don’t do it? But in terms of wearing acceptable workplace attire, they are pretty popular.
(And if the goal is to advertise that you have medical foot problems, then plain toed derbies or bluchers will accomplish that goal)

 

[TheChihuahua]

This, this, this. Ubiquitous look around here.

but isn’t that look still better than athleisurewear or the guy in the jeans and t-shirt and sneakers who is too cool to dress well for work?

I would rather see people having fun with outfits that stem from more traditional roots than being too cool to distinguish worn attire from casual weekend wear. If somebody wants to wear a suit with some colorful socks, go for it. I prefer to see that than somebody in the khakis and button down from the gap with the rubber sole binder leather shoes who can’t wait until he’s allowed to wear his jeans and t-shirt on friday.

 

[Pandaros]

I used to teach in a university, then back office work in a bank, and now I'm in tech. I haven't once, during a normal office day, seen a tie.

Going back many decades, the university environment would have been a strict suit and tie affair for teaching staff - it was, I understand, the case until the old guard retired in the late '90s or early '00s. The bank was a little more startling given that just two years before I joined it was suit and tie, but now that only applies to customer-facing staff. In fact, and bizarrely against what other have posted earlier, the tech environment I'm in now has taken the business part of business-casual more seriously. No jeans, t-shirts, or gym shoes there....yet.

But in a working environment now, it seems to me that unless you're in the customer-facing part of a particular industry (banks, airlines, law firms) the tie is got rid of. In fact, as I recall, when I joined the bank they told us that if we speak to a customer on the phone they didn't want us to use 'Sir, Mr, Mrs, Ms" and to call the customer by their first name.

Etiquette in general is becoming less and less formal and it's not just limited to office attire.

 

[mak1277]

(And if the goal is to advertise that you have medical foot problems, then plain toed derbies or bluchers will accomplish that goal)

Nobody else thinks this ongoing "joke" is clever or funny.

 

[Leiker]

but isn’t that look still better than athleisurewear or the guy in the jeans and t-shirt and sneakers who is too cool to dress well for work?

I would rather see people having fun with outfits that stem from more traditional roots than being too cool to distinguish worn attire from casual weekend wear. If somebody wants to wear a suit with some colorful socks, go for it. I prefer to see that than somebody in the khakis and button down from the gap with the rubber sole binder leather shoes who can’t wait until he’s allowed to wear his jeans and t-shirt on friday.

I'm sure it does look better than many other looks, and to be sure I have very little issue with colorful socks. But I think that color shoe with a navy suit looks bad.

 

[TheChihuahua]

Nobody else thinks this ongoing "joke" is clever or funny.

it is not a joke. It’s a statement of fact.
This is a discussion about the evolution of style in its current form. People are complaining about the more fashion forward footwear choices that some younger professionals are making (and have been making for two decades now).
the fact that many derbies and plain toe bluchers are an advertisement that a person has medical foot issues is merely a statement of fact, and it goes to why many younger professionals stay away from them.

 

[mak1277]

it is not a joke. It’s a statement of fact.
This is a discussion about the evolution of style in its current form. People are complaining about the more fashion forward footwear choices that some younger professionals are making (and have been making for two decades now).
the fact that many derbies and plain toe bluchers are an advertisement that a person has medical foot issues is merely a statement of fact, and it goes to why many younger professionals stay away from them.

So you're saying it's a "fact" that wearing derbies means you have medical foot issues? I just want to be clear that I get your point.

 

[monkey66]

No ties.

 

[TheChihuahua]

So you're saying it's a "fact" that wearing derbies means you have medical foot issues? I just want to be clear that I get your point.

yes.
everyone knows that. The whole history of the derby is as a dressy alternative that can alleviate foot problems.

so it is understandable why younger people don’t want to wear clunky orthopedic shoes. Opting for more fashion forward sleeker shoes such as wing tips in lighter colors.

And as it relates to this discussion, I would rather see young professionals in navy suits with tan shoes than going with jeans and t-shirts. And I don’t blame them for not wanting to wear ugly shoes that scream “I have foot problems” instead.

 

[mak1277]

yes.
everyone knows that. The whole history of the derby is as a dressy alternative that can alleviate foot problems.

so it is understandable why younger people don’t want to wear clunky orthopedic shoes. Opting for more fashion forward sleeker shoes such as wing tips in lighter colors.

And as it relates to this discussion, I would rather see young professionals in navy suits with tan shoes than going with jeans and t-shirts. And I don’t blame them for not wanting to wear ugly shoes that scream “I have foot problems” instead.

The emotion I'm experiencing now is sadness....because I don't have foot problems....so I have to now give up my derbies to fit the facts of the world. ?