Alan Bee
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Well, I might be biased, heavily so, but as you implicitly invite me to expand my propaganda campaign for ties I shall happily oblige
The problem with no tie and a jacket, particularly with a heavier jacket, is that it messes with the shirt collar which gets squeezed in all kinds of unsightly positions. The entire jacket's weight, structured or not, hangs (in part, but a great part) on the neck/shoulders. Some may argue sprezz but given how much thought you put in your look, why give it up at the focal and most important point that pulls it all together? The tie gives it structure and anchors the whole thing.
Button down collars seem like an obvious solution: holding the collar points up, they stop the collar (in theory) from sliding under the jacket. But instead what you get is a strange pull of the shirt open, where it would just naturally roll open sans jacket:
View attachment 1073708
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Given your shoulder structure and this particular tweed it is doubly the case. I see you even got an extremely large collar made, with two buttons to close it.
And lo and behold, look how much more relaxed and natural you look once the tie pulls the collar together and the jacket can simply rest on top, instead of fighting it:
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Now a case can be made for long ties to get in the way of weekend activities. This is what the bow tie was invented for. You still get structure, a focal point, an anchor, closure of the collar, but you can hold the toddler in your arms or bend forwards to grab more BBQ safely. Alternatively, and definitely an option given the weather where you are and your shape, jacket-less is a nice alternative...
Jonathan, I would argue that it is with a technical jacket (e.g. Norfolk) that ties really shine. There is a bold intentional aspect to the thing that, aside from considerations of solidity, welcome those who deviate from the Jeremy Clarkson look.
@am55
Quite a dissertation my friend. Having come to know you better, I would expect no less.
Not sure where to start but in summary, I see your point. The last picture I took just seems more tidy. The tie just seems to “tie” everything up nicely.
I can also see how a tieless look may be useful here. As you rightly pointed out, the Half Norfolk is a highly technical garment. One could make the argument that a tie would be “too much”, complicating an already complicated ensemble.
One more school of thought is, a tie makes the outfit look rather anachronistic and not contemporary enough. In that last picture with the block rep striped tie, I might be mistaken for Lord Mountbatten. I’m not sure that’s the message I’m going for.
Nevertheless, both you and @jonathanS make very persuasive arguments for your respective positions.
Alan Bee
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