Wearing a tie at work when no one else does

[myztikal47]

Is this OK to do? I've been working at my new job for about a month and a half, I'm the only one in my "group" which consists of about 10 people that wears a tie. Everyone else wears just dress shirt/pants, even the director. There are other directors on our floors who's groups sit elsewhere and about half of the directors wear ties, half don't. Some of the other groups wear ties, some don't. My director a few weeks ago said to me "whats with the tie, are you trying to make me look bad?" in a joking manner, but I'm not sure if he was being serious or not. I just feel extremely awkward being partially dressed up, the tie completes the look. Anyone have any thoughts?

 

[Imhoff]

There is no problem with wearing a tie while the rest of your team does not. I'm in the same boat where the VP and district managers don't even wear a dress shirt most of the time.

Wear that tie proudly. You are not upstaging anyone by doing so.

 

[Mr. Sartorial]

I think it's totally fine. People will give you a hard time at first, but I bet within a few months you'll start to notice a few of them wearing ties.

Men who do not dress up often express their lack of understanding of style/fashion through sarcasm as your director did. This is very common as form of defending their ego. You can or should always respond something to the effect of: "I had to wear one at my last job and I just got used to it". Don't say something like "It's just the way I was raised" because it makes you look like an asshole.

In the long term I think you will have more to gain from dressing up a little bit more at your job than not.

 

[tobiasj]

Dude, this is STYLE FORUM. Overdressing is what we do, and this sounds like a particularly mild case. Wear the tie.

 

[HarleyBob]

Trust me, he is being serious. We have a "business casual" office and we had one new associate that wore a tie everyday. People would tease him, but everyone was wondering why he was doing it. We had several partners that were a little perturbed.

I was the only one in the office today (50 people) that wore a tie. I try to wear a tie several times a week. I am the boss, so I am trying to set an example. I don't expect others to always wear ties, but I do expect them to dress to the high side of "business casual." I find that when I dress up, others follow suit. I guess it is just human nature that when you institute a "business casual" dress policy, over time, people tend to slack off and really start to dress down. Through my dress, I try to set an example of what I would like to see.

Try only wearing a tie a couple of days a week and relax your style a little bit on the other days. That way, co-workers will know you are normal and not trying to show them up.

 

[Lord-Barrington]

Almost no contemporary workplace requires you to wear a tie anymore. Even law firms are trending towards business casual. As such, you'll rarely be required to wear a tie (and even less so a suit) so when you do you'll often be striking out alone. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't do it. I wear a tie to work 2-3 times a week and I've never had an issue besides some light teasing.

 

[intent]

Being stylish means dressing appropriately for the situation, including amongst your peers.

 

[lee_44106]

so impressing internet strangers is much more important than fitting in a work huh?

 

[MrG]

Originally Posted by intent

Being stylish means dressing appropriately for the situation, including amongst your peers.

+1

It's not always a good idea to stand out.

 

[Navi]

Originally Posted by lee_44106

so impressing internet strangers is much more important than fitting in a work huh?

Yeah, time to break out the sweaty polo's and dad jeans myztikal47!

 

[eluther]

I wear a tie to work every Monday. It's gotten a few people on my team to start paying more attention to their dress, and since it's only one day per week, it isn't a huge deal. I endorse it.

 

[SpooPoker]

Dress for the position above you. Always.

 

[blahman]

Wear your tie with pride. It is but a single accessory that shouldn't cause any distress to anyone - a little bit of individualism in the sea of bland - especially when the tie is in harmony with the rest of what you wear.

With regards to fitting in, sometimes too much emphasis is placed on what you wear where the most important aspect is really how you interact and socialise with your peers. If you work well with your colleagues, you are fitting in - even if you wear leather and sport a mohawk.

 

[MrG]

Originally Posted by SpooPoker

Dress for the position above you. Always.

I received this advice many years ago, and I agree completely. I'm not sure if you intended it to be pro or anti-tie, but OP explicitly states that even his director doesn't wear a tie. To me, this says "no tie for OP."

 

[Quadcammer]

wear what you feel comfortable with