Wide ties are out?

Originally Posted by Professor Chaos

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hah too funny! As soon as she heard of this thread, my wife said that if skinny ties are wavering, it's only until the new season of mad men comes on. It's astonishing how much that show influences men's fashion.

Good point.

Originally Posted by WhateverYouLike

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Squared knit ties are not meant for the workplace.

Now he tells me. Two days in a row:

Originally Posted by landshark

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I'd bet the only reason the people in "professional settings" wear 3.5"- 4" ties is because they don't know any better.

So true:

Originally Posted by Professor Chaos

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hah too funny! As soon as she heard of this thread, my wife said that if skinny ties are wavering, it's only until the new season of mad men comes on. It's astonishing how much that show influences men's fashion.

So, if next season all the MM characters are sporting mod Carnaby Street togs, this will sweep the nation? We can only hope that Joanie decides to burn her bras in favor of halter tops and peasant blouses. Oh, and they could do a spin-off: "Mod Men".

Guess I'm in the minority, but I think unless I were high enough up in the food chain or in a field where it didn't matter, I would never wear a knit tie or seersucker to work. It's entirely too casual, IMO. Along the lines of wearing red pants or spectators. Sure looks great, but out of place in a professional setting.

Originally Posted by WhateverYouLike

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Guess I'm in the minority, but I think unless I were high enough up in the food chain or in a field where it didn't matter, I would never wear a knit tie or seersucker to work. It's entirely too casual, IMO. Along the lines of wearing red pants or spectators. Sure looks great, but out of place in a professional setting.

No, you are absolutely correct, given your caveats.


- B

I own red pants and specs and would never wear either to work but I have no problem with a knit tie or seersucker in summer. Especially in DC, it is not considerd out of the ordinary.

I wore a squared knit tie for a meeting with an advertising agency recently and thought that fit well. for a meeting with banks I would not risk it... about slim ties, no one in my work environment actually wears them, wide(r) ties are still considered to be the stylish choice.

Originally Posted by Manton

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I own red pants and specs and would never wear either to work but I have no problem with a knit tie or seersucker in summer. Especially in DC, it is not considerd out of the ordinary.

Yes, this may be a regional thing. Seersucker is common around the courthouse in Baltimore in the summer.

It is not often said here because it should go without saying, but the intersection of how you dress and your professional self interest should be moderated by (1) common sense and (2) situational awareness.

The general casualization of modern dress"”which has been on ongoing phenomenon but also one that is today asymptotically approaching its physical limits"”does not in any way lessen the force of conformity.

If you fight that force of conformity in profesional dress from a position of weakness or eccentricity, you should anticipate the consequences and also should think out what you hope to get out of that.

Wearing a suit is already non-comformist in many substantive contemporary work environments. The mere fact that expanding legions of men dress like slobs does not mean there has been a liberation of variety or that the scope of aesthetic sophistication and tolerance has widened: those slobs will expect you to dress like they do.

There has been a bit of post-Modernistic ( ) splintering of tastes that allow for some co-existence of different modes of dress in a way impossible in the past. Don't overestimate this, though, if what puts dinner on your plate is the approval and comfort of others.

- B

Originally Posted by KObalto

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Yes, this may be a regional thing. Seersucker is common around the courthouse in Baltimore in the summer.

I think I am the only person in SoCal who owns a seersucker tie.

Originally Posted by deveandepot1

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I think I am the only person in SoCal who owns a seersucker tie.

That would be perfect with a silk knit suit. Think the reverse of this:



Actually, a seersucker tie could work well with a boldly striped (vertically striped, that is) suit.

Originally Posted by voxsartoria

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Wearing a suit is already non-comformist in many substantive contemporary work environments.

quoted for truth. disturbing, disturbing truth.

Originally Posted by oldog/oldtrix

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That would be perfect with a silk knit suit. Think the reverse of this:



Actually, a seersucker tie could work well with a boldly striped (vertically striped, that is) suit.

Think i would prefer a linen tie. Isnt it uncomfortable to wear a knit in the summer?

Originally Posted by Manton

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... I have no problem with a knit tie or seersucker in summer. Especially in DC, it is not considerd out of the ordinary.
In our almost perennial summery weather anything other than your traditional wool (or worse, thick poly) suit is out of the ordinary. It is horrible having to walk 2 blocks to court after parking, sweating like a pig, entering the building and then freezing the hell out because the A/C is at full blast. I wish people here wouldn't have abandoned the cotton and linen suits. (Although I belive this is more a matter of availability.)