Ties do not usually reflect the forefront of style. In fact, they are linked to a formal sensibility that allows them only to be worn with a suit jacket, to an interview, or a handful of other times per year. They're associated with the anxiety of formal events, made worse by the presence of a rope-like object located suffocatingly close to the neck.
It's no wonder the tie seems to be shrinking in societal significance. Ties are decreasingly used in the workplace while the era of business-casual is in. Even in the Career Planning Center's handout on interview and workplace fashion standards, the tie only appears under the "Conservative Formal" column. The remainder of the columns encourage other aspects of formal dress?no jeans, minimal jewelry, suit jacket, overcoat?but next to the button-up shirt, it specifies "open collar," leaving the tie a casualty of modern casualness.
When I was a kid, I remember watching an episode of "Rugrats" on Nickelodeon that explained why grown-ups wear ties. Tommy, the infant main character for those who don't remember, says that adults use ties to attach their heads to their necks; without ties, grown-ups' heads would simply roll away. He and his rugrat friends spend the rest of the episode trying to prove or disprove this theory?a child's contemplation of the significance of ties. Although I knew full well as a child that ties don't serve to keep heads attached to bodies, I was sure that ties were important. The significance of the tie was something I became convinced of, when I observed that my father went to work every day sporting an important tie for his important job.
Though it faces extinction in the workplace, the tie can still be as important in modern dress as it has in the past. The tie needs to redefine its role in style. It needs to stake a claim in other realms of dress, and must do so for both males and females.
Formal ties are traditionally found in more muted colors and patterns that blend into the greater whole, but ties can be used as a mode of expression as well. What do a plain white collared shirt and slacks say as far as expression? Not much. Add a multi-colored, candy-striped tie? That stands out and says something. What do brightly colored pants with a paisley shirt say about a person? This combination probably indicates a loud personality, while a calm, muted tie can help to balance an outfit and ground both the ensemble and its wearer.
Even slight deviation from the accepted use of ties can change the formal message entirely. Case in point: Early in the careers of Avril Lavigne and Britney Spears, both sported traditional schoolgirl outfits, but by loosening the tie and opening the collar, they conveyed an entirely different attitude (not that I'm advocating dressing like Avril Lavigne or Britney Spears).
The tie is not limited to its traditional purpose as an accessory to be wrapped around someone's neck. For women, the silk ribbon belt has been a popular trend. A few years ago, the idea became profitable enough for two Bowdoin students to produce these ribbon belts in their dorm rooms and sell them in Smith Union. Really though, what more is a ribbon belt than a tie worn around the waist? Don't worry about the knot: Tie it in a bow, a square knot, or whatever gets you the look you want to achieve. What does the tie, the pattern on the tie, and the knot say about your style and how you do things? That's for you to decide.
There's not been a better time to get into wearing a tie. You can usually find ties at department or chain stores like J.Crew, Banana Republic, and Express, and because they are declining in popularity, ties with hugely different varieties of patterns, colors, and materials are also appearing in Goodwill, Salvation Army, and secondhand stores. Even better, all these ties are available on the cheap. You don't have to be as fearful about buying that crazy pattern that you may only wear three times in your lifetime. My "Peanuts" tie reflects as much about me as my pink paisley tie does.
So for this week I propose this: Try to wear a tie once a week. In the interest of pandering to the fine tradition of alliteration, let's make it Tie Tuesday.