You’re catching me at my desk on Sunday morning.
Hi there, dear readers. Here’s something completely different, and it has nothing to do with bikes.
A little bit of off-the-cuff commentary:
That was it. Let me know what, if anything, you think about the decline of the necktie. (hh)
For many generations, a tie was simply part of a “uniform” you were expected to wear. It served no useful purpose… I sure don’t miss it. :-)
My husband’s ties won 1st place in the annual Takena Elementary School’s Most Ugly Tie Contest” back in the day. I must have had great taste in selecting them, although my husband stopped wearing them. Coincidence?
I also miss the old ages when most men wore long hair, even wigs :-).
Men and women don’t wear hats anymore either like the old days.
I don’t know about everyone else, but you look great in a necktie.
But, first … I agree with David Sullivan that a tie suits you perfectly!
I wore bow ties (which I had learned to tie in the 60s) my whole working career as a computer systems person. All that ended in 2000 when I retired. Since then just at weddings and such. I think they are appropriate in an office environment and wish they were still in use. Bill
You look good with that tie! Perhaps you could share others occasionally, just for the fun of it. Thanks!
Thanks for the commentary, Hasso. That’s a good idea… to do commentary once in a while, that is. Things have changed and “change is the only constant.” If we had a President that wore short pants (like that Fetterman guy, who I don’t care for, by the way) and was as sloppy as heck, but smart and kind and decent, I would cheer and smile for the rest of my born days, as they used to say!
Along with the tie goes the clean daily shave. Both tell me that you respect your company on the web. As we descend into our future we will end up missing these expressions of courtesy.
Oh, I did chuckle when you said, “I can still tie one on.” You noticed that you said that, and you repeated it with humor in your voice. Of course you meant to say that you can still “tie a tie.” (I don’t know if young people of today know that “tie one on” refers to getting drunk.)
You call it a “relaxation of standards.”
Modern leftists call it cultural nostalgia – the intersection of fashion, power dynamics, and the perpetuation of racial hierarchies.
Read the 2023 article in Medium by Andre Clinton entitled, “Neckties and White Supremacy.”
Welcome to the big tent of the Democrat party. Only Mao coats allowed.
When I worked on Wall Street in the 2010s and 2020s, neckties were reserved for the c-suite and client-facing (sales) employees. They were signs of your place in the hierarchy (i.e., c-suite) or a show of respect for customers (the salespeople). Everyone else dressed appropriately for their business group, no ties necessary. I made the effort to wear a tie at least once a week (Tuesdays) just so I could feel dapper. Wearing a tie certainly set the mood and attitude for the day. Then the pandemic hit…
I work from home in Albany now. Recently I had to attend a work event with VIPs and dignitaries, which required wearing a tie for the first time since 2021. I was pleased to see I still knew how to tie it, but boy did it feel strange to wear it. Couldn’t wait to get it off at the end of the day. (I write this note on a morning break during work, wearing shorts and a t-shirt.)
Hasso, two quick things: I do still occasionally pull out a tie from the collection (most typically for church, a wedding or a funeral); you’re right, they’re not necessarily comfortable, though they are kind of fun in their own way. Second, when you said your name, the closed captioning thought your name was “Hugo Jacome.”
That’s one of the kinder versions that “live transcript” on my phone has called me.
Hasso, thanks for the Andy Rooney-style commentary. BTW, National Necktie Day is coming up on October 18. The website nationaltoday.com says neckties originated as a Croatian military scarf.