

Opposition to and problems with neckties - amichail
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Necktie#Opposition_to_and_problems_with_neckties

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eguanlao
I wear neckties whenever the mood strikes me, and I'm a Java developer. I was
well into clothing before I became a programmer. I like neckties for aesthetic
reasons, and the same goes for suits and sport jackets. Yes, I've been
harassed for this, but I just ignore the snide remarks. If you're a developer
who has always been into elegance and grooming, then check out these blogs:
<http://englishcut.com/> and <http://asuitablewardrobe.dynend.com/>.

~~~
minus
English cut is fantastic, I'd love a suit from Thomas. The London Lounge is
also good for information and discussions: <http://thelondonlounge.net/>

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brlewis
I wonder if Bill Cattey (my first boss at MIT) still has his debugging tie.
The idea was that software bugs hide when programmers are near, but you use
the tie to fool them into thinking someone important is using the software.
Then they come out.

Here's bill when he's not debugging:
[http://ourdoings.com/brlewis/photo.html?th=9f/6t/g5hn.jpg...](http://ourdoings.com/brlewis/photo.html?th=9f/6t/g5hn.jpg&d=2008-11-20#p)

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seldo
Neckties have always struck me as anachronistic, even sexist. What item of
women's clothing has been around for 100 years and is still regularly worn
without modification? Especially one that serves no functional purpose? Why
are men still expected to wear fashion designed literally centuries ago?

I feel the same applies to suits, but people who (unlike me) actually wear
suits assure me the designs change frequently in ways that are apparently non-
obvious. All I know is those guys on 50s newsreels appear to be wearing the
same thing the guys downtown are wearing today, and that's not true of
basically any other popular item of clothing I can think of (hats? maybe?).

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dminor
>Neckties have always struck me as anachronistic, even sexist. What item of
women's clothing has been around for 100 years and is still regularly worn
without modification? Especially one that serves no functional purpose?

High heels strike me as much worse than ties.

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jimfl
If a necktie did for my head (or pects) what heels do for the calves, I'd
occasionally wear one.

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menloparkbum
I've never worn a tie to work, nor worked anywhere with any sort of dress
code. Living in northern california, the whole concept seems a bit foreign to
me. Bankers and doctors don't even wear ties. If you're wearing a suit and tie
you're probably a used car salesman or 2nd rate real estate broker.

However, I've worn suits and ties to things like new year's eve parties and
art gallery openings and I felt like it helped me pick up women, if only
because I looked different than the hordes of shaggy guys with their ill-
fitting hipster gear. Note to dudes: if you weigh more than 150 lbs you don't
look good in a tight t-shirt and skinny pants.

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bravura
Note to dudes: If you weigh less than 150 lbs and are not short, you probably
have no idea what your pant waist size is. Most of you think it's 32 inches.
That's wrong, and your pants look baggy.

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jonny_noog
I have needed to wear neckties and suits with varying regularity across
various jobs that I have had (I've been a web developer of some kind for most
of my professional career).

What gets me the most about suits and neckties is that even in countries such
as mine, where the weather gets very warm for a large portion of the year,
many people are still expected to wear neckties and suits year round. It
reminds me of a saying that my mother (who grew up in the Philipines) is quite
fond of, that I gather is paraphrased from an old song: "Only mad dogs and
Englishmen go out in the midday sun". What she meant to convey when she used
this saying was to comment on the propensity of western cultures to continue
the use of their own cultural norms, behaviours and clothing styles even when
the environment in the places they colonised and began living in made no sense
for them to do so.

I also see footage of "salary men" in Japan walking to work in their suits and
ties for example, and I think it's kind of sad that most everyone seems to
have conformed to the western suit and tie style regardless of whether it
makes sense to do so for their country's climate or cultural heritage.

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JimmyL
For those of you (us?) that wear ties, what knot do you use?

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eguanlao
For suits, I wear shirts with a variety of spread collars to match the
formality of the suit. (Yes, suits vary in formality depending on colour,
pattern, weave, and fineness of the fabric.) And with those shirts, I like the
Windsor and the half-Windsor knots.

For sport jackets and button-down collared shirts, I tie the less formal four-
in-hand. I have used the half-Windsor with Oxford-cloth button-downs (OCBDs)
too.

I have also used the Pratt knott for OCBDs if the tie is too long for me. (I'm
only 5'5" tall.)

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tnaleid
Neckties always struck me as phallic symbols. A long article of clothing worn
only by men that starts at the base of the head and points at the crotch.

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bravura
Hence the tiebar, which intend purpose is to allow you to pop out your tie.
The further, the more phallic (and dandy).

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amichail
It's hard to see neckties as anything more than a way to discourage
independent thought and creativity.

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eguanlao
I don't see that at all. I don't see how a knotted piece of silk that
completes a certain sartorial ensemble; and that comes in a variety of
colours, patterns, and textures; discourages independent thought and
creativity... especially creativity. Maybe you're associating it with stuffy
"suits"...? It's like saying, "all Asians are good at math," "all white men
can't dance," and "all Italians are in the Mafia."

~~~
amichail
A necktie serves no practical purpose. And forcing people to wear one who
couldn't care less about fashion is simply a method of encouraging conformity
(e.g., to get employees to do as they are told without question).

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eguanlao
Actually, it does serve a practical purpose: to bring attention to one's face.
Unfortunately, you don't see/get that. And that's OK because not everyone gets
aesthetics, design, colour harmony, lines, etc. It's just like not everyone is
cut out for programming, or not everyone is naturally good at dancing.

Also, there's a difference between fashion and style. Fashion is what's
available; style is what you choose. The current fashion is t-shirt, jeans,
and sneakers. I'm not fashionable--I don't wear that ensemble. Starting very
young, I cultivated a different taste.

"...simply a method of encouraging conformity and respect for authority."
Hmmm... Man, you must really hate ties... so much that you can't see from
other perspectives. This kind of thinking reminds me of hatred towards other
races, people of a different sexual orientation, etc.

I'm all for freedom. "Freedom" is such a powerful word. Hey, you can/may wear
whatever you want. I'm going to go to work in suits, sport jackets, pressed
trousers, etc. I love the freedom of choice, and I hope others feel the same
way. Here's to freedom!

~~~
iron_ball
I wear sport coats with jeans, so eguanlao would probably fight me, but at
least I know the difference between a sport coat and a suit coat, so we'd be
boxing instead of using katanas. p.s. styleforum represent.

