One thing clearly lead to another and soon neckties were a standard part of men’s business wear. Of course at the time of these ads, pretty much every man wore a tie to work. It wasn’t until much later that we started having casual Fridays, then casual every days, and finally “every day is sloppy dress day.”
These days, Wall Street types still tend to wear ties, and they’re still preferred on cruise ships for formal night, though many passengers ignore this. Very few restaurants require jacket and tie anymore, thanks to some of the mega-rich eschewing them in favor of blue jeans and black turtlenecks.
But we do still expect to see a nice tie on our president, and on our presidential candidates. (However, this election season I see a lot of rolled up shirtsleeves and tie-less moments, perhaps meant to endear the candidates to the working class somehow.)
As I write this, I’m not sure if the first debate will take place, thanks to that maverick John McCain and his fighter-pilot spontaneity. I hope it does, and I’m sure that both candidates will be dressed to the hilt. And while I don’t suggest anyone say “thanks but no thanks” to a candidate based on the color or style of necktie, at least it’s something we can evaluate on our own, without any spin.
This article was last modified on May 18, 2023
This article was first published on September 26, 2008
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