There’s life beyond the tie

I love wearing ties. I like to match the colour or pattern of it with another aspect of my ensemble. I have a navy and grey basket weave tie from E. Tautz that goes well with my navy basket weave tweed sports jacket and grey flannel trousers from the great Terry Haste. Or my navy and red regimental tie by Ralph Lauren with my navy pinstripe suit (again by Terry Haste) and red socks. I am one of those sensible sorts that doesn’t like to wear a shirt and jacket without a tie. I think just like going on a well-meaning protest or voting, there is something life-affirming about the perfect dimple created just beneath the knot of the tie. What with our much decommissioned, out of office lives these days, is its perceived stuffiness heading the way of the spat?

It may be described by some as a colonial noose, but truthfully it’s much more than that, it is a cultural and social signifier that the person or place you are interacting with is taken seriously.