An Exploration Of Ties: An Outsider’s Viewpoint
On November 11, 2009 in Fashion
To someone visiting from a place far from Western culture (say, some African tribesman that has never met any westerners) quite a few articles of our modern clothing would appear weird. This is understandable; quite a few articles of the pieces of clothing that are worn in our society are in fact unnecessary from a functional perspective: what would the tribesman make of high heel boots? or cosmetic clothing? But surely the piece of clothing they would find the weirdest is the tie.
And what is the tie? A tie is a piece of cloth that is tied in a weird manner around one’s neck. It is not worn for warmth. It is not worn for any useful reason. Then why would anyone wear it? Good question.
I can imagine the poor tribesman looking at his western counterpart who is wearing a business attire and just wondering: “how do I tie a tie?” “Is tying a tie of any value?” “Why would someone want to wear a thing like that?” and ending up with no answers. And to be completely honest, all these questions are perfectly legitimate! The value of a tie is entirely decorative, and the fact it is deemed a major part of a man’s business attire stems purely from historical reasons.
Conversely, to us novelty ties may seem like an odd piece of clothing. After all, they cannot be used in any business occasion (which is where ties are usually worn), so why sell ties that feature cartoons or flashing lights? But to the tribesman surely it would look as inexplicable as an ordinary tie. In fact, he is far more likely to find certain novelty ties practical - for example, those with the flashing lights - can serve a practical function as they provide lighting.
Oh, what a complex planet we live in.