Skinny Ties for Skinny Guys: Is the Necktie Coming Back?

My husband thinks he is cool. He is a good man and a good provider. We have been married forever and get along quite nicely except for one thing...I hate the way he dresses.

I have given up trying to change him, and I try to look the other way, but every so often I cannot in good conscience allow him to leave the house "looking like that." I want to stick a post-it sign on his back saying "wife not responsible for this outfit."

He is a school teacher, and contrary to what some of you believe about public school teachers, he does not want to corrupt and ruin your children. He teaches them advanced engineering and technology so they can get into a good college someday. He is a decent, respected, dedicated educator, as are most teachers in his school.

The dress code for teachers is very informal since most can't afford clothes anyway. The school also gives the teachers a few nice Izod type shirts with the school logo to supplement their wardrobe.

My husband has a few basic outfits, but in mixing, matching and accessorizing them, he gets into trouble.

I am talking about dress pants and a Boston Red Sox T-shirt, dress pants and white socks, dress pants and no socks. You get the idea.

We had 3 sons in our early 20's, and were working and raising babies in the 60's and 70's, so my husband missed out on all the hippie fashion fun. He does consider himself a "Dead Head" however.

About 10 years ago during a midlife crisis, he had his ear pierced. He wears an assortment of black and white ying-yang earrings much to the horror of our two fashionista sons, Calvin and Ralph. Our other son, Larry, the Cable Guy could care less.

But now, there is a serious new problem surfacing in his wardrobe; neckties. He has discovered his old neckties in the back of his closet, and I am concerned. He wants to wear them to parent conferences, open houses, field trips, and heaven help us, summer job interviews.

Ordinary old neckties are bad enough, but his ties are no ordinary ties. I am talking about Homer Simpson ties, Hello Kitty ties, Superman ties, Save the Children ties, and his beloved Jerry Garcia ties. He also has a white tie he wears Godfather style with a long sleeved black silk shirt.

In case you are too young to remember Jerry Garcia, he was the star of the Grateful Dead fusion rock band, very popular in the 1970's and 80's. He died from drug abuse in 1995. Jerry was also a talented visual artist. From his colorful compositions, fabric was designed and the Garcia family launched the necktie business.

Last week I caught my husband going out to a science fair, wearing a Save the Children necktie from 1988. I tried to discourage him, but it was too late. How can I argue about a tie, whose proceeds went to save the children?

Instead I decided to do some research about men's neckties today in the year 2011. Perhaps necktie fashion advice coming from a 3^rd party can sharpen his necktie fashion sense. I might then be able to relax a bit, and maybe then, he will say goodbye to the ties.

Here is what I learned: For years work casual has been the norm in most workplaces. Neckties have become a thing of the past. First it was the high tech work-sites, and now even the corporate world avoids ties to establish a more friendly tone. Some companies say neckties are like a noose that limits productivity.

Nowadays, if a man is wearing a tie, he is probably selling something or going to a job interview. He could be a lawyer, a funeral home employee, a TV anchor man or Donald Trump. At some job sites neckties are as out of place as yesterday's cell phones, especially old theme style neck ties like my hubby has.

Yesterday's neckties can make the wearer look old, uncool, and dated. But one new style necktie is "rockin hot" right now. It's called the Skinny tie.

If you watched the Grammy Awards the other night, many of the musicians were wearing nice conservative suits, shirts and skinny ties; Skinny ties like the one cutie-pie, Justin Timberlake wears, and they all looked fabulous.

In the 1950's and early 60's Frank Sinatra's Rat Pack and the Beatles made skinny ties popular and now the style is back.

The result is an updated look that adds personality and youth to boring business attire. Depending on the width of your skinny tie you can look fashionable or even a bit edgy.

However there is one problem. Skinny ties look best on skinny guys .If you have a big bulky figure, do not wear a skinny tie. It will make you look fat. But if you think you are edgy and chic, and have what it takes, go for it.

Can my husband wear a skinny tie? No way. He is not a skinny guy and as yet hasn't even noticed the style. Hopefully, one of these days he will come to his senses, and maybe sell all his ties on eBay. If he does, I promise I will buy him a tie dye shirt.

Sources:

Personal experience

http://skinnyties.org/

St.Pete Times