PALE... erm... it's a tie, not the end of civilisation. They're a pain in the neck, quite literally, and don't actually serve a function. It won't lead to doing away with shirts - shirts cover our bodies or keep us warm. It won't lead to shoes or pants or any other item of clothing, as ties are completely and utterly superfluous. You can say they look good, but that's all they do, and not everyone likes how they look.

And try as I might, I can't help but treat the idea that getting rid of ties will damn western civilisation with more than a few grains of salt... sorry, it's just not that big a deal. I've more than a dozen ties, but I'd quite gladly ditch them all if the situation didn't sometimes demand them.

Though I don't agree with all of the hygiene argument... perhaps in the medical profession.
For the simple fact that we're exposed to germs frequently. You can't quarantine yourself. If you're exposed to germs, you build up a resistance.

I'm not saying go out and seek out germs, but once you get on the road of getting all worked up about possible germ contamination, you're on a road to obsessive compulsion. I look at it from a practical level - unless the germs do actually make me sick, I'm not worried - and while I'm sure plenty of people come into contact with germs from ties, the same can be said of keyboards, phones etc...
I have the same beef against the more expensive cleaning fluids which claim to kill more germs, when I'm quite satisfied with the ones that clean my bench... at the end of the day, it's not going to make my life any different if I use a standard cleaner instead.

Besides, it's rather ironic in that those people who wipe their benches frequently are more likely to spread germs. Ha, now there's a laugh. Plus, the people who have obsessively neat (read, obsessively neat, not normal or tidy) households tend to raise kids with little resistance to illness.

roaring here...grin....

ah dear

well socks are to stop smelly shoes
shoes are to stop glass
pants are to stop ants
tops are to um eh keep warm...grin
or not get sunburnt

ties just sit there and annoyingly chafe
like bras GRIN

its about design, and what people will suffer

more later I think

JHH

hi all,
"The history of neckties dates back a mere hundred years or so, for they came into existence as the direct result of a war. In 1660, in celebration of its hard-fought victory over Turkey, a crack regiment from Croatia (then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire) visited Paris. There, the soldiers were presented as glorious heros to Louis XIV, a monarch well known for his eye toward personal adornment. It so happened that the officers of this regiment were wearing brightly colored handkerchiefs fashioned of silk around their necks. These neck cloths, which probably descended from the Roman fascalia worn by orators to warm the vocal chords, struck the fancy of the king, and he soon made them an insignia of royalty as he created a regiment of Royal Cravattes. The word "cravat," incidentally, is derived from the word "Croat."
www.mycustomtailor.com

see they are only a new invention ?

I have a marvellous photograph of the late Duke of Argyle, Mac Caillean Mhor, in kilted finery at Fairfield Showground (Sydney) in 1988.
As our party progressed around the grounds the Duke was addressed by a young man, slightly 'the worse for the drink'
"Hey" he says "are you a Campbell?"
"Yes" says the Duke.
"So'm I" says the lad and pointing to his makeshift trouser belt " see, I'm wearin' me Campbell tie".

Mac Caillean Mhor took it in good part.

JHH
Well at least I found someone with a sense of humour at last.
I must say turnrightleft your post was the best I have seen- despite the dig at pale.
I guess I am just Pro old school.
I really think big things start from little things.
I like our history.
Anyway I hope you make a million bucks with a shoes shine anti germ steam tie stand.
People these days would be crazy enough to flock their if this thread is anything to go by.
I might post a few jokes for you from time to time I think you will enjoy JHH.
Artist ah. Tell me do you think you could draw Amada in a cage for us.?
Hard task I am sure.
Happy days.
goodnight - Dont let the beg bugs bite.

Aaaah Celivia, we meet again. (My girlfriend is getting suspicious).

That was very considerate of you to suggest that Col Rouge clean his ties regularly, however, there is another hazard to the wearing of the tie.........

Men with fat necks and tight ties are risking going blind and not because they lack sufficient love in their lives either.

It's true.

"Researchers today deal a fresh blow to jacket and tie culture - by exposing the potential health hazard from the knots round men's necks.

Tests by eye specialists in New York suggest those who think a tighter tie might make them look smarter could be increasing their risk of glaucoma, a condition which, untreated, can lead to loss of sight.

Men with thick necks AND white-collar professionals might also be in greater danger of damaging their vision, according to a study published in the British Journal of Ophthalmology........"

http://www.guardian.co.uk/life/news/story/0,12976,1008125,00.html

As I stated previously, I'm not much a tie wearer myself. I can impress without dressing up like a right ponce. But I do admire some novelty ties - just as long as the wearer has sufficient humour and grace to successfully wear such accessories.

I suspect that corporates lack these human traits.Starchy white collar professionals don't exactly fit the image as warm and humourous and, indeed, those tightly knotted toffs as the ones most in danger of developing glaucoma.

Maybe that's just natural selection at work. Eventually the human race will rid itself of self-interested males in favour of the more altruistic types.

Who said that ties served no purpose?

;-)