What happened to the neck tie?   ‘Used to be you weren’t presentable without a colorful silk noose around your neck.   In fact, no self-respecting gangster would burst out of the car without a 4-inch-wide paisley draped down his front. Paisley is of course the recommended pattern for splatter work.

Now, even the coppers don’t wear ties.  Where’s the professionalism?  Where’s the esprit de corps?

You and I both know that “business casual” killed the tie.    Nowadays only the sportscaster, the news anchor, and the late night TV host wears a tie.

Meanwhile, the wheels of commerce grind on, driven by nice guys in Lands End chambray, dreaming they live in Los Angeles, moments from a beach.

The irony is,  business casual is anything but.    Get it exactly right or you crash and burn.  To wit: on Superbowl Sunday, President Obama “sits down” with Fox’s Bill O’Reilly for a chat.   The two Irish face each other, wincing at the other’s attire.

The prez wears an open collar and open suit jacket.   O’Reilly dons tie and buttoned suit.   Somebody didn’t get the memo.   The White House phone board lights up like Pizzahut.

And who decides on the code of the day?   We recently watched a painful luncheon meeting where three sales types, bound up like mummies in serge, entertained their open-collared, polo-shirted client.    The suits picked up the lunch check while tieless splashed through his baby back ribs, napkin tucked into his shirt.

And do you really think it makes business move faster?  Last year’s economic summit maybe answers that question for you.   Tell me these guys are comfortable in their biz-cazh skins.

The only winner in this crowd is Angela Merkel.    She can wear jewelry.   Though Putin would be buffed with a gold chain around his neck.

The inevitable is coming fast.   “No ties” was the gateway for the next business necessity: no shave.

Before long, we can expect a whole generation of scruffy-faced gents running the country, teaching our kids, driving ice cream trucks and delivering babies.   All the while we will continue to count on the sports casters, news anchors and late night hosts to remind us where we came from.

Because you know, the two-day shave will be replaced.

 

 Thanks for taking a moment for my rant.   I was born with a tie, but I am slowly forgetting how to put it on.   If you enjoyed this, or just have a person in mind to read this, please share it, or like it, below!   Thanks!