Saturday, May 05, 2007
The Great Tie and Short Sleeved Shirt Debate
Moving on from the great man hat debate, I am told by one who knows that wearing a tie with a short sleeved shirt makes a man look like a psycho. Discuss.
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A blog about, among other things, imaginary ideas - What ifs? and Imagine thats. What if photographs looked nothing like what we see with our eyes? Imagine that the Berlin Wall had never come down. What if we were the punchline of an interminable joke? All contributions welcome.
We were only talking about this the other day while walking the dogs. There is something very 'not right' about a man in a short sleeve shirt and tie. It always reminds me of when I worked in the airline business - it was very de rigueur. Not only did they have short sleeves they often had epaulets too. For some strange reason people who still carry hard rigid briefcases are the most likely to be wearing a short sleever and a tie.
ReplyDeleteExactly, Richard, an entire, unsavoury life seems to be captured by this terrible combination.
ReplyDeleteThis type of pronouncement is as meaningless as those from fashion gurus: asymmetric skirts are "in" this season. Why? Because! (I have no idea if this is in fact true.) I personally think short sleeved shirts and ties look quite attractive, but what do I know?
ReplyDelete(I also don't know if this comment is being posted twice.)
It's that odd admix of the formal and informal, sort of undecided. Santa ties, have the same problem.
ReplyDeleteIt does make a guy look like a psycho, I think - if you're in SW1. In downtown Caracas or Manila, you're just one of the crowd. To the rigid briefcase over here I would add hair oil and perhaps the outline of a contraceptive in a back pocket. OTOH, as Ilana hints, this is likely one of those meaningless statements like "never trust a man who wears red socks". Are first impressions BS or deadly accurate? Discuss.
ReplyDeleteFor evidence, Bryan, look no further than the chap in your earlier post.
ReplyDeleteNot a psycho, Bryan. Just a saddo.
ReplyDeleteBrilliant, Johnny.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a great fan of the tie one way or the other. It has always struck me as being an utterly superfluous appendage. It's very formal. Whereas, the short sleeved shirt is rather informal. I suppose the golden rule is: never mix formal attire with informal attire. It just doesn't work. Wouldn't go so far as to say it points to psychosis if this rule is broken, but more likely a straightforward absence of an aesthetic sensibility. Or, at a stretch, to a significant trauma in early childhood, leading to a form of psychosexual infantilism (you'll find the behaviour is often accompanied by an overweening manner and the inability to laugh out loud in the presence of women).
ReplyDeleteJohnny hit upon exactly what I was picturing: Michael Douglas losing it in "Falling Down."
ReplyDeleteIn America, that look is associated with working-class or lower-middle class guys in a position of authority. The manager of a Wal-Mart, say, or a grocery store.
However, I grew up in Florida where it was unbearably hot in the summer, yet execs still had to dress for work. Short-sleeve shirts were obviously more comfortable, but not fashionable. In Miami, Cubans had the answer: Guayaberas. Cool, short sleeve, open-necked shirts without a tie. Worn with linen pants. Nice look, not overly hot.
Anyone heard from Gordon lately? Did his black hole experiment go well?
ReplyDeleteI think Gordon is in a snit because Bryan is not an atheist. Whaddya think, Neil?
ReplyDeleteCheek! I'm afraid I don't have internet access on week-days at the moment, so my own blog, as well as Bryan's, have gone for a burton. Temporarily, I hope.
ReplyDeleteWhat about Homer Simpson??
ReplyDeleteThe exception that proves the rule
ReplyDeleteWith sandals? (with or without socks)
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure Byran isn't an atheist, Susan. He just hasn't come out yet. There is something fishy about his preoccupation with Dawkins and others who flaunt it. If you ask me, Bryan is a closet atheist. And he hates himself for it. His attacks on others who are more comfortable in their skins is mere catharsis.
ReplyDeleteJaysus, Gordon, the thought did cross my mind that you had been injured in a freak pencil-sharpening mishap.
i don't know much, but i do know that wearing a tie is tactically unsound for hand-to-hand combat. You can so easily be throttled by your own tie. You don't see cage fighters going to it wearing ties, do you? Aye, and there's a reason for that.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, i suppose you could use a tie as a tourniquet, but i doubt that would be much consolation as some chav's throttling you with it.
Kindly note that Michael Mann's various killers always wear grey suits with white shirts OPEN AT THE COLLAR! No tie! True, 'Collateral' begins with Vincent (Tom Cruise) arriving at LAX in suit & tie, but his FIRST ACT after killing a man is to rip his tie off and undo the top shirt button - thus establishing that, yes, this is a Michael Mann film.
It sure does. It might even make him look like Keyser Soze.
ReplyDeleteHave you ever realized that when you buy readymade suits you get a choice of only a few colors & styles, also finding the perfect fit are quite difficult? Wouldn’t it be better to choose from over 2000 different British & Italian fabrics and get a tailor made suit at a similar price that you pay for readymade suits?
ReplyDeleteWe are a company based in Hong Kong and have been providing custom made suits & shirts since 1997. With representatives in major cities around the globe we can arrange to show you the fabric samples and take your measurements, or you can also place your orders online with the help of our measuring guide. There are over 2000 fabrics to choose from along with all the latest styles.
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Kenny Surtani