Tie a Day, Number 68

Tuesday was Mardi Gras day at school and everyone was allowed to wear jeans along with a festive party shirt as long as we paid $2 to support our Gator Aid Project (funds used to help our school’s kids). So I threw on my handmade Jamaican beach shirt and a strand of silver beads, and I was good to go!

Today’s tie has been passed over many times. It has been hanging on the tie rack that my oldest son made me for Father’s day a few years ago, and I have looked at it almost every day. I have been afraid to wear it because it just didn’t look like me, but at the same time I kept coming back to it. Holding it up the cream colored shirt that I like, it passed the match test.

It could be that it is the horizontal stripes that bother me. I think this tie stands out as the only tie I own that has horizontal lines. I asked my wife, “Does this tie make my butt look big?” Passing the butt test, I decided I would give it a shot.

Anyway, after putting it on, I changed my mind; maybe this tie was me. I was reminded that experience is the true test. Try it, live it, then make up your mind.

Side note- I have often wondered how it came to be that ties have become a mandatory element of modern menswear. The only thing stopping me from finding out was the time needed to type it into Google. According to my Google research, under the topic, history of men's neckwear, various sources place the blame for today’s ties squarely on the shoulders of a successful Croatian mercenary regiment and the French King, Louis the XIV, who it seems had an eye for fashion.

Maybe I should be thankful for ties, even though in a fashion sense I am still way behind the current style. The one thing that ties do allow me to do is to wear more colors than just the handful that I had chosen as safe. The variety is good for me.