Are Ties a Thing of the Past? Happy National Tie Month!

THE corporate necktie could join corsets, top hats and coattails as a thing of the past with the workplace moving to more casual dressing, according to a recent poll.
The rise of “creative industries” is driving the trend, the telegraph.co.uk reported, with almost three-quarters surveyed saying ties would become obsolete within 20 years.

Just under a quarter of those surveyed by DealJungle.com -a UK deals site for small business - even put the tie’s demise in under a decade. 

''The success of businesses such as Facebook and Google, where even the CEO turns up wearing jeans and a hoodie, also seems to have had a corrosive effect on the idea of dressing formally for work,” a DealJungle spokesman said.

In Australia the view was divided, with professional style consultant Ondina Gregoric saying while fashion was changing there would always be an element of a corporate look to business.

“Even if you have a look at Apple, Steve Jobs had his look,” Ms Gregoric said. “It was corporate but he didn’t wear a tie. But he wasn’t a slob either.”

She said industries weighted to finance and the law - where clients were seeking serious professional advice - would stay clean cut.

“Imagine seeing your financial advisor in his track gear,” she said.

Professional image consultant Chris Rewell said she expected a tie would eventually become a novelty for most of the workforce - similar to the bowtie now.

“I imagine there will be creative or other individuals [in the future] who will wear neckties to differentiate themselves and be a bit unique,” Ms Rewell said.

And image consultant Julie Hyne said the more relaxed attitudes of industries like marketing, advertising and fashion would likely spill into other sectors.

Ms Hyne said places like banking could adopt a more casual dress code to help create trust and build rapport with “mum and dad” customers.

“They need to be able to fit in with the general demographic of who they’re dealing with on a day-to-day basis, and that may cause [banks] to adapt uniforms for that situation,” she said.