Is The Tie Dead?

Maybe not. But it is no longer de facto office wear and is slowly being reduced to something to be worn only on special occasions

- SMITA TRIPATHI

I love people-watching on visits to foreign shores, whether it is the morning rush hour commute on the subway, or the hordes of people who stop to grab a sandwich at lunch hour—just regular people going about their business without bothering with some tourists gaping at them. But gape I do, and I see everything from high heels to sneakers, from fitted skirts to pantsuits, from suits to jackets to hoodies. But what I don’t see enough of anymore are ties.

It’s the same story in corporate India. The tie, that essential bit of clothing for corporate dressing that could take a backseat only on Fridays, when it was considered fine to be casually dressed, is no longer considered a must.

“I have around 50 ties. Some exceptional ones are from brands like Versace and Paul Smith and others are unique and quirky. They all have two things in common—they are beautiful and useless,” says Delhi-based banker Aman Khanna. He has been working in the banking industry for over two decades and laments the time when dressing up for work definitely meant adorning one of his precious ties. “Banking has been a conservative industry as far as dressing is concerned, but even that is now changing, with the tie no longer considered compulsory.”