Nobody wears a novelty tie like Ragtrader computer whiz Cameron Biggart. He eases us into the new year with a few words on his enduring love.
Why is it that in order to be considered 'respectable' or to convey an air of trustworthiness a lot of men go through a daily ritual of tying a noose around their necks, tightening it and then proceeding to work through the day one sharp tug away from strangulation?
Neck ties became part of the standard uniform for office workers in the 1850's with some speculating that the fashion for longer ties was a way of showing off that you'd been promoted from the factory floor and didn't need to worry about becoming entangled in machinery any more.
There's no dispute however that the origin of the neck tie is the colourful scarves worn by Croatian mercenaries fighting for the French King Louis XIII which became known as wearing a scarf 'a la Croate' in the style of the Croatians.
The exiled King Charles II of England took the French Cravat style with him when he returned to England and they were high fashion in the early 1800's but seem to have died down in popularity until their resurgence as business attire.
Given that ties started out being a flamboyant expression of freedom and individuality, why is it that they are all now so very dull. I have made it my life's work to bring fun back into wearing a tie in the office and so I am delighted that the Christmas season gives carte blanche to everyone to be able to wear that great piece of neck fashion – the novelty tie.
But novelty ties featuring singing Santas with flashing red noses (possibly somebody confused Santa with Rudolph) aren't just for Christmas, there are any number of novelty ties featuring popular cartoon characters, clever visual jokes, TV & movie characters, witty phrases or just striking patterns available. So many in fact that you could wear a different one each day for several months and not double up.
My collection of novelty ties contains over 80 ties, some of which I admit that even I would find difficult to wear and this coming from a man who used to frequently wear a vinyl clip-on porpoise tie to work, which can cater for just about any mood from the happy computer mouse who gets the cheese to the glaring Wylie-e-Coyote on days when I'm not feeling sociable. There's a mood for each tie and a tie for most moods.
So go on, what's holding you back? Be brave and swap your plain navy tie for something with a little more character, stand out from the crowd and give the people around you a smile as they stare at your sartorial brilliance.