Had a 7:00 Rotary meeting to be followed by a WFH day. Let me get the OOTD out of the way. MTM Black and White Houndstooth, Hanna Donnegal Tweed black w white flecks, black cotton long sleeve polo shirt over a grey Glen plaid shirt, yellow/gold Robert Talbot tie, Levi’s button front black 501 jeans, Pendleton Socks, Salomon black trail runners, Seiko Model 5 automatic. The Tie- I and a few others in this community come from an era where the outfit I have on today would be extremely casual for a workday. On any given weekday every middle to higher end restaurant at breakfast, lunch and dinner would be full of guys wearing a tie. In my college days in the early 1980’s it wouldn’t be terribly unusual for guys to don a tie to go out on a weekend on a date or with a group of guys if they were headed to a nice series of bars. In Richmond, Va where I spent the majority of my 20s and 30’s from about Thanksgiving through the end of the year most dinner parties through the end of the year - guys wore ties to each other’s house. The Tie especially a tasteful classic is the one garment that can “tie” together the entire ensemble. That’s what today’s OOTD is trying to portray. In trying to find a way to upgrade my black w black polo and jeans combo- I grabbed the glenplaid shirt and a yellow with black pretty formal styled tie. This allowed me to upgrade with the sportcoat ( except for the hat - the last item chose). I could blather on about the sad loss of ties in menswear and how the degradation of men’s classic style has coincided with it but I would rather stay on the positive side. Why not learn the art of adding a necktie to complete an ensemble. It’s as much a feature of completing a color combination as it is about formality. The bland department store monotone outfits of the past 10-15 years has A ) guys all look like a GAP ad and B) afraid to add colors and accents that finish an outfit. I challenge any guy who rarely wears a tie to take their significant other out, even if to an Applebees quality restaurant and tell her that your wearing a tie (enough time in advance- gals get funny about being out dressed). Or do like @Alan Dormire and @Chad Smith and I, wear a tie on a wfh day. At first you might feel very weird. But think of it like that first day at the gym, or singing in public, or casting a fly rod, or using a new driver.

A little behind on this post because the editing process was an issue. But this was the end of year party. out with the old in with the new activity trying to get the younger crowd to see the value of dressing better