As I came out of the bank today, a young professional guy came out of a side door. He wore an expensive and trendy young-man suit (not your old-man banker type suit). I stood and stared for a few moments at his tie. He was wearing a skinny tie! Hallelujah! I shouted (on the inside).He could be a harbinger, like the first robin of Spring. Narrow ties may be coming back into fashion. This is actually one of those good-news / bad-news deals. I recall some fashion pundit saying, many years ago, that the widths of ties tends to match the state of the economy. In lush times, bull markets, neckties tend to be wide. It's like they are an expression of the big-spending attitude of a boom. In downturns, bear markets, recessions, whatever, ties tend to be narrower. Maybe they show moderation or restraint. (Though it's not like they cost any less.) The bad news is that skinny tie fashion only proves that times are tough. (like one needed a tie to know this) The good news, is that a lot of under-used skinny ties have a new life.
Back in the late 1980s, New England was in the grip of the real estate bubble's bursting. There was much wringing of hands, tightening of belts and consumer-spending angst. "How will people afford to buy Beemers anymore?" Times were lean back then. The ties for sale were narrow. I bought several back then. I still have them. They're too nice to throw away. I had often lamented that the current fashion dictum was that only wide ties shalt be worn. So my nice, but narrow, ties have languished on my tie rack for over ten years, occasionally fingered, sighed over, but not worn.
Now, however, there may be hope for them. Hopefully that fashion pundit was right. When the going gets tough, the ties get narrow. (or something like that) On a more upbeat note, ties don't stay skinny forever. My little closet collection is proof of that. I'll wear my skinny ties while I can.
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