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Whither the necktie?

Ubiquitous formal attire is on Durango’s endangered fashion list

Will McConnell, a vice president at Mercy Regional Medical Center, wanted to make a good impression when he spoke at a meeting of the La Plata County Economic Development Alliance in February.

He wore a necktie.

McConnell was the only attendee wearing a tie in the meeting of about 60 business leaders, more than half of whom were men.

“I promise to lose the tie next time, since I see no one else with a tie,” he told the crowd. “Old habits die hard.”

In many cities, a man wearing a tie to a business forum would not raise an eyebrow. In Durango, it demands an explanation, if not a self-deprecating apology.

Long a mark of power, formality and maturity, neckties are on the outs, at least locally. They’re just not very Durango. Raft guides and ski-lift operators don’t need to wear a necktie. Neither do budtenders or spin-class instructors.

“Honestly, I think it’s a shame if they go out completely,” said Dennis Johnson, owner of Stuart’s of Durango, a luxury clothing retailer. “And the simple truth is, there is no evidence of that. Here at a local level, yes. A lot of people in the greater Durango or La Plata (area), these are people who have escaped from the culture of the big city. So, there’s a distortion there.”

In some circles, ties are resurgent as a fashion statement. Basketball stars such as LeBron James and Kevin Durant often wear them to postgame press conferences, and hip-hop icons such as Andre 3000 favor bow ties. The “Portlandia” hipster set has embraced bow ties, too, along with knit and wool ties.

A necktie really can bring together a guy’s Tweed Ride outfit.

Although ties are an unusual sight in Durango, there are situations where wearing one still is expected. Ties remain de rigeur for lawyers in court, for example.

“It’s my experience in county court that most (male) attorneys wear neckties,” said Judge Martha Minot. “As far as defendants, very few defendants wear neckties. I’m just grateful if they wear a shirt.”

Ryan Phelps, owner and funeral director at Hood Mortuary, wears a necktie six days a week.

“I would say there’s an expectation for a funeral director to have on at least a button-down shirt and tie, and beyond that, I feel more confident if I’m dressed professionally,” he said. “It’s my Superman armor. If I don’t have it on, I feel like just Clark Kent.”

Actually, Clark Kent, the fictional, fumbling newspaper reporter turned DC Comics superhero, often is portrayed wearing a tie.

At Stuart’s, most ties run $75 to $100. Cheaper ties – which may be polyester, rather than silk – can cost $25 to $30, or much less at thrift stores.

Phelps said he often buys a tie at outlet malls or retailers such as Men’s Wearhouse when traveling. He gets deals where he can.

“It’s just part of my uniform I have to wear, and I’m very comfortable in it,” he said.

For him, going casual means ditching the jacket. He typically wears a tie to funerals, although he’ll accommodate family requests that he not do so. At one funeral, he was asked to wear a hockey jersey. At another, attendees showed up in flip-flops, which Phelps said he doesn’t mind.

Phelps acknowledged that he’s conscious of drawing attention to himself but said he’d rather be overdressed than underdressed.

“Durango has a depression on formal wear,” he said. “It’s not expected, it’s not encouraged, and it’s not normally done. People don’t normally follow through with the wearing of formal wear in an instance where it’s normally expected.”

The decline of the necktie may have parallels in women’s wear. Nike reportedly pointed out in a recent conference call that the company has benefitted from the rise of yoga and related workout wear, as fewer women choose jeans as their everyday pants. Compared to Lululemon yoga pants, a pair of Lucky jeans practically is formal wear these days.

Neckties, of course, remain a part of the wider culture. President Barack Obama typically wears a tie when he appears in public. So do business titans such as Donald Trump and Lloyd Blankfein, chief executive of Goldman Sachs. Powerful men in fiction – think Michael Douglas’ “Wall Street” character Gordon Gekko – would be unthinkable without a tie.

“When Warren Buffett appears wearing a necktie, to a lot of guys, that means something,” Johnson said of the Omaha, Nebraska, billionaire. “They can understand that very easily – if you want to make money in this world, you’d better armor yourself appropriately.”

cslothower@durangoherald.com



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