LOWERING THE BAR, THEN BURYING IT ALTOGETHER
NPR ponders the decline of the tie.

As if trying to look "casual" wasn't just an uglier kind of affectation! To do away with such baseline standards of adult dress is the illusion of freedom, a lame gesture that leads to even more restrictive mores. Adolescent-minded Boomers won't be satisfied until the only socially acceptable way to present oneself is to dress like a six year-old. And when that day comes, none of us will feel free--just undignified and infantilized. Given the choice, I'd rather be coerced into looking like an adult than a child.

Much is made of the idea that not wearing a tie allows for more self-expression, which is idiotic. Not wearing a tie says "I'm not wearing a tie," and little else. Wearing a tie--with its endless palette of colors, knots and patterns--is where the expression lies. Like Wilde said, "A mask says far more than a face."

This general trend will result in less tolerance for self-expression, not more. I already get odd looks for wearing something as practical as a hat or something as innocuous as a pocket square, so I can imagine a time when someone will be beaten up for wearing a tie.

But that's progress for you.