The Tie is dead... Long live the tie?

For most of my life, I had no interest in the ornaments of formal presentation.  By the time I graduated from college, I probably owned three ties.

Flash forward five years, and after a few months of working at a job where I was expected to wear ties five days of the week, I began to develop an appreciation for the opportunity to express myself through my tie selection.  My collection grew into the double digits, and even included a nice selection of bow-ties (not the easiest to tie, by the way).

in case you can't tell, this isn't me.

Flash forward again, and now, under the leadership of a new administration, our expectations for professional dress have been realigned, and the tie has moved from mandatory to optional.  I have some colleagues that have been advocating for this for years; one, in particular, who came to teaching from the world of finance commented several times that for employees without direct customer interaction, ties are a thing of the past in many industries.

In fact, I think an argument can be made that the role of the tie in our culture has dramatically shifted from an indication of professionalism and prestige to an almost totally aesthetic one.  Bow-ties and skinny neck ties have become a hallmark of hipster style; if I take a stroll through Little Five Points in Atlanta (grunge-hipster central, for those of you who aren't local), I guarantee you I'll see a few ties being sported by the locals - perhaps more than I might see if I drove a few miles north and took a tour of Experian headquarters.

As I reflect on my own experience vis a vis the tie, I'm conflicted.  I did enjoy selecting and matching ties, using them to accent my wardrobe in ways that expressed my flippant personality.  And yet, absent an external requirement to wear one, nine times out of ten I don't bother with them.  Even considering my positive motivations for wearing the tie, they're all driven by fashion, and not a compulsion to be taken more seriously as a professional.

So really, I suppose I have to end with a question for the readers - what do ties signal to you?  Is the tie still a garment with professional significance?  I have a sense that we're in a moment of cultural ambivalence as the democratizing forces of technology diminish our collective reverence for institutional credibility and shift the focus onto individual personalities and ideas.  But I'd like to hear what the rest of you think.