Are neckties functional or purely decorative?

They are a symbolic descendant of Heraldic colors.

For over two thousand years – since at least the Quinn dynasty – the necktie (or cravat) has been the most widely used, and the most multicultural of all phallic symbols. The necktie has always been, for a certain class, a celebrated piece of male equipment. The ties were a mark of allegiance, wealth, and belonging at a time when cloth was hard enough to come by for clothes, never mind for articles of gratuitous adornment. They told others, both inside and outside the elite, that the bearers of the neckpieces were the people who mattered – the people who belonged. The tie is a pure fashion statement, a useless, unnecessary item of clothing in addition to its symbolic announcement. However, there are other negative attributes associated with the necktie.

Indeed, the tie was suitably born soaked in blood. The word “cravat” comes from “Croat”, the nationality of the soldiers who won Turkey (previously in the Austro-Hungarian Empire) for Louis XIV of France, and who marched victoriously into Paris adorned in colourful silk handkerchiefs tied around their necks. The French King soon copied this style and began a similar fashion among the European aristocravats, pun intended. Indeed, Louis XIV called an entire regiment the Royal Cravattes. Most reference books blame the necktie on the French. The tie evolved from the French cravat, a scarf tied around the neck. The French called it a cravat in reference to the Croatians, who wore colorful scarves around their neck in battle. Considering its origin and symbolic meaning, why do we wear ties now?

Ties which both hang flaccidly from the neck to the groin like a penis, and also point to it, are the very symbol of the phallus, which is so envied by other men and women not for its actual qualities, as much as the social meaning attributed to the gender of its owner. The tie is thus a symbol of the domination of men over women, and of power in general. Consequently, a ruling was made by a particular group..

I learned that they were ‘invented’ some ages ago (when the knights lived) to wipe the mouths.
But it probably is a myth.

Well they certainly are not the least bit functional, especially in hospitals.

The filthiest germ carriers from one patient to another are the ties worn by doctors.

Think about it. They are worn for months at a time without cleaning unless food gets spilled on them. They dangle and touch everything all the time.

Those observations are not unique to me. I heard them from (guess who) a real MD.

If I’m ever hospitalized, I want me a doc who wears a bowtie!

They are functional in the bedroom, or so I hear.

@dpworkin @Pretty_Lilly So victorious soldiers just used “scarves” symbolically and they caught on as a fashion trend and evolved into the necktie?

@rebbel Interesting.

@Buttonstc Maybe it is because I live in HI, but I’ve never seen a doctor wearing a tie…and why wouldn’t they clean them regularly?

I am trying to figure out what clan I am supporting when I wear my 3 stooges necktie.

@Buttonstc @lilikoi I believe in England Medical workers are not allowed to wear neckties. I could be wrong about the country.

@lillikoi

Unless something is spilled on them causing a stain, most men don’t take their ties to the dry cleaners as often as they do the rest of their clothing.

And because of the way they are constructed (bias cut) and the types of fabrics used on many (frequently silk) they can’t be tossed in with the wash. So, unless someone is EXTREMELY meticulous, they really don’t go to the trouble and expense of dry cleaning them unless they have visible dirt or stains on them.

This is what the MD making these observations stated and since he was male, one would assume he knew what he was talking about.

If there are a huge number of guys who regularly take their ties to the cleaners AS OFTEN AS the rest of their articles of clothing, feel free to chime in and set the record straight.

I certainly wouldn’t be surprised at all if England or any other country would ban ties in hospitals for that very reason.

This Dr. advised the same type of caution for a post-surgical patient to not allow much physical content with any clothing items of their visitors as well. If you’ve recently had surgery, the last thing in the world you need is getting an infection on top of everything else. Makes sense to me.

Ties are such a ubiquitous item of clothing that we mostly don’t give them a second thought. Even if someone has a cold and tries to cover their nose while sneezing, which clothing item is closest to the sneezer’s face and least likely to end up in the washing machine at the end of the day.

You got it. The shirt goes in the wash and the tie goes back in the closet.

@Buttonstc Wow, I had never thought of all that. That’s kind of gross.

From Wikipedia:

“It is possible that cravats were initially worn to hide shirts which were not immaculately clean.”

Yeah, until that Dr. mentioned it, I hadn’t really thought much about it either.

At some point in the near future I’m going to need knee replacements and you’d better believe I’m going to be real persnickety about ANYONE, doc or not, who wants to lean over my bedside with tie dangling :)

You’re right. It is pretty gross.

They’re dsigned to cut off the blood-flow to the brain & cause long-term brain damage which destroys all hope & dreams…..

I agree ties many times go for years without ever being cleaned. Honestly, even suits are not cleaned every time worn. I know scrubs are laundered all of the time, are “lab” coats?

It also bothers me when people and doctors think putting on a pair of gloves replaces washing their hands. I recently helped prepare and serve food at Ronald McDonald house (a fantastic facility by the way) and the person organizing it bought gloves for us (which honestly are probably not necessary) anyway, I said, “everyone should wash their hands first.” I had to explain that if your hands do have germs on them, when you grab the gloves and put them on, you have just contaminated the outside of the gloves; basically the same as not washing your hands and touching the food. People don’t think. Germs are very important for these patients obviously, many are immunocompromised.