Just when it seems nothing is immune to the authority of change comes evidence that, at least in fashion, some elements never seem to alter. The tie, for example, is an item of clothing which has scarcely changed for the past 100 years.
Menswear as a rule has tended to avoid radical shifts in direction since the middle of the last century; the most decisive move in men's clothing has been away from stiff, detachable collars to softer style permanently stitched onto the shirt. Otherwise, there would be little to distinguish the garments worn by men during the Victorian age to those seen on their counterparts today. In Tom Kilroy's The Secret Fall Of Constance Wilde currently playing at the Abbey Theatre, the heroine's costumes are quite definitely period pieces. Those designed for Oscar Wilde and Alfred Douglas, on the other hand, could be donned by members of the audience.
Nowhere is the conservative nature of menswear more clearly apparent than in the question of ties. Their origins lie with the cravats worn with shirts in the 17th century. Over the next 200 years, the tie gradually became slimmer and less ebullient, eventually ending up as a thin strip of fabric knotted at the neck. It serves no evident purpose but retains an extraordinary and inexplicable authority; admission to certain restaurants and clubs, for example, is still conditional on wearing a tie.
In business circles, ties are unofficially understood to be essential. The shunning of ties seems to suggest a want of discipline and most definitely lack of esprit de corps]. In such circumstances, to spurn a tie is to place yourself outside the norm and proclaim your difference. Certain professions, on the other hand, like to announce their creativity and liberal credentials by deliberately spurning the tie; among architects, advertising executives and members of the media, for example, ties are frequently not worn (although the shirt will still be buttoned to the neck).
The tie is nothing and yet everything, a modest piece of material which acts as a powerful symbol rather than a useful garment. Nonetheless, this insignificant piece can still define an outfit, as well as the man wearing it. Given the sobriety - and uniformity - of most men's clothes, ties allow the only outlet for individual expression. That is why they continue to be so popular; here is a chance for each man to distinguish himself in a small but unmissable way from his peers.
And so the choice of pattern and colour among ties remains huge, with only width varying from one decade to the next (at the moment, the favourite choice is neither too wide nor too narrow). A solid monochrome block can be selected for a tie; in theory, this implies want of imagination, but when the single shade is a vibrant orange and the tie is teamed with a cobalt blue shirt, the result is anything but dull.
Tone on tone - as in black tie and black shirt - is always effective, as are tropicalhued ties paired with pure white shirts. The tiniest twist, sometimes all that is permitted, can totally change the look of a man. Therein lies the power of the tie. It is conservative and yet on occasions implies radicalism. Which is probably why men remain hopelessly tied to their little strips of fabric.