I’ve been wondering lately about whether I should start wearing a tie to work, or perhaps when in my career it would be appropriate to do so, if ever. Please note that I work in academia, in administration (as compared to faculty) so it’s not the same as working in corporate. And I’m in Silicon Valley, known for being a relatively laid-back work environment, in genera.
My motivations for asking myself this question are two fold. The first is the obvious – formality, title, how I present myself, etc. The second is a bit more subtle. Every time I change jobs, I utilize clothing as one way to kind of “reinvent” myself. When I first started working, shorts, t-shirts and sandals were fine. Next job, I decided shorts weren’t quite right. After that, I moved away from t-shirts. Then it became polos or buttoned shirts only, though many of the latter were quite informal.
When I came to Santa Clara, I switched over to dress shirts and nice (I hope) slacks every day. I don’t wear jeans, I don’t wear even polo shirts. It helped me feel like I had moved onto something different, and perhaps something more “official.”
But I was meeting with someone yesterday whom I realized generally wears a tie. At least, I can’t think of an example when I have met with him and he wasn’t wearing one. It’s not a really fancy shirt with a really fancy tie, but there is certainly a different look.
I wonder if there is some confluence of timing, events, title, etc that suggests I should start wearing a tie. Random thoughts, I know.
I think if you feel it’s time to wear a tie, then you should wear a tie!