b'THE CARNEGIE CLUB2 5 W H Y K N O T ?Tie a cionado Peter Crome discusses the in uence of the necktie as both a statement of personal style and a symbol of socio-cultural changeILLUSTRATION Adam NickelO scar Wilde once wrote that A well-tied tie is the firstclothes that were not off the shelf, but rather made specifically serious step in life, and I agree. On my first day of seniorfor me by a high-street tailor.school, Mr Pike, the headmaster, sprang through the doorThe brother of one of my school friends was the celebrated to the classroom completely decked out in the school uniform fashion designer Michael Fish. He was the UKs top designer in the including the short trousers that were obligatory wear for a pupilslate-1960s and very much a leader on the London Swinging Sixties first two years. My classmates and I were all rather surprised, butscene, creating looks for famous names such as Mick Jagger, David his message was simplebe proud of your school, be smart, andBowie, Peter Sellers and Lord Snowdon. If only I had shown more wear the uniform correctly at all times. interest when I sat in his familys house doing my homework, my That is one of the very few memories of school that I havecareer might have taken a very different path.retained, and from that moment on I started to think about howThrough most of my working life, ties have played an important I was turned out. By the time I was 15 years old, I was buyingrole; they have given me joy, been the cause of many an argument and'