It is a standard trope of style journalism that “this” year (whatever the year happens to be) will see a return to formality and tradition in menswear. I think, or possibly hope, that this is not what is going on with ties. Instead, neckwear is back because of a longer cultural process, through which it has become easier for men – a group, to generalise wildly, that has lived in fear of seeming too focused on appearance – to indulge in a little self-decoration. There were always men who took care to dress attractively. There are just more of them now. It is the right time, then, to revisit some basic principles of tie-wearing.