ANDRE BEGIN

Just recently, a former neighbor passed away. Because we knew the family well, we knew we wanted to attend the memorial service and pay our respects in honour of such a remarkable woman.

However, in thinking ahead to the service, I realized that preparing for the memorial could involve some form of “dress rehearsal” to ensure I looked presentable.

Despite having on hand a few suits, shirts and pants that I wore during my office days, few have seen the light of day in a good while. I truly had no idea how they would fit me.

With the office leaning toward a more casual dress code by the end of my career, followed by the pandemic, followed by my first couple of years of retirement in which comfortable, casual clothing was my new dress code, would my dressier clothes still fit? A question like this hadn’t been on my radar since my last growth spurt about 45 years ago… just in a slightly different direction.

I took out the items most likely to be considered appropriate for the occasion and laid them on the bed as I launched into a mini-fashion show.
Fortunately, after a few different combinations, I was able to find a pair of smart-looking dress pants and a crisp shirt that fit me well without having to hold my breath or suck in my gut.

But then came the more challenging part of the equation: the tie.

When was the last time I wore one? Would I even remember how to tie one? Was my technique still on point?

I remembered the Christmas morning my Dad taught me how to tie a full Windsor knot which I eventually mastered. However, to me, it looked a little too wide against my teenaged twig-like neck and torso. It was a few years later when I picked up the technique for tying a half-Windsor from J.R. Ewing in the TV show “Dallas” that I thought the knot was in better proportion to my body type. Sorry, Dad!

Despite the roughly 7000 times I have performed the half-Windsor magic trick, would the muscle memory still be there?

The morning of the memorial service, I started getting dressed half an hour before our estimated departure time for the church, just in case. The pants and the shirt were fine, having passed the pre-approval process a few days prior. When I pulled out the tie, I admit that there was a moment of panic and stage fright stemming from the lack of recent practice.

Once I started though, it felt a little like riding a bike, as the saying goes. After wrapping the front part of the tie twice over the back part, the feeling came back. However, after pulling the longer piece of tie through its loop, I realized the back part was dangling lower than the front. Oopsie!

I removed the tie and started over, allowing more length for the front piece. And yet, on the second attempt, I still failed to produce the proper length, much like the third attempt and fourth attempt, as beads of sweat formed on my brow.

But as they say, the fifth time’s the charm, right? OK, maybe not, but it worked in this case. The fifth time I looped the tie, not only did I get the length absolutely perfect but just below the knot itself, I was able to produce the most handsome little dimple that not only demonstrated success, but perfection. I was ready for the memorial… and on time.

It is unfortunate that these days, formal events seem to have been downgraded to a more casual level where ties are optional, which takes us out of practice.

Even if neckties might be losing popularity, will they maintain their place as a sign of respect or as an elevation of a look for special occasions?

Given that I am very much my father’s son, I still lean toward ties on occasion and probably always will. That being the case, I should probably make a point of practicing regularly to ensure that I don’t get out of practice and that my fingers remain nimble in remembering the tricks of the art form.

However, given how fashion trends come and go, it might just be a matter of time before their return in popularity and everyone is scrambling trying to remember how to tie a necktie. I’ll be ready!

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Sincere thanks for reading!
Have a great day,
André