Are Ties the Things that Bind?

"I've found that you don't need to wear a necktie if you can hit.''
- Ted Williams

With those words, the Red Sox Hall of Famer threw his thoughts into one of the great fashion debates of all time.

A tie: To wear or not to wear?

Whether is is noble depends on to whom one is talking. Most people can't blast a curveball into the gap, but not everyone is a corporate executive, either. It seems to come down to the basic questions: who, what, when, where (or is it wear?), how and why? 

''I hate ties,'' Tolland Town Manager Steven Werbner said with a laugh. ''It is generally accepted now that, in certain settings, you do not have to wear a tie. But in some settings it is also inappropriate not to wear a tie, so I will wear one when I have to wear one.''

For some, it's a no-brainer every morning.

"Personally, I have never thought of getting up in the morning and going to work without a tie,'' said Howard Holmes, who operates the Holmes Funeral Home in Manchester. 

With holiday shopping and the ever-present cliche that dads get ties under the tree, retail groups annually proclaim December to be National Tie Month. Scott Zahner, an Ellington resident whose family has owned and operated Zahner's Clothiers since 1951, says ties will always be a part of men's fashion. He also said there is an art to picking out the right tie. 

"Probably the first question I ask a customer who is buying a tie is about the occasion,'' Zahner said. ''Is it work? Is it a special occasion? That could mean two different things.''

A work setting tends to be more conservative and a special occasion, depending on how that is interpreted, can offer a little more leeway. 

And expression. Take Michael Potyra, a former Tolland Town Council member who owns Advertising Works in Tolland, who came to the Tolland County Chamber of Commerce Business After Hours event on Tuesday sporting a tie that resembled a hundred dollar bill. 

''I wear something like this to functions like this and I always get a comment,'' Potyra said. ''I wore this into a restaurant once and a group of ladies saw me. They all told the waiter I was paying.''

The moral of the story? 

''Ties like this start conversations,'' he said. 

Potyra has been known to wear patriotic-themed ties on Fridays - ''To support the troops'' - and admits his wife makes him ties of of old drapery. 

Zahner said an area physician came into the store once and decided he needed an expressive tie to lighten up the emotional roller coaster that is always his work week.

''He deals with serious things, so he wanted to lighten up things up,'' Zahner said. 

The doctor was on his way to a national convention in Washington D.C. and Zahner set him up with a tie designed by a group of art students in Chicago. 

"He received a lot of compliments and ties like that are his trademark now,'' Zahner said. ''You're probably not going to get a compliment on a tie unless there is some color or texture to it.'' 

But there are occasions when that needs to be put on hold. 

''If you're a top-tier executive with an insurance company, you're probably not going to be too creative,'' Zahner said. ''And if you have a meeting with Pacific-rim executives, you are going to be very conservative in the way you dress. Business people from that region of the world do not want to see a tie that gets in their faces. Their dress is very respectful.''

Says Werbner, ''There are some times when you just can't wear a bow tie or try to make a statement.''

That's every day for Holmes. 

"In the funeral business, how you dress for the general public is important. Appearance helps,'' he said. ''Dressing professionally adds a personal touch to the meeting with a family.''

Thomas Stauffer, an Ellington resident who is a sales manager for pharmaceutical giant Novartis, said he used to wear ''statement ties.'' He learned from experience not to take a chance, he said.

''A tie is about image … professional image,'' Stauffer said. ''I used to wear statement ties, but I've learned over the years it's more about professional image.''

Stauffer said he has dressed much more conservatively over the past few years. He says a Yankee tie worn in front of a physician who happens to be a Red Sox fan could hinder his ability to make a sale, even if Ted Williams didn't wear ties at all. 

Says Holmes, ''What business people wear is a reflection of how they serve you.''

Of course the more famous among us can use a tie to make a different type of statement. In the second half of last season, University of Connecticut women's basketball coach Geno Auriemma auctioned off his game-worn ties to raise money for the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund, a tribute to the late North Carolina State Coach who died last season after a long battle with cancer. Auriemma  might not swing a bat like Williams, but the idea was a layup. The auction raised thousands.

Zahner said ties, conservative or loud, will always be fashion statements.

And the topic of statements.

''A gray suit is a gray suit. The tie makes the difference,'' he said. ''The tie is the play on the stage. It can change the way you look.''