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The necktie may not be dead but men are increasingly shunning it in favour of more relaxed modes of business dress.
Men's style bible GQ has an editor who, when not seeing clients, will choose jeans and a polo shirt.
The National Library of Australia has an IT head honcho who will likewise opt for no tie unless representing the library.
The library's assistant director-general of information technology, Mark Corbould, 52, said the shift away from ties was a good thing. This wasn't to say he was ditching them altogether.
''A tie means a little more formality and respect for a certain situation.''
His staffers are glad to be free to avoid ties.
IT service desk worker Scott Bugden, 42, who sometimes opts for red shorts and a clashing shirt, has eyebrow piercing and spiked hair. For him, ties are for weddings and funerals only.
''I'm a bit reserved at times and with clothing you can make a statement.
''I'd hate to be in an environment where everyone was in their dark trousers and white shirt. It would be horrible,'' he said emphatically. His public service colleagues have a wide spectrum of work day dress. Web developer Brendon McKinley, 35, does preppy plaid and cardigans with canvas shoes. Aside from job interviews, he has never worn a tie to work.
By contrast, help desk worker Daniel Rose, 37, finds a big workload is easier to handle when he's in a jacket and tie. ''I won't wear a shirt without a tie,'' he said.
''If you have plain trousers and a plain shirt, the tie is the only way to add personality to that outfit.''
The wide range of what is acceptable is relatively new. Work- day dress was not always so laid-back.
A tome dealing with work practices and rituals from 1945 to 1985 in Wollongong, understood to be typical of the times, states shorts and open-necked shirts were frowned upon. Requests for the removal of ties in hot weather were met with refusal. The increasing practice of not wearing a jacket to the office was deplored.
And, in one startling case, those who in summer chose conservative Bermuda shorts were checked to be sure they wore underpants.
GQ editor Nicholas Smith said there was a twofold trend now. There were young corporate climbers keen on the right suit and tie; and there were blokes with more flexible working hours for whom casual Friday stretched through the week.
''We don't have to be Don Draper all the time, but I don't think guys are wiping ties out of their wardrobes.''
Mr Smith said while ties had no real function, they had come about as a way of covering gaps in shirts between the buttons to keep draughts from getting in.
Canberra-raised designer and Project Runway Australia winner Anthony Capon said ties were immortal.
''Ties will always be around. They're classic and not dying at all,'' he said.
National Gallery of Victoria curator of Australian fashion and textiles Laura Jocic is the woman behind ManStyle, an exhibition of men's fashion that concludes this month.
She said getting modes of dress wrong could be detrimental for men and attributed the changing standards of dress to a shift in workplace culture with equal opportunities and an attempt to break down hierarchies.