Mark Murphy: Tim Davie is right. I hate wearing ties too

Tim Davie the Director General of the BBC sported the outfit for a round of media interviews.

Well, I might not agree with everything he does these days, (don’t get me started on scrapping Doctors and diluting BBC local radio) but I mostly agree with his more relaxed dress sense.

Tim Davie's attire has been criticised

I don’t think a suit and trainers is quite my bag, but I certainly agree about no tie. Frankly, they should be consigned to the history books of fashion along with cravats and ruffs!

Times change and it’s about time we stopped worrying about how people dress.

I’m sick and tired of being told by certain people, what is and isn’t acceptable to wear. Just wear what you like, feel good and comfortable.

If someone wants to wear a tie, that’s fine but why should I be forced to wear one?

Who decides what is acceptable and what’s not? We’re not living in the Victorian era now! It’s time to ban the fashion police for good.

I first had to wear a tie at Murrayfield Junior school and Northgate Grammar school in Ipswich.

I detested the thing even then and even more so today. We did all we could to try and make them more fashionable, short ties with big knots were the trendy way for us kids to wear them in the 1970s but as soon as we were on the school bus, off they came.

I then went on to work at a Mercedes Benz dealership in the 1980s and a tie for my role was obligatory.

By this time ties had become really skinny, but I still couldn’t see the point of them.

I seem to remember some of them were leather (!) and some were in the style of piano keys.

Ties - what's the point? says Mark

Thank God I missed out on the kipper ties of the 60s and early 70s.

When I joined the BBC, if you were out reporting you were expected to look presentable and that on occasions did require wearing a tie. I kept one in my desk but seldom wore it.

When I got married in Las Vegas, it was a nice relaxed affair. I wore a sharp suit, nice shirt but definitely no tie.

When I became President of Ipswich East Rotary club, I decided not to wear a tie, and now our dress code is much more relaxed.

What’s the point of them? They don’t serve any practical purpose; I’d much rather be more relaxed in my outfits and feel more comfortable.

I think smart casual is the way forward for men.

I recently went to the Fabio Wardley fight and that was the dress code. We all turned up in open neck shirts with jackets and I think we all cut a dash. Even some of our members of parliament go tieless these days - does it make them less of an MP?

As long as they are working hard on our behalf (that’s another issue) does it really matter?

In an ideal world and if we had the weather, I’d be in a T shirt, shorts and flip flops all the time.

The bizarre thing is I’ve still got every tie I’ve ever owned, and I think that’s the same for most blokes. If only I could come up with a way of recycling them.

So, do clothes maketh the man? In my opinion, no but as always, I’d love to hear yours.

Why not get in touch with the letters page and tell me.