The past 2 days I spoke at a conference called "Connecting with Disconnected" in Stafford, Virginia which was very refreshing and met so many wonderful folks there. Today I drove up from there and went to downtown Washington DC and drove around the downtown area. I stopped and peeked at the White House through the big black iron fence and I stopped over at Ebenezer's Coffeehouse. I was interested in seeing this coffee house, as we are opening ours up soon to the public, and this one is run by National Community Church. I am meeting up with the pastor of that church, Mark Batterson later this week. It is a very cool vision they have with the coffee house and was very professionally done as I went inside it
it and hung out a bit. It wasn't a corny Christian coffee house at all and it looked like it was filled with local folks and business people on breaks.
But my thoughts right now are on ties, blue Oxford shirts, khakis and blazer jackets.
I am now over near McLean, Virginia as I am speaking the next couple days at the LeadNow and Fusion event here. I went over the local mall earlier today and had dinner in a restaurant and I can say very confidently that I have never in my life seen as many men wearing tan khakis, ties and blazers in one geographic area. I have been to many cities, and quite a few metropolitan areas - but everywhere, and I do mean everywhere, as I looked taround, the guys were wearing tan khakis and mainly blue shirts and ties. Young, middle aged and old. A multi-generational dress harmony was happening. They weren't wearing suits, with matching jackets and pants. These were tan khakis, oxford shirts, ties and some wore navy blue blazers. It was uncanny.
It felt like there is some supernatural unspoken dress code, or that we were in some school district and uniforms were required. But we weren't. I was in a mall and it was the end of the day and people were getting off work and coming to the restaurants and hanging out at this coffee shop that I also stopped in at this mall (this wasn't the downtown one, but a different one).
I do wear a tie and jacket for most weddings and funerals - but I began thinking about the ties and these massive amount of tan khakis I saw today. Who started this dressing trend? If I was working here in this area, would I wear tan khakis and a tie? I cannot imagine wearing tan khakis, a blue blazer and a tie. But they were absolutely everywhere here today.
I began thinking about ties, and where did they come from? Why do we wear them? I remember reading somewhere that in American history suit and ties originally were discouraged from being worn in the church. The reason was that only wealthy people could afford suit and ties, and it showed a subtle discrimination against the people who couldn't afford them - so in churches they discouraged people from wearing suit and ties originally. Now in some churches, the pastors and leaders wear suits and ties and it seen as not being respectable if you don't dress up. Odd how cultures have different values. So interesting, that there are these things called suits and ties. In the early church, I imagine they all wore the same thing to their church meetings, which would have been the common persons clothing from, since the church met in a home. But later in history, in church meetings they began dressing up, instead of wearing the common clothing one wore during the day.
I found some interesting things about the origin of the tie here and here and here.
Was there casual and formal dress in Jesus' day? When people went to synagogue or Temple, did they dress more formally? I have no idea. I wonder if Jesus would wear a suit and tie if He was part of a church meeting today? Or if Jesus came into in a church meeting wearing the garbs of His day, would some frown upon what might seem as casualness? Why do we still have a suit and tie culture in some churches? Why do we select what we do wear when going to a worship gathering? Does wearing suit and ties show more reverence and respect for God and worship (as I have heard some say it does as why we should dress up Sundays). I so believe we should dress modest and neat (unless someone is homeless or in situations that neat or clean clothing may not be possible). But why are there dress codes that go up beyond just modest, clean and neat to the level of suits and ties as normal in many churches?
This isn't too important a topic at all in the scope of things. But I am just temporally fixated on blue Oxford shirts, khakis, dress codes and especially ties after todays experience here. Blazers, tan khakis, and ties. Blazers, tan khakis and ties. Blazers, tan khakis and ties. Blazers, tan khakis and ties. Blazers, tan khakis and ties.
