传统与时尚：领带密语

Why men are tied to conventional neckwear

传统与时尚：领带密语

 2012-03-30    来源：John Clark 21st century

导读：为什么我们会看到美国总统候选人有时穿正装时不打领带？他们的着装(attire)传递着什么信息？本文为你解读领带与正装在不同场合的着装密码。

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The United States will vote for a new president this November. Politicians are busy on their campaign trails. There’s something interesting about their attire: They rarely wear ties when giving stump speeches and pressing the flesh.
今年11月美国总统大选在即。政客们正忙于竞选拉票。他们的着装有一点很有趣，那就是他们在巡回演说及与选民们见面握手时很少打领带。

Usually they do this wearing open-necked shirts. Why no ties? Well, it’s less formal and makes them look like regular guys.
他们不打领带时，通常穿开领衬衫。那么他们为什么不打领带呢？原来，这种着装没那么正式，让他们看起来像普通民众。

Candidates such as Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich who are vying for the Republican Party nomination, adopt a casual look when campaigning. Ties are out.
米特?罗姆尼、里克?桑托勒姆、纽特?金里奇等共和党候选人在竞选拉票中都以非正式的着装出现，没有打领带。

But when it comes to the big, televised speech or debate then they all revert to business suit, collar and tie.
但在重要的电视演讲或辩论中，他们又都穿上了西装和衬衫，系上了领带。

“To press the flesh and get yourself elected it seems essential to dress down and appear casual, like ordinary voters, rather than buttoned-up or formal,” said David Cannadine, professor of history at Princeton University, US.
美国普林斯顿大学历史学教授大卫?康南狄表示，“在与选民见面握手时，候选人不穿正装，而改着休闲装，就像普通选民，看起来比较随和，这对候选人是否能够当选似乎是至关重要的。”

Speaking on the program A Point of View on the BBC Radio 4, he went on: “But to undertake the very different task of running a country, it’s still expected that politicians will wear what is termed as business attire, which means a suit (whether you are a man or woman) and also a tie (if you’re male).
他在BBC广播电台第四频道《一家观点》节目中说：“但政治家是要担当管理国家重任的人，人们还是希望看到他们穿着所谓的正装——也就是穿西装（男女均如此）打领带（仅限男士）。”

What are the conventions of wearing a tie?
打领带有那些规矩呢？

Some schools and most business organizations have a dress code. It may stipulate that male employees who meet the public must wear a collar and tie. Why? Because it is thought to give a man a smart appearance. It makes him look respectable, professional, like a banker, businessman or insurance broker.
部分学校和大多数的商业机构都有着装规定。有些会规定男性员工在接待客户时一定要穿衬衫打领带。为什么呢？因为人们认为这样打扮会使男性看起来更整洁、更体面、更专业，就像银行家，企业家或保险经纪人一样。

“With an evening coat and a white tie, even a stockbroker can gain a reputation for being civilized,” said Oscar Wilde, the Irish poet and playwright. Of course Wilde was being ironic. Stockbrokers might be rich, but they were often snubbed by the upper class.
爱尔兰诗人及剧作家奥斯卡?王尔德曾说：“就连股票经纪人穿上晚礼服打上白领结之后，也会让人感觉彬彬有礼了。”当然，王尔德是在调侃，股票经纪人虽然很有钱，但是一度为上流社会所轻视。

Fashions in ties change. Kipper ties (broad, colorful ties popular in the West in the 1970s) gave way to narrow strips of material as worn by punk rockers.
领带的流行趋势也在变化。Kipper领带 (20世纪70年代西方流行一种较宽的，颜色艳丽的领带)被淘汰，人们开始热衷于细领带，就像过去朋克摇滚音乐人戴的那种。

How you knot your tie may reveal your personality. In From Russia with Love, author Ian Fleming says of secret agent 007: “Bond mistrusted anyone who tied his tie with a Windsor knot (a wide symmetrical triangular knot). It showed too much vanity. It was often the mark of a cad.”
打领带的方式也许能够反映你的个性。在007系列《来自俄罗斯的爱》中，作者伊恩?弗莱明曾这样谈论秘密特工007：“只要是将领带打成温莎结（一种宽边对称三角结）的人，一律无法获得邦德的信任。温莎结太过虚荣，通常是行为不端的标志。”

Police officers in the UK used to wear white shirts and black ties. They looked very dapper. But the tie wasn’t fastened around their necks. It was a clip-on variety so that violent criminals could not drag them around by their ties.
英国的警察曾经穿白衬衫打黑领带，看上去衣冠楚楚。但其实，这种领带不是系在脖子上的，而是用夹子别在领子上的，这样的话，歹徒就无法拽着警察领带勒住他们的脖子了。

Times change. Today UK cops wear black T-shirts and stab-proof vests. For many professions the tie is a relic from a bygone age and will not be missed.
时过境迁，如今的英国警察穿上了黑T恤和防刺背心。对于很多职业来说，领带已经过时，人们也不会再怀念了。