How to be stylish casual when you can’t find a necktie

Jane Ann Morrison's experience at Mandarin Oriental, in which she got turned away because she was not "smart casual" or "stylish casual" enough for the place, reminds me a story "cousin" Waddie Mitchell tells on his album with Don Edwards, "The Bard & The Balladeer."

He was in New York City with Edwards and was invited to lunch in a fancy restaurant. When he arrives, the maitre d' informs him he may not enter without a "real" necktie. So Waddie goes down to his pickup and rummages for a tie. But all he can find is a pair of jumper cables.

So he wraps them around his neck and goes back up ... about half mad and ready to punch somebody.

The maitre d' grins and says, "OK, I'm going to let you in this time, but don't you start anything."

Here is a link to Waddie's story.