Businesswomen adopt soft neckties

Businesswomen are dressing conservatively, choosing the man-tailored look more and more. Now this trend is carrying into neckties, creating a look similar to the traditional businessman's.

Approximately 85 percent of the women surveyed by the Neckwear Association of America agreed that a tailored look works for business. It's what they personally prefer, although most of them qualified it by saying that they didn't want the look to be too severe.

All the women agreed that business suit dressing is more than a "trend" -- that suits are a staple of every working woman's wardrobe, and most of them have already adopted the tailored look a while back.

The widest range of varying responses was elicited by the question about the kind of tie they would choose to go with a business suit. Virtually all the women wanted to soften the look of the suits, but none of them wanted a traditional man's four-in-hand tie.

Again, more than 85 percent of the women felt that a tie or some kind of neckwear is appropriate to "finish" the look of a suit. Sixty-six percent of the women prefer the soft silk "floppy" bow ties that you tie yourself, although pre-tied bows and narrow string silktie s also received several votes.