@MaryAustinBooks@mstdn.social My dad didn't know how to tie a tie, either, and he hated wearing one. He owned exactly one tie, which was kept permanently tied for decades. He just loosened the knot enough to pull over his head, then re-tightened it, without ever undoing the knot. He wore it only on occasions like family weddings and funerals and other strict formalities. On other semi-dressy but less formal occasions, he wore his good suit, but with a turtleneck instead of a shirt and tie. Turtleneck plus suit gave him the look of a cool 1960's jazz musician, or a beat poet, or something like that. (We put him in the suit and turtleneck for his funeral, and threw away the tie, still tied in its decades-old knot.)