The necktie looks set to follow the top hat in being consigned to the fashion museum by office workers within the next 50 years, according to research.

Nearly three-quarters (74%) thought the tie would not survive within British firms beyond the next half a century with the popularity of the open-collared shirt.

Its demise is being blamed on the boom in creative businesses, such as Facebook and Google, and online trading companies where formal dress codes tend to be shunned in favour of a more casual approach.

Once considered an important part of business dress, the tie has become a victim of the spread of "casual Fridays" into other weekdays, according to researchers.

The poll, by DealJungle.com, which helps small and medium enterprises, found more than half (51%) thought the tie would be obsolete in offices within the next 20 years and almost a quarter (22%) believed it would last less than 10 years.

A spokesman for the site, which has 20,000 registered members, said: "Ties have been around seemingly forever but increasing numbers of office workers are telling them to get knotted.

"The success of businesses such as Facebook and Google, where even the CEO turns up wearing jeans and a hoodie, also seems to have had a corrosive effect on the idea of dressing formally for work.

"Many of our members keep their overheads to a minimum by working from home so they feel no need to dress up to go to work.

"We know that when they meet with clients, they still put on a business suit, but a tie is no longer seen as an essential part of the suited-and-booted look.

"Instead, many businessmen and increasing numbers of executives opt for a suit and shirt with an open collar.

"The tie-less suit creates an impression of a more approachable deal maker, someone who is still business-minded, yet creative and technology-savvy, too."

(Read by Nelly Min. Nelly Min is a journalist at the China Daily Website.)

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(Agencies)