Father’s Day Neckties – What’s Bedford Thinking?

Father’s Day 2024 will occur on Sunday, June 16.

The first Father’s Day was celebrated on June 19, 1910. In 1972, the day honoring fathers and fatherly figures became a nationwide holiday, 58 years after President Woodrow Wilson made Mother’s Day official.   

Father’s Day was inspired by Mother’s Day. Mother’s Day traces its roots to the end of the Civil War in the 1860s as a way to reconcile Union and Confederate soldiers seeking common ground in a small West Virginia town. 

Retailers got on board in the early 20^th century seeing the opportunity to increase sales. Father’s Day was slower to gain momentum because the commercial appeal was less obvious. As one florist explained, “fathers haven’t the same sentimental appeal that mothers have.” 

The men’s clothing industry did not agree with that assessment and eventually saw their own opportunity. In 1938, the National Dry Goods Retail Organization announced plans to “make Father’s Day as important an event as Mother’s Day.

Before 1938, Father’s Day had languished. Fewer than 20 percent of all dads got a Father’s Day gift in 1936. That’s when the New York Associated Menswear Retailers got involved. So, the selling of neckties really was behind the efforts to make Father’s Day a real holiday. 

The holiday is definitely a commercial hit — the National Retail Federation estimates a $12.7 billion take in 2015.  

Although President Richard Nixon made Father’s Day into an official holiday in 1972, he didn’t do it in order to sell dad-friendly gifts. But the Father’s Day we know today wouldn’t be possible without the men’s clothing industry.

Back in the seventies, most men who worked in the office wore neckties. Today, ties are not as popular, although many merchants still sell them.  

What is Bedford Thinking about ties and Father’s Day? 

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