Seeing the humor in a stressful situation and being able to make others feel the same is a great talent and of course, is not something to be ashamed about. But there are some individuals that never see the humor in anything.

These gloomy folks aside, most people are aware there is a right time to make a statement with a novelty necktie and a wrong time.

Making the right choice of necktie for the right occasion is not always that easy, and novelty necktie wearers sometimes don't get it right.

There are some great novelty neckties around. They can depict characters from your favorite cartoons or shows, movie stars, reflect your hobbies, your favorite food or drink, your pets, or your likes and dislikes, but wearing one to an important board meeting unless you are the boss is a no-no.

Be sure and tone down your individual dress sense and select a necktie that is appropriate for the occasion. Wearing an 'I'm with stupid' necktie won't impress your girlfriend.

Likewise, novelty neckties with your prowess with women might go down well with the guys on a Friday night after work, but your prospective in-laws may be less amused.

If you have to wear one because you feel invisible in a tasteful but ultimately boring plain silk number, then there are a lot more subtle and less 'loud' novelty neckties to choose from.

Just because its novelty doesn't mean of course, it has to be funny. There are some rather nice art themed ties for example, and some of the connoisseur novelty neckties are actually quite tasteful.

Novelty neckties often have a small and repeating pattern on them. So long as these are not examined too closely only you will know it carries some sort of message. If you then choose to point out what that message is, that is up to you.

If that doesn't grab you, then how about going for something with a small pattern on it depicting whatever it is that appeals to you. You can still let the world know what your favorite brand of beer is, but by choosing a novelty necktie with tiny images on it they will have to get pretty close to find out which brand you drink.

Finding new novelty neckties nowadays is not a difficult thing to do either. Tee shirts and vests have long dominated the themed clothing market, but baseball caps with funny slogans and novelty neckties are fast catching up.