Yes, first rate and thought provoking.

I had never considered that there might be varying attitudes towards the primacy of the tie vs the shirt in choosing the ensemble. Sure enough, though, as I look over my closet the shirts are overwhelmingly plain (only the most recent shirts venture into stripes and checks), so I have unwittingly adhered to the American preference. Not sure how idiosyncratic this may be, or if it is also a Canadian preference (possibly merely regional).  With respect to shoes, around Toronto we tend toward black in the English style, and I have only recently begun to dip a tentative toe into the world of brown to accompany anything but casual clothing.