Personal style and the postal service do not go hand in hand.

Postal clerk, Steve Adams, learned this the hard way when he was banned from wearing colorful ties with his uniform.

Adams was told that the ties failed to conform with the dress code.

Customers have written letters of protest to Soldotna Mayor, Dave Carey, about the "tie-ban."

Margaret Merrill, postmaster for the Soldotna Post Office, said she is simply enforcing the rules. "He has been informed that sooner or later he is going to have to conform," Merrill said.

She said the decision was not based on customer complaints.

Adams now wears a plain blue tie with the Postal Service logo while he helps customers mail letters and parcels.