History of Neckties

Here at Ties2Pillows.com our goal is not just to sell mens ties and tie related products such as handmade accent pillows, air fresheners and sachets made from men's ties, but to also providing our customers with educational material such as the history of neckties. We hope you enjoy the following brief history of the necktie. Once you're done reading all about the history of neckties, why not also step into our virtual store front to check out all interesting new neckties and vintage ties we've found in our travels and have made available for you. We carry designer ties, novelty ties, skinny ties and wide ties from the 1920's to present, even flat bottom ties, big and tall ties, and clip-on ties. You will be sure to find what you're looking for, and you might even surprise yourself once your see the sheer number and variety available.

The history of neckwear can be traced back to China in the tomb of the first emperor of China, Ch'in Shi Huang-Ti. All of the terra cotta warriors uncovered wore neckerchiefs. The modern necktie, however, can be traced back to the Thirty Year War, which was fought from 1618 to 1648. A crack regiment from Croatia (then part of the Austro Hungarian Empire) visited Paris. There, the soldiers were presented as glorious heroes to Louis XIV, a monarch well known for his eye toward personal adornment. It so happened that the officers of this regiment were wearing brightly colored handkerchiefs fashioned of silk around their necks. These neck cloths, which probably descended from the Roman fascalia worn by orators to warm the vocal chords, struck the fancy of the king, and he soon made them an insignia of royalty as he created a regiment of Royal Cravattes. The cloths used ranged from the coarse-finish cloth of enlisted soldiers to the fine linens and silks of the officers. These scarves were soon adopted by the upper classes in France (then a leading country in the field of fashion). That started a fashion craze in Europe where both men and women wore pieces of fabric around their necks. The famous French writer Honore de Balzac even wrote a book on the subject. By the late seventeenth century, men wore lace cravats that took a large amount of time and effort to arrange. The cravats were often tied in place by cravat strings, arranged neatly and tied in a bow.

The word "cravat" derives from the French cravate, and many sources state that this is a corruption of "Croat" or "Hrvat" in Croatian. However, there is evidence that the word was in use in 14th century France and in 16th century Italy. In one of his ballads, the French writer Eustache Deschamps (c. 1340-1407), used the phrase "faites restraindre sa cravate" (pull his cravat tighter). Considering the interdependency of many European regions (particularly the French) with the Venetian Empire, and the fact that this empire at one time occupied the bulk of the Croatian coast, that type of cross-culturalization would not be unprecedented. Whatever the origin of the word, the new form of dress became known as a cravate and the French were quite ready to give up the starched linen ruffs that they had been wearing and adopt the new fashion of loose cravates made of linen or muslin with broad edges of lace.

On his return to England from exile in 1660, Charles II of England brought with him this new word in fashion:
"A cravatte is another kind of adornment for the neck being nothing else but a long towel put about the Collar, and so tyed before with a Bow Knott; this is the original of all such Wearings; but now by the Art and Inventions of the seamsters, there is so many new ways of making them, that it would be a task to name, much more to describe them". (Randle Holme, Academy of Armory and Blazon, 1688.)

History of Neckties: 1650-1720 The Steinkirk

During the wars of Louis XIV of 1689-1697, the flowing cravat was replaced, except for court occasions, by the more current and equally military Steinkirk, named for the Battle of Steenkerque in 1692. During this battle, the princes, while hurriedly dressing for battle, simply wound their cravats around their necks. They twisted the ends of the fabric together and passed the twisted ends through a jacket buttonhole. The Steinkirk became known as a long narrow, plain or lightly trimmed neckcloth worn with military dress, wrapped just once about the neck in a loose knot, with a lace of fringed ends that were twisted together and tucked out of the way into the button-hole (of either a coat or a waistcoat). The Steinkirk proved to be popular with both men and women until the 1720s.

History of Neckties: 1720-1800 Stocks, Solitaires, Neckclothes, Cravats

In 1715, another kind of neckwear, called "stocks" made its appearance. Stocks were initially just a small piece of muslin folded into a narrow band wound a few times around the shirt collar and secured from behind with a pin. It was fashionable for the men to wear their hair long, past shoulder length. The ends were tucked into a black silk bag worn at the nape of the neck. This was known as the bag-wig hairstyle and the neckwear worn with it was the stock. A variation of the bag wig would become the solitaire. This form had matching ribbons stitched around the bag. After the stock was in place, the ribbons would be brought forward and tied in a large bow in front of the wearer. Sometime in the late eighteenth century, cravats began to make an appearance again. This can be attributed to a group of young men called the Macaronis (of Yankee Doodle fame). These were young Englishmen who returned from Europe and brought with them new ideas about fashion from Italy. They reintroduced the flowing cravat in the 1770s and the manner of tying one became a matter of personal taste and style, to the extent that after Waterloo, the neckwear itself was increasingly referred to as a "tie".

History of Neckties: 1800-1850 Cravat, Stocks, Scarves, Neckerchiefs, Bandannas

At this time, there was also much interest in the way to tie a proper cravat and this led to a series of publications. This began with Neckclothitania, which is a book that contained instructions and illustrations on how to tie 14 different cravats. It was also the first book to use the word 'tie' in association with neckwear. It was about this time that black stocks made their appearance. Their popularity eclipsed the white cravat, except for formal and evening wear. These remained popular through to the 1850s. At this time, another form of neckwear worn was the scarf. This was where a neckerchief or bandanna was held in place by slipping the ends through a finger or scarf ring at the neck instead of using a knot. This is the classic sailor neckwear and may have been adopted from them.

History of Neckties: 1860 - 1920s Ascot, Four-in-hand tie, Long Tie, Bow Tie

The Ascot:
The ascot is descended from the earlier type of cravat widespread in the early nineteenth century, most notably during the age of Beau Brummell. It was made of heavily starched linen and elaborately tied around the neck. Later in the 1880s, amongst the upper-middle-class in Europe, men began to wear a more loosely tied version for formal daytime events, with daytime full dress in frock coats or with morning coats. It remains a feature of morning dress for weddings today. The Royal Ascot race meeting at the Ascot Racecourse gave the ascot its name, although such dress cravats were no longer worn with morning dress at the Royal Ascot races by the Edwardian era. The ascot was still commonly worn for business with morning dress in the late 19th and very early 20th centuries.

The more casual form of ascot was referred to as a day cravat to distinguish it from the highly formal dress cravat. The day cravat was worn in the early decades of the twentieth century as casual wear, often as sports wear such as when playing golf. The Duke of Windsor often wore one in this manner. It was regarded as an elegant form of casual dress. Ascots of the casual day cravat variety were popular in fashion for teenaged and young adult males in the mid-to-late 1960s, coinciding with the mod (modern) and psychedelic movements. Currently, the day cravat is often considered over dressy for casual wear though some men will wear it as part of a conservative business casual ensemble in place of a tie. Emmy award winning actor Jeremy Piven is known to wear an ascot tie, an unusual choice in his time, and radio personality Todd Frary likewise wears a day cravat on occasion. US Army Officer Candidates wear ascots as part of their uniform. In the 60s, Fred Jones of Scooby Doo wears an orange ascot, which was a craze in the 60s next to tye-dye shirts, bell bottoms and peace necklaces. Michael Corleone, Al Pacino's character in The Godfather, wears an ascot in a few scenes, and is pictured wearing it on some versions of the Part II DVD.

Four-in-hand Tie:
When the industrial revolution occurred, there was a sudden need for neckwear that was easy to put on, comfortable and would last an entire workday. The modern necktie, as is still worn by millions of men today, was born. It was long, thin and easy to knot and it didn't come undone. The English called it the "four in hand" because the knot resembled the reins of the four horse carriage used by the British upper class. Later it also was the name of a London gentleman's club. Some etymological reports state that carriage drivers knotted their reins with four-in-hand knot, while others claim the carriage drivers wore their scarves knotted 'four-in-hand', but, most likely, members of the club began wearing their neckties so knotted, thus making it fashionable. In the latter half of the 19th century, the four-in-hand knot and the four-in-hand necktie were synonymous. As fashion changed from stiff shirt collars to soft, turned-down collars, the four-in-hand necktie knot gained popularity; its sartorial dominance rendered the term "four-in-hand" redundant, shortening it to "long tie" and "tie".

By this time, the sometimes complicated array of knots and styles of neckwear gave way to bow ties, much smaller and more convenient versions of the cravat. This was until a New York tie maker by the name of Jesse Langdorf came up with a method of cutting the fabric on the bias and sewing it into three segments. This technique improved elasticity, allowed the tie to evenly fall from the knot without twisting, and facilitated the fabrics return to its original shape. This method also caused any woven pattern such as stripes to appear diagonally across the tie. Since 1926, most men have worn the "Langsdorf" tie. Yet another development of the time was the method used to secure the lining and interlining once the tie had been folded into shape. Richard Atkinson and Company of Belfast claim to have introduced the slip stitch for this purpose in the late 1920's.

History of Neckties: 1920's to Present Day

Bolo Tie:
A bolo tie (sometimes bola tie) is a type of necktie consisting of a piece of cord or braided leather with decorative metal tips or aglets (aiguillettes) secured with an ornamental clasp or slide. Silversmith Victor Cedarstaff of Wickenburg, Arizona, claims to have invented the bolo tie the late 1940s, and later patented his slide design. According to an article in Sunset, Victor Cedarstaff was riding his horse one day when his hat blew off. Wary of losing the silver-trimmed hatband, he slipped it around his neck. His companion joked, "That's a nice-looking tie you're wearing, Vic." An idea incubated, and Cedarstaff soon fashioned the first bolo tie. The name is derived from boleadora, an Argentine lariat. Boleadoras or bolas (from the Spanish word "bola", meaning ball) are throwing weapons made of weights attached to the end of cords.

It is also said that the bolo tie is a North American pioneer creation that dates back to between 1866 and 1886. There is a bolo tie on display at a trading post in Zuni Pueblo, New Mexico, said to date back that far. In the United States bolo ties are widely associated with Western wear, and are generally most common in the western areas of the country. Bolo tie slides and tips in silver have been part of Hopi, Navajo, and Zuni silversmithing traditions since the mid-20th century. The bolo tie was made the official neckwear of Arizona in 1971. New Mexico passed a non-binding measure to designate the bolo as the state's official neckwear in 1987. On March 13, 2007, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson signed into law the bolo tie as the state's official tie. In the United Kingdom, bolo ties are known as bootlace ties. They were popular with 1950s Teddy Boys, who wore them with drape suits. Along with other 1950s fashions, bolo ties were revived as part of the Rockabilly look in the 1980s.

The Modern Tie:

After the Second World War, hand painted ties became an accepted form of decoration in America. The widths of some of these ties went up to 4.5 inches. These loud flamboyant ties sold very well all the way through the 1950s. On the other side of the pond, regimental stripes have been continuously used in tie designs since the 1920s. Traditionally, English stripes ran from the left shoulder down to the right side, however, a century ago, when Brooks brothers introduced the striped ties in the States, they had theirs cut in the opposite direction.

The 1960s brought about an influx of pop-art influenced designs. The first was designed by Michael Fish when he worked at Turnbull and Asser. The term kipper, was a pun on his name. The exuberance of the styles of the late 1960s and early 1970s gradually gave way to more restrained designs. Ties became narrower, returning to their 2-3 inch width with subdued colors and motifs. Traditional designs of the 1930s and 1950s reappeared, particularly paisley patterns. Ties began to be sold along with shirts and designers slowly began to experiment with bolder colors.

This trend grew until the 1980s and 1990s when there developed a taste for increasingly unusual designs. There was an increased number of deliberately kitsch designs and joke ties. These novelty ties were often made of plastic or even wood and were more statement pieces than fashion.

Ties as signs of membership:

The use of colored and patterned neckties indicating the wearer's membership to a club, military regiment, or school, dates back to late-nineteenth century England. The first definite occurrence was in 1880, when Exeter College, Oxford rowers took the college-color ribbons from their straw boaters and wore them as neckties (knotted four-in-hand), and then went on to order a proper set of ties in the same colors, this creating the first example of a college necktie. Soon other colleges followed suit, as well as schools, universities, and clubs. At about the same time, the British military moved from dressing in brightly and distinctively colored uniforms to subdued and discreet uniforms, and they used neckties to retain regimented colors. The colors themselves may be particularly significant. The dark blue and red regimental tie of the Household Cavalry is said to represent the blue blood of the Royal Family and the red blood of the Guards.

Almost all secondary schools in the United Kingdom maintain the wearing of a tie as part of their school uniforms, with its design being specific. Some primary schools also permit pupils to wear ties. The most common pattern for such ties in the UK and most of Europe consists of diagonal stripes of alternating colors running down the tie from the wearer's left. Note that neckties are cut on the bias (diagonally), so the stripes on the source cloth are parallel or perpendicular to the edge, not diagonal. Many British schools use variations on their basic necktie to indicate the wearer's age, house, status (e.g., prefect), or participation in competition (especially sports). Usually the Old Boys and Girls (alumni) wear a different design.

In the United States, diagonally striped ties are commonly worn with no connotation of group membership. Typically, American striped ties have the stripes running downward from the wearer's right (the opposite of the European style). However, when Americans wear striped ties as a sign of membership, the European stripe may be used. An alternative membership tie pattern to diagonal stripes is either a single emblem or crest centered and placed where a tie pin normally would be, or a repeated pattern of such motifs. Sometimes both types are used by an organization, either simply to offer a choice or to indicate a distinction among the levels of membership. Occasionally a hybrid design is used, in which alternating stripes of color are overlaid with a repeated motif pattern.

Information and photographs courtesy of:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_necktie
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Necktie
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cravat