Neckties Bow ties, Cravats, Cuff Links and more
The necktie (or tie) is a long piece of cloth worn around the neck. It rests under the shirt collar and is knotted at the throat. The modern necktie, ascot, and bow tie are descended from the cravat. Men and women wear neckties as part of regular office attire or formal wear. Neckties can also be worn as part of a uniform (e.g. military, school, waitstaff). Variants include the bow tie, ascot tie, bola tie, and the clip-on tie.
The necktie can be traced back to the time of the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648) when Croatian mercenaries in French service, wearing their traditional small, knotted neckerchiefs, aroused the interest of the Parisians. The new article of clothing started a fashion craze in Europe where both men and women wore pieces of fabric around their necks. In the late seventeenth century, the men wore lace cravats that took a large amount of time and effort to arrange. These cravats were often tied in place by cravat strings, arranged neatly and tied in a bow.
Types of Tie
Cravat
In 1660, in celebration of its hard-fought victory over Turkey, a crack regiment from Croatia 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 struck the fancy of the king, and he soon made them an insignia of royalty as he created a regiment of Royal Cravattes. The word "cravat" is derived from the "a la croate" - like the Croats (wear them).
Four-in-hand
The four-in-hand necktie (as distinct from the four-in-hand knot) was fashionable in Great Britain in the 1850s. Early neckties were simple, rectangular cloth strips cut on the square, with square ends. The term "four-in-hand" originally described a carriage with four horses and a driver; later, it also was the name of a London gentlemen's club. Some etymologic reports are that carriage drivers knotted their reins with a four-in-hand knot (see below), whilst 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 usage, shortened "long tie" and "tie". In 1926, Jesse Langsdorf from New York introduced ties cut on the bias (US) or cross-grain (UK), allowing the tie to evenly fall from the knot without twisting; this also caused any woven pattern such as stripes to appear diagonally across the tie. Today, four-in-hand ties are part of men's formal clothing in both Western and non-Western societies, particularly for business. Four-in-hand ties are generally made from silk, cotton, polyester or, common before World War II but not as popular nowadays, wool. They appear in a very wide variety of colours and patterns, notably striped (often diagonally), club ties (often with a small motif repeated regularly all over the tie) and solids. "Novelty ties" featuring icons from popular culture (such as cartoons, actors, holiday images), sometimes with flashing lights, have been quite prevalent since the 1990s, as have paisley ties.
Six- and seven-fold tie
The sevenfold tie is a construction variant of the four-in-hand necktie revived after the austerity of the Great Depression.[citation needed] A square yard of silk (usually two or more pieces sewn together) is folded to seven sections of silk between the folds. Its weight and body derive exclusively from the layering of silk. It can require an hour or more to construct. There are newly designed spinoffs to sevenfold ties, often referred to as four folds, or lined seven folds. These imposters frequently have the folds of the silk ending halfway through the middle of the inside of the tie. These ties, while very thick, are essentially the same as regular lined ties, with the exception of the decorative origami like folds at the ends of the tie. They are most easily identified by the bottom square, the part of the back of the tie that hangs in front of the belt, which is not one single sheet of silk-normally the introverted pattern is exposed-but is two pieces of the silk with the liner in between. In contrast to authentic sevenfolds, these ties' heft and body are derived by the weight of created by the folding of the silk upon itelf. These other "seven-fold ties" are also referred to as Double-Four fold and Six-fold ties. They are self-tipped and lined. These are historically Italian made, although they are increasingly being made elsewhere. For this reason, they are often referrd to as being "Italian style", while the true, authentic sevenfold tie is untipped, unlined and is the "American style". The Talbott (Robert) Family is often credited with bringing back the sevenfold design which was almost lost as a result of the 1920's era depression. It was much more expensive to make a tie completely of silk, so the lined tie with other tiping fabric was born. The authentic sevenfold tie has no interfacing (interlining) of any kind yet drapes beautifully due to the weight derived from the precise folding of the silk upon itself. Generally a medium weight, 25-30mm, silk is best used for creating one of these truely handmade ties.
Clip-on tie
Clip-on tie The clip-on necktie is permanently knotted bow tie or four-in-hand style affixed with a metal clip to the front of the shirt collar. This 20th-century innovation is considered by some to be stylistically inferior, but may be considered appropriate by some for wear in occupations (e.g., law enforcement, service clerks, airline pilots, etc.) where a traditional necktie could pose a safety hazard. Clip-on ties are also the most common form of child-sized ties.
