To celebrate the relaunch of our online shop selling silk ties and braces we’re looking into the origin of the tie and its many iterations.
The Tie. The Cravat. Our knotted, neck-bound friend. As Oscar Wilde stated, ‘a well-tied tie is the first serious step in life’. No matter how you wear your tie, it is an elegant fashion staple that, much like an Uncle after more than a few glasses of Christmas Port, is full of stories. Whether it’s the origins of the tie in popular fashion, the number of silkworms needed for optimum quality, or even the meaning behind a tie’s stripes, there is plenty of history to explore. So tighten your collars, bring out your tie-pins, and delve into the knotted history of the tie.
Oscar Wilde: A solid first step
We start, as most good tales tend to, at the beginning. The generally-accepted origin of the necktie as a fashionable item comes from 17th Century France, during the rule of King Louis XIII. At the time, the 30 Years War was at its height, raging through Europe. It is here, on the bloodiest of stages, that the ancestor of the tie made its first appearance around the necks of Croatian mercenaries fighting for the French King.
Croatian soldiers today wearing the necktie
The Croatian mercenaries wore a piece of cloth around their necks. King Louis noticed this and took a liking to it. Due to this, the Monarch decided to make a piece of cloth tied around one’s neck a mandatory addition to the dress code for Royal gatherings, and thus the necktie was born. The King even named the tie ‘La Cravate’, in honour of the Croatian men who inspired his love for the item, a name still used today.
With each tie, a memory…
The tie’s evolution is very closely linked to that of the lounge suit with each, arguably, influencing the other. As we’ve seen in The History of the Suit, the tie has travelled through many stages to become the versatile, quintessential fashion staple it is today. To take you through every tangled tale would be a gargantuan task - instead, we have tapered the story to feature only the most interesting, odd, and amusing facts about the tie’s history.
The go-to-guide for ties
After the 17th Century, saw the beginnings of several different ties. First came the Steinkirk - a looser-fitting version of the original cravat - then shortly after the Stock Tie. By the 1800s, there were even more variety of ties, and the methods in which to tie them had grown. Help, however, was on hand with the Neckclothitania. Published in 1818, this odd-sounding manuscript detailed 14 different ways to tie a cravat. It was also the first to use of the word ‘Tie’ to describe a neckcloth.
Over the next 20 years, the word would gain popularity, and by 1840, the ‘tie’ had almost entirely replaced the ‘cravat’. By this time, The cravat or tie was such a valued item that the Neckwear Association of America declared that to touch another man’s neckwear was fair grounds for a duel!
“Ere! Did you touch my necktie?”
Up to then, the tie was an exclusively handmade product of fine quality, made my specialist tie-makers. In 1864, and with the help of the sewing machine and industrialisation, mass-produced goods such as the bespoke suit and the tie became widely available. This with lower costs for the end customer only strengthened the ties popularity both here in the UK and overseas.
By 1880, the first Club Tie was born, and we have the Oxford University Boat Club to thank for this. Somewhere in their long and illustrious history, their club colours - that wrapped around their hats - were removed and worn around the neck. With the rising popularity of the tie, the club embraced this new fashion, added their colours and the club tie was born.
The man behind the knot: The Duke of Windsor (Edward VIII)
In 1936, the Duke of Windsor created a new type of tie knot, which inventively became known as - yes, you guessed it - the Windsor Knot. The result is a wide triangular knot placed between shirt collars. So popular was this new method the Windsor soon overtook the more traditional Four-In-Hand.
By the 1970s, traditional neckties were no longer ‘cool’. Instead, new types of tie were seen in popular culture. Two of the most notable ties from this era were the kipper and bolo ties. The kipper tie was wide, reaching widths of five to six inches and aggressively coloured, often seen on the likes of Elvis Presley and TV detectives of the time. The Bolo Tie, however, was very different, taking inspiration from the Wild West rather than downtown. It was constructed using braided leather cord decorated with metal tips at each end threaded through an ornamental clasp or slide.
Sadly not in colour. Courtesy of Ross Dunn, Ottawa, Canada
The 1980s, 1990s and Noughties saw further iterations of the tie. Along with the two and three-piece suit, it is affected by the times. Whatever is going on culturally, economically and sociologically it eventually is reflected in the clothes and accessories we wear. For those over 40, you will no doubt remember the very many ties from your past. For such a small piece of cloth - the changes have been considerable.
A tie for each decade
Well, there you are - a short, whistlestop tour of the history of the necktie. From humble beginnings around the necks of Croatian mercenaries, through to the Oxford Rowing Club, Elvis Presley, Kojak and Kajagoogoo, the tie has had a fascinating and sometimes surprising journey. So, the next time someone asks you about your tie, you can regale them with tales of its amazing past. Just make sure they know not to touch it. After all, they wouldn’t want to face you in a duel would they?
