Ties

The modern neck-tie is a symbol of formality and professionalism in modern society. The
modern tie traces its roots to Croatian cravats. The following extract from
www.infoplease.com, written by David Johnson gives a brief account of the uses, origins and
development of the modern neck-tie:

China
The earliest known version of the necktie has been found in the massive mausoleum of
China's first emperor, Shih Huang Ti, who was buried in 210 B.C. Desperately afraid of death,
the emperor wanted to slaughter an entire to army to accompany him into the next world.
His advisers ultimately persuaded him to take life-size replicas of the soldiers instead.
The result is one of the marvels of the ancient world; the Terracotta Army. Unearthed in
1974 near the ancient capital city of Xian, the tomb contained an astonishing 7,500 life-size
terracotta replicas of Shih Huang Ti's famed fighting force. Legions of officers, soldiers,
archers and horsemen, all carved in meticulous detail, guard the emperor's sarcophagus.
The armour, uniforms, hair, and facial expressions of the soldiers are reproduced in
exquisite detail. Each figure is different - except in one respect: all wear silk neck cloths.
Since silk was a great luxury, the cloths could indicate the ultimate honour Shih Huang Ti
bestowed on his soldiers. Historians say other records indicate the Chinese did not wear
ties, so why the emperor's guards wore carefully wrapped silk cloths remains a mystery.

Romans
In 113 A.D., one of Rome's greatest Emperors, the military genius Trajan, erected a marble
column to commemorate a triumphant victory over the Dacians, who lived in what is now
Romania. The 2,500 realistic figures on the column sport no less than three different styles
of neckwear. These include shorter versions of the modern necktie; cloth wound around the
neck and tucked into armour; and knotted kerchiefs reminiscent of cowboy bandannas.
While Roman orators often wore cloths to keep their throats warm, soldiers did not cover
their necks. In fact, writers such as Horace and Seneca said only effeminate men covered
their necks. Trajan's column is the only representation of legionnaires with neckwear.
Historians believe the legionnaires wore cloths for reasons similar to those of Shih Huang
Ti's terracotta army. Truly great fighters must be visibly honoured. And, the legionnaires
were so skilled in battle that they were immune to perceptions of appearing feminine.

France
Around the year 1635AD, some six thousand soldiers and knights came to Paris to give their
support to King Louis XlV and Cardinal Richelieu. Among them were a great number of
Croatian mercenaries and the traditional outfit of these Croats aroused interest on account
of the unusual and picturesque scarves distinctively tied about their necks. The scarves were

made of various cloths, ranging from coarse material for common soldiers, to fine cotton
and silk for officers. This elegant "Croatian style" immediately enamoured the French, most
notably the king himself, who immediately started wearing cravats as they were more
comfortable than the stiff, starched, white lace collars that were fashionable at the time.
The Croatian scarf was thus accepted in France. The fashionable expression, a la croate,
soon evolved into a new French word, which still exists today: la cravate. Many experts
believe the French word for tie, cravat, is a corruption of "Croat". Other sources say cravat is
derived from the Turkish word kyrabacs, or the Hungarian, korbacs, both meaning "whip" or
"long, slender object." Researchers have also noted the word cravat appeared in French
before the arrival of the Croatians. They suggest the term is a corruption of rabat, French for
a
hanging
collar.
Whichever the case, the elegant French courtiers, and the military immediately began
copying the Croatians. Ordinary soldiers began adorning their necks with lace, while officers
sported muslin or silk, possibly trimmed with embroidery. Even poor people wore cotton
cravats, sometimes of pleated black taffeta.

England and beyond

On his return to England from exile in 1660, Charles II reclaimed the throne that had been
lost during the Puritan revolution and brought with him this new word in fashion; Cravat.
After nine years in exile, aristocrats flooded England, bringing with them a passion for the
pleasures of the European courts. Weary of war, and tired of the austerity imposed by
Oliver Cromwell; England wanted to have fun. Gambling, drinking, music, dancing, parties,
theatre, elaborate clothes, grand wigs, and yes, the stylish, new cravat, were suddenly all
the rage. Over the next ten years, this fashion novelty spread across Europe, as well as
across the colonies on the American continent. Soon no gentleman would have considered
himself well-dressed without sporting some sort of cloth around his neck--the more
decorative, the better. At times, cravats were worn so high that a man could not move his
head without turning his whole body. There were even reports of cravats worn so thick that
they stopped sword thrusts. The various styles knew no bounds, as cravats of tasselled
strings, plaid scarves, tufts and bows of ribbon, lace and embroidered linen all abounded.
Nearly one hundred different knots were recognized, and as a certain M. Le Blanc, who
instructed men in the fine and sometimes complex art of tying a tie, noted, "The grossest
insult that can be offered to a man comme il faut is to seize him by the cravat; in this place
blood only can wash out the stain upon the honour of either party."

The Steinkirk to the Bandana

The eighteenth century brought unprecedented innovation in neckwear. The Steinkirk, a
loosely wrapped scarf like tie worn with the dangling end chastely tucked or pinned to the
breast, began to take precedence over the lace cravat in the early part of the century. So
popular was the style, that women were soon attracted to wearing the more demure version
of the necktie, only in more lively colours than the gent's basic white.

Royalty and landed gentry continued to elaborate their neckwear, to the point that a club of
English dandies that had toured Italy, called the Macaronis, dedicated themselves to reviving
the frilly lace excesses of centuries past. In 1776, The Town and Country Magazine described
the Macaroni as a "most ridiculous figure ... Such a figure, essence and perfumed, with a bunch
of lace sticking out under its chin, puzzles the common passenger to determine the thing's
sex." With revolution in the air on both sides of the Atlantic, such effeminate excesses could
not go unchallenged by real men for very long, and soon plain handkerchiefs, the very
antithesis of frilly lace, were being tied into a distinctive common man's neckwear: the
bandanna.
Derived from the Sanskrit word, bandhna, or bandhana, meaning "tying", bandannas were
first imported from India around 1700. The original bandannas were silk and came in an
array of colours, including red, blue, green, brown, black and white, pink, and yellow.
Bandannas could also be hand printed or tie-dyed with flowers or bird's eye patterns. For
working-class Europeans, the bandanna at last provided a mark of masculine respectability at
an affordable price. Of brightly coloured and robust material, the bandanna did not easily
show the dirt, and was quite washable when it did. In addition, the material could be used to
form a basket, lead an animal, or mop the sweat from a working brow when not being used to
project the owner's dignity. European industrialists soon began to cash in on the craze, and
knock-offs of the Bengali silk prints were being manufactured at home. Over the water, in
North America, the cotton bandanna became an extremely popular and affordable common
sense form of neckwear for those colonists who could not wholly abandon the urbane fashions
of the Old Countries. Bandanas also became the staple neckwear for cowboys, adventurers and
sailors.

Development into the modern Business Suit and Tie

As interest in the bandanna necktie became ever more general, the time worn urge of the elite
to distinguish themselves from common men soon provoked the flourishing of yet another
style of neckwear: the Incroyable neck cloth. The Incroyables - literally the Unbelievables were a dandy group of young French nonconformists who expressed sympathy with
Republican ideals by revolutionary sartorial excesses. They wore strange cravats of an almost
inconceivable size: "The shirt collar rose to the sides of the ears, and the top of the cravat
covered the mouth and the lower part of the nose, so that the face (with the exception of the
nose) was concealed by the cravat and a forest of whiskers; these rose on each side of the hair,
which was combed down over the eyes. In this costume, the elegans bore a greater
resemblance to beasts then men, and the fashion gave rise to many laughable
caricatures. They were compelled to look straight before them, as the head could only be
turned by the general consent of all the members, and the tout ensemble was that of an
unfinished statue." according to a contemporary observer. Royalists countered the excesses
of the Incroyables with more sober green neckcloths, which in turn prompted even more
extravagance on the part of the Republicans: two sheets of muslin, one white and one black,
wrapped around the neck, chin, and face, finished with floppy bows drooped across the
shoulders.

These excesses led to a conservative reaction by George Bryan "Beau" Brummell, an English
businessman and personality during the 19th century." Brummell rejected 18th century frills.
His mandate, a dark blue coat, buff-coloured pantaloons and waistcoat, black boots and a
clean white neck cloth, survives today as the dark business suit and white shirt, and as crisp
white sportswear The well-dressed man about town should wear clothes that are simple,
functional and discreet he commanded. By advocating well-cut, tailored clothes, Brummell
essentially invented what has come to be known as the "British look.
The simplicity of Brummell's uniform was adopted by everyone from many working men to
his friend, the Prince Regent, later King George IV. For the first time, poorer men hoping to
make their way in the world could easily imitate upper class fashion.
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 the publication of Neckclothitania, a book that
contained instructions and illustrations on how to tie 14 different cravats. Soon after, the
immense skill required to tie the cravat in certain styles, quickly became a mark of a man's
elegance and wealth. It was also the first book to use the word tie in association with
neckwear.
With the industrial revolution, more people wanted neckwear that was easy to put on,
comfortable and would last an entire workday. Neckties were designed long, thin and easy
to knot, and they did not come undone. This is the necktie design still worn by millions of
men.
In 1880, the rowing club at Oxford University's Exeter College One men's club, invented the
first school tie by removing their ribbon hat bands from their boater hats and tying them,
four-in-hand. When they ordered a set of ties, with the colours from their hatbands, they
had created the modern school tie. School, club, and athletic ties appeared in abundance.
Some schools had different ties for various grades, levels of achievement, and for graduates.
In 1926, a New York tie maker, Jesse Langsdorf came up with a method of cutting the fabric
on the bias and sewing it in three segments. This technique improved elasticity and
facilitated the fabric's return to its original shape. Since that time, most men have worn the
"Langsdorf" tie. Yet another development during that 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 slipstitch for this purpose in the late 1920s.
Also in the 1920s a pioneering Paris fashion designer, Jean Patou, invented the designer tie.
He made ties from women's clothing material including patterns inspired by the latest art
movements of the day, Cubism and Art Deco.

Conclusion
The origins and development of the modern mans tie is apparent from the above piece.
Many modern people, however, choose to be counter establishment, viewing ties as a
stereotype and noose in which the modern businessman and office worker willingly tie
themselves each day. As a result, many companies, especially IT companies such as Google,
IBM and Apple, have made ties non-compulsory or banned altogether. Many religious and
pseudo-religious, anti-social, anti-establishment and anti-corporate groups have
condemned ties and official business wear as pagan in origin and invent all sorts of lewd
connections to the tie. These are, however, without any foundation whatsoever and
originate no further back than the mind of some troubled individual. The popular
scapegoats, the Free Masons, have also been accused of inventing this noose in which
modern men tie themselves each day. However, as can very clearly be seen, the modern tie
was a natural development and adaptation of the cravat into the modern workplace. The
cravat was usually a large square or rectangular piece of cloth. These rather amusing tales of
supposed origins of modern accessories are therefore completely ludicrous and false, as
history has shown.