A necktie (American English) – also called a long tie or, more usually, simply a tie (Commonwealth English) – is a cloth article of formal neckwear or office attire worn for decorative or symbolic purposes, knotted at the throat, resting under a folded shirt collar, and usually draped down the chest. On rare occasions, neckties are worn above a winged shirt collar. Neckties are usually paired with collared dress shirts under suit jackets or blazers, but have often been seen with other articles, such as sport coats and v-neck sweaters. Neckties can also be part of a uniform; however, in occupations where manual labor is involved, the end of the necktie is often tucked into the button line front placket of a dress shirt, such as the dress uniform of the United States Marine Corps. Neckties are reported by fashion historians to be descended from the Regency era double-ended cravat. Adult neckties are generally unsized and tapered along the length, but may be available in longer sizes for taller people, designed to show just the wide end. Widths are usually matched to the width of a suit jacket lapel. Neckties are traditionally worn with the top shirt button fastened, and the tie knot resting between the collar points. Importance is given to the styling of the knot. In the late 1990s, Thomas Fink and Yong Mao of University of Cambridge mathematically determined 13 knots as "aesthetically" viable out of a possible total of 85, of which the commonest known are the four-in-hand, the Pratt, and the Windsor knots. The cut of the folded collar of the dress shirt is typically paired with the style of knot used. Neckties were originally considered menswear, but are now considered unisex items in most Western cultures. Necktie is also US slang term for a hangman's noose.
History
Origins
The necktie that spread from Europe traces back to Croatian mercenaries serving in France during the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648). These mercenaries from the Military Frontier, wearing their traditional small, knotted neckerchiefs, aroused the interest of the Parisians. Because of the difference between the Croatian word for Croats, Hrvati, and the French word, Croates, the garment gained the name cravat (cravate in French). Louis XIV began wearing a lace cravat around 1646 when he was seven and set the fashion for French nobility. From its introduction by the French king, men wore lace cravats and jabots — pleated, ruched, or frilled — which took a large amount of time and effort to arrange. This new article of clothing started a fashion craze in Europe; both men and women wore pieces of fabric around their necks. Jabots remain today as part of the dress code for legal practitioners in court and for formal academic wear. Cravats were often tied in place by cravat strings, arranged neatly and tied in a bow. International Necktie Day is celebrated on October 18 in Croatia and in various cities around the world, including in Dublin, Tübingen, Como, Tokyo, Sydney, and other towns.
1710–1800: stocks, solitaires, neckcloths, cravats
In 1715, another kind of neckwear, called "stocks" made its appearance. The term originally referred to a leather collar, laced at the back, worn by soldiers to encourage a military bearing and to keep the head high. The leather stock also afforded some protection to the major blood vessels of the neck from saber or bayonet attacks. General Sherman is seen wearing a leather stock in several American Civil War-era photographs. Stock ties 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. At the time, it was fashionable for men to wear their hair long, past shoulder length, with the ends 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. The solitaire was a variation of the bag wig, which 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. In the late 18th century, a resurgence in fashion for cravats began attributed to foppish young Englishmen who returned from the Grand Tour of Europe bringing with them new ideas about fashion from Italy, who were pejoratively called macaronis from their taste for pasta, then little known in Britain — as mentioned in the song "Yankee Doodle". The French contemporaries of these macaronis were termed the 'petits-maîtres' and incroyables.
1800–1850: cravat, stocks, scarves, bandanas
At this time, there was also much interest in how to tie a proper cravat, which led to a series of publications. This began in 1818 with the publication of Neckclothitania, a style manual that included illustrated instructions for tying 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. It was about this time that black stocks made their appearance. Their popularity eclipsed that of the white cravat, except in formal and evening wear. These remained popular through the 1850s. At this time, another form of neckwear worn was the scarf. This was where a neckerchief or bandana was held in place by slipping the ends through a finger or a scarf ring at the neck, rather than using a knot. This is the classic sailor neckwear and may have been adopted from them.
1860s–1920s: bow ties, scarf/neckerchief, the ascot, the long tie
With the Industrial Revolution, more people wanted neckwear that was easy to put on, comfortable, and would last an entire workday. Long ties were designed to be long, thin, and easy to knot, without accidentally coming undone. Academic tailors Castell & Son (Oxford) Limited, which opened in 1846 in Oxford, takes credit for creating the first modern style necktie in 1870 — the original form of design still worn by millions.
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