The History of Necktie

 Have you ever wondered why do we need to put on tie just for decorative purpose and what significance does it have.

Early History: Though Romans were believed to have started neckwear as a necessity to protect themselves from extremities of weather or wounds during the war, it took several centuries to improve and adopt this neckwear as a fashion statement.

1500-1600:  When the shirts went a revolutionary change by introducing neckholes and buttons, the Ruff was worn around the neck. It was a frilly, pleated collar of fine fabric like muslin or lace. Frill was circular in shape and was used as a fashion statement by men and women. It took several decades to give it a more elaborate, fashionable look. Starch was used to ensure the stiffness of Ruffs and enhanced its appearance. It had a frilly circular appearance and could be extensively elaborate. The starch played a very important role in giving Ruff its stiff shape. However, it was not possible to maintain the stiffness of Ruffs more than one day because of the weather and body heat. Also the physical movements of the wearer were also greatly restricted and they had to hold their chin high so that the stiffness should not be affected. It naturally made the Ruff exclusive neckwear worn by the rich and noble class, as they had servants for variety of works and thus did not require much physical efforts and can easily restrict their movements to maintain the ideal shape of the Ruff. Preferred by the high class that liked their distinct status in the society, Ruffs went through various revolutionary changes. Various elaborative styles were introduced around that time suiting the refined, luxurious taste of high class.

1618-1648 AD: Another primitive form of neckwear is believed to be introduced in the second decade of this century. During the starting of this century, a series of battles were fought in the central Europe that continued for 30 years. King Louis XIII of France recruited Croatian mercenaries to serve the French military. These Croatians attracted the attention of Parisians due to their small piece of cloth that they wear around their necks as a part of their uniform. The main objective of wearing this cloth was to tie the top of their jackets. Besides that, it also gave a particular aesthetic look to their uniform. It could not escape the keen eye of the fashionable French and they saw it as potential for creating a distinct fashion statement. It was King Louis the XIV of France who first started the trend of wearing such neckerchiefs in the year 1646 and gradually the general populace started following the trend. But this basic piece of cloth worn around the neck failed to satiate the fashion appetite of the French to its fullest and they started finding new ways to revolutionize the aesthetic look by introducing various improvements. The French experimented extensively the style of bow that was the most visible part of cravates. Apart from decorating these pieces with embroidery or lace at the ends, various new and complex styles of knotting the bow were also introduced and several styles got a distinct respect in the fashion world. Some selected styles of bow interpreted the social status of the wearer. People belonging to high class preferred more complex and aesthetically refined styles of bows.  Some of the highly regarded styles were plaid scarves, tasseled strings, tufts and bows of ribbon.

During 1710-1800 another neckwear was introduced which was called stocks. Stock was actually a military wear worn around the neck and laced, buttoned or buckled at the back. It was made of leather and looked like a collar. Apart from enhancing the strong, bold look of the soldier it also saved then from injuries during the wars. Gradually, due to its bold look, it was adopted by the civilians too with some improvements. The introduction of stocks as a fashion statement affected the position of cravates as dominant neckwear perhaps because the sophisticated cravates did not looked well with bold-looking leather stocks. Around this time Jabots were introduced. Jabot, the frilly attire gave an enhanced look to the whole appearance of the wearer. It was positioned at the same place where tie is worn today. To further enhance the fashion statement Solitaires were introduced that closely resembled the appearance of modern shirt collars.  A simpler neckwear was stock tie that was a piece of muslin; it was wound several times around the neck and was secured with a pin at the back. 

1800-1850 the cravates were reintroduced in the fashion world by young group of Englishman, who had been to Italy and highly inspired by Italian fashion, they introduced some of these ideas back home too. Cravates was one among them. This time the cravates had undergone a considerable change. Many new and complex styles of tying cravates were introduced. The styles of bowing the knot were given immense importance. There were as many as 14 different ways of tying a carvate. Skills of tying knots in various complex styles marked the man's elegance and wealth.

Around this time the Black Stocks started gaining popularity and white caveats did not match with the bold look of black stocks. Hence caveat again started losing their popularity. The gap was filled by Scarves. Scarves were just simple neckerchiefs was held in a proper place by slipping its ends through a scarf ring at the neck.

The Leather Stocks paired with scarves worn around the neck remained in the fashion for several decades.

1860-1928: The industrial revolution had begun and it was fast changing the world. It had its impact on the fashion world too. New more convenient ways were found to replace the medieval clothing that required much skills and time. Neckwear was also among them. Wearing leather stocks was easier and it paired well with scarves. But the clothing was not deemed fit for official or formal purpose because of its loud expressions of chivalry. Cravates were more formal and well suited in the necks of noble and sophisticated people but their complex styles requiring much efforts and a lot of time were the main drawbacks. Efforts were made to introduce the improved version of cravates. And with time much thinner and longer cravates were designed that were easy to be knotted round the neck. The improved designs and an increased length made it easy to tie them round the neck. The elaborate time consuming styles of tying a knot were replaced with the uniform, easiest way that required least efforts and time. Hence this was the introduction of present day ties that were easy to wear and gave a sophisticated look to the wearer. But there was still one problem with it. It lacked required elasticity took a long time to return back into its original shape after untying. It was further improved by Jesse Leinsdorf in 1924 by introducing the new concept of tie making. First the fabric was cut in the bias. After that it was skillfully sewed in three segments to ensure the elasticity. Around the same time Richard Atkinson and Company of Belfast is credited with the invention of slipstitch to offer greater convenience of arranging the tie upon folding into shape.

That was the first instance of modern tie.