All About Neckwear from Then to Now

Some documents trace the origin of the necktie to 221 BC during the reign of China’s first emperor. The ‘terracotta army’ that was buried with the emperor, comprised of 7000 soldier statues, all wore neckwear. Ties seemed to disappear for many centuries after that. The servants of Roman soldiers were allowed to wear cloths around their necks, although it was not considered appealing or stylish at the time. Roman orators also wore it to warm their vocal cords.

The neck scarf came back into fashion as part of a military uniform in Croatia in the 1600s and was co-opted by French royalty. The French termed the neck scarf the ‘cravat’, thought to be a slight morphing of ‘Croat’. The cravat became fashionable in England in the late 1700s when Beau Brummel, a male fashion consultant, decided to add it to his wardrobe. In the early 1800s, the name ‘cravat’ was replaced by the word ‘tie’. Books were published in that time to show variations of how to knot cravats or ties. As the British spread their colonies around the world, their fashions also spread, including the necktie or scarf. Armies adopted the necktie as part of their uniform, with the color and pattern uniquely identifying different regiments. This is where the patterned necktie developed.

The modern necktie

The modern neck tie was designed in the 1920s by an American tie maker, Jesse Langsdorf. Artists of the time also placed artwork on ties, creating the first novelty ties. In the 1930s, King George V passed on a particular way to tie neckwear to the Duke of Windsor. Thus, the ‘Windsor Knot’ was named and made famous. From the 1920s, the width of the necktie has changed many times and has been as thin as 1 ½ inches and as wide as 4 ½ inches. The 1970s was a particularly ‘wide tie’ era. The 1980s placed emphasis on neckwear as being highly important for ones career. Thus, the ‘Power Tie’ was born. The 1980s ties were much narrower than the decade before, bringing back the narrow neckties of the Rat Pack era in the 1950s.

The 80s also saw the development of many novelty ties, especially the fish tie, hobby neckties and other types of art themed ties. The early 90’s saw the tie trend diminish drastically as casual days in offices took hold. Even the most formal of offices started to accept more casual dress, which signaled the end of daily neckwear as a requirement.

After the new millennium, a conservative trend took hold and neck ties made a comeback in many places of work. No longer was a novelty tie acceptable workplace apparel. After 9/11, patriotism was shown openly and very prominently on neckwear. Since 9/11, the trend of wearing ties has waxed and waned. Currently it is becoming chic to wear narrow ties even with jeans...a very nice addition to an otherwise casual look.