[Ansteorra] Ties

[Marc Carlson]

In the 17th century, a Croatian regiment is said to have visited Paris in
1660 after a great battle with the Turks, or they were seen by the French
king in 1636 - who knows.  Part of their officer's apparel was a bit of
fabric tied around the neck.  Louis XIV thought this was cool (or in French
"froid") and created his own regiment of "Royal Cravattes" (the French
frequently misspell things like that).

These fashion for tying hankies around the neck soon replaced the previous
tradition of laying lacework doilies about the torso, and soon even the
English decided that this was worth a try.

By the 19th century, cravats were THE thing a gentleman ought to be wearing.
  Byron it is said, brought about the next stage in this evolution, when he
developed an avant-guarde looser knot for his cravat that wound up with two
loose (and unstarched) ends hanging off the front of the neck.

About this same time, boys would start having their cravats tied with big
bows, thus being the origin of both the bow tie and it's slightly immature
and casual reputation (since the tuxedo was originally an informal outfit,
the casual bow tie eventually was attached to it as well).

But I digress...

Dickens brought his own variation of the cravat to the US, with not knotting
his cravat at all, but just drawing it through a ring (and you wondered
where string ties came from...  Boy scout neckerchiefs)

The "four-in-hand" is attributed to English coachmen, who tied their cravats
in slip knots to keep them from blowing as they quickly drove their coaches.

Then we get to Edward VII (the former Prince of Wales, aka Bertie, Vicki's
boy).  During his long time as Prince of Wales, he greatly altered the
fashion of the cravat, until it almost resembled the modern tie in all forms
(the last touches would be brought about by his grand son, the Duke of
Windsor).

Marc/Diarmaid

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