Archive for the 'history' Category

Necktie History – Part A: 210 BC to 17th Century

Thursday, March 1st, 2007

The most initial acknowledged description of the tie has been discovered in the gigantic mausoleum of China’s foremost monarch, Shih Huang Ti, who was buried in 210 B.C. The king wanted his entire armed forces to accompany him after death since he feared it very much. Hence, he was on the trail of a huge massacre. Exhumed in 1974 close to the primeval city of Xian, the burial place enclosed an astounding 7,500 life-size terracotta reproductions of the king’s armed forces. Legions of officials, militia, archers and horsemen, safeguard the king’s casket. The shield, garb, mane, and facial lexis of the militia are duplicated very meticulously. Each of these models is dissimilar - apart from the one fact that all have worn neck cloths.

It still remains an unknown verity as to why did these militia wear silk cloths around their necks since the others facts maintain that Chinese did not use ties.

Trajan, the great Roman Monarch constructed a marble column in 113 A.D. to venerate the successful win over the Dacians, who inhabited the state which is now known as Romania. The 2,500 pragmatic figures on the marble bar showcase not fewer than three diverse shapes of neckwear. These comprise petite descriptions of the modern necktie.
The Roman legislators frequently wore fabrics to keep their throats balmy and warm. In fact, writers like Horace and Seneca stated that just effeminate men sheltered their necks.

Trajan’s marble column is the one and only one depiction of legionnaires with neckwear. Historians suppose that the legionnaires wore cloths for raison d’ętre alike to those of Shih Huang Ti’s terracotta militia. Really great armed forces must be obviously honored.

Louis XIV of France, known as the Sun King was fascinated and enchanted by the vivid silk kerchiefs worn around the necks of the Croatian mercenaries. A crack regiment, the armed forces were offered at court around 1660 so the King could show gratitude to them for a triumph against the Hapsburg Empire.

However, proficient experts deem the French word for tie, cravat, is an altered form of “Croat.” In truth, the French kings sustained an influential regiment, the Cravate Royale, till the French Revolution of 1789.

Again the further spokespersons state that the cravat is consequential of the Turkish word kyrabacs, or the Hungarian, korbacs, which means a whip. Academicians have as well considered that the word cravat emerged in France prior to the influx of the Croatians. They propose that the word is a version of rabat, meaning French for a hanging collar.

Whatever the case be, one thing is for sure that the stylish French courtiers and the armed forces instantly embarked on replicating the Croatians. Common militia started bedecking their necks with lace, while officeholders put on muslin or silk embellished with embroidery. Even the poor citizens wore cotton cravats and at times made of pleated black taffeta.

The Necktie History

Tuesday, February 6th, 2007

The history of Necktie History had an important event in its course when in the 1880s the British Military decided to give out its bright colored uniforms as they helped enemies to notice easily. The British Army had the distinction of wearing very bright uniform which was a very easy target for their enemies even in the dim lights. The awareness to change the uniforms for the entire British Military took place in the early 1880s. After this the Uniform was changes so that there were no bright stripes and lines on the Uniform and the full uniform was made to have a more subtle look.

But the military refused old colors only in their uniforms and those bright Colors and the stripes continued with their neckties. These ties not only remained in their old colors, but they created new uniforms for each regiments.

One of the regiment The Royal Rifle Corps were allotted with rifle green and scarlet ties and for Artists’ Rifles they were changed to black, gray and red colors. For Court Inns the stripes colors were green and blue.

In the Military circles it was it was strictly followed that a person should wear ties from more than 200 regimental ties. Even some time London’s greatest shopping stores questioned their customer’s right for wearing a particular tie. These demands and changes in the custom of wearing the neckties had a phenomenal increase in the demand for exquisitely designed neckties and the neckties came to be sold in a variety of colors and designs. This increased the customer’s eagerness to buy some of the rarely available ties. This gave rise to the enormously popular necktie rare collections and many persons who were the owners of those precious ties exchanged them for thousands of dollars.

In America where the climate is not so conducive for the wearing of neckties, it seemed so uncomfortable to wear lace or silk cravats in the hot American south. The plantation owners of those times in the American continent, who were powerful and opulent, made a custom of wearing wide ribbons only to show their social powers. These the plantation owners wore wide ribbons that are tied in bows around their necks and these were made a compulsory item of their regular attire. As this can be worn with a low collared shirt, this plantation tie was the origin of American neckwear. All the development to the modern Necktie could be traced back to this modest wide ribbon bow.

This tie soon became part of Mississippi River boat Culture of the west. The famous writer Mark Twain also wanted to show his picture with wearing a plantation tie. The Riverboat Gamblers soon accepted this tie in their uniform with a fancy white shirt and a light suit. Today the leading supporter for this plantation tie is Colonel Sanders of chicken fame, who always wanted to picture him with these ties.

These plantation ties are often worn by Country music singers and square dancers.

Origin And Use Of Cufflinks

Friday, February 2nd, 2007

King Charles II, the monarch of 17th century who was famous for the form and function was known as the origin for the modern cufflinks. Men’s fashion in that century was shirts with lacy fronts and cuffs. Only a string is used as a tie to keep the cuff around the wrist. King Charles used an ornamental decorative button to pin the cuff of his coat to show more lace in his shirtsleeve. For the time being this is modified and the decorated buttons changed in to modern cufflinks. Today the cufflinks works as it was before but only adds the elegance to it.

The main use of the cufflinks is it holds the shirt cuff with the wrist.

But today we can say we are having buttons in our shirts, the buttons also serve as that of cufflinks to keep the cuff closed. When we have buttons in our shirt it is enough for us to keep the cuffs close.

But if we want to wear cufflinks in our shirt, there must be French cuffs or double cuffs with our shirt.

Single cuff shirts are also there but they have never taken off.

When you wear a shirt with French cuffs the first thing you notice is the extra material at the bottom of the sleeves. The cuffs are designed so that the flap material will extend to come near the hands. When you just fold the flap over the bottom of the sleeve it makes a perfect cuff.

The cuffs will meet at the outside edge; there you will find two button holes both at front and back. The only thing you will do is just line up the button holes and slide it in to the cufflink to hold the cuffs together.

A sharp man should not give importance to what he is wearing. The only thing we should take in count must be when we choose gold or silver cufflinks; we should match the color to our wrist watch. If your wristwatch band is made of leather then metal only matches to your ring.

When choosing cufflinks with color match with your shirt’s tone and match your tie also. When we use cufflinks with the dinner jacket in the evening time, you should match your cufflink with your inner white shirt or with your black dinner jacket. Now the fashion changes, so match gold or silver cufflinks with your dinner jacket.

We can choose the cufflinks for the wedding ceremony to match what the others wear for it, but not changing the rules much. The important thing we consider when we match cufflinks to the wedding party is to match the cufflinks to watch, ring, and shirt jacket also.

Neckties during 18th and 19th Century

Thursday, December 14th, 2006

The neckties were named after Lord Byron, the great romantic poet who rarely worn neck cloth. The first Byron tie which introduced during 1820s had a big floppy bow in white, brown or black colors. After this in 1840s a Byron in string was introduced but in 1860 it changed in to a large, readymade bow.

Like Lord Byron another man named George Bryan “Beau” Brummell was also a reason for the change in fashion history in the early 19th century. His theory for fashion was a well dressed man in town wearing simple clothes, functional and discreet.

By wearing well cut, tailor stitched clothes; Brummell was the proud inventor for what was known as “The British Look”

In this style Brummell refused the frills which were the fashion during 18th century. His dress code with a dark blue coat, Buff-colored pantaloons and the waistcoat, Black boot shoes and a white neck cloth, today also remains with a little change like dark business coat and white shirt and as fresh white sports wear.

He was very particular in his white neck garment known as cravats. During his walk from the park, at gentleman’s clubs and fashionable homes in where Brummell attend often, he would stop there to change his cravats at least three times a day. He wanted his neck clothes to be slightly starched and to be folded with care.

As Brummell’s simple clothes attracted by the poor working man in lands to Brummell’s own friend, the Prince Regent, and King George IV was also adorned by this style. One unbelievable thing also happened in this period; the poor working men in lands easily snatched the fashion of upper class men.

The students of Cambridge University were the proud founders of the I Zingari Cricket in 1845. It was believed that they only first created the sporting colors in a flag.

At first they designed a flag in black, bright, orange-red and with golden colors. These colors symbolized “out of darkness, through fire, into light.” Later Blazers, caps and ties were also made in these sporting colors.

During the year 1880, the rowing club at Oxford University’s Exeter College One man’s Club, was the first who introduced first school ties. This school tie was created by removing the rowing club’s ribbon had bands from their boater hats and tied them together like four- in-hand.

The time when they ordered for the set of ties they created the school ties for nowadays with their hatbands colors. All the school, club and athletic ties seemed in plenty. Some schools used different ties to show difference in grades, levels in achievement and also for graduates.

Middle Class Pretensions:

Such ties were most welcomed by the great Victorian Middle class community. It is also used to show difference as an industrialist from the common community; men who want to show their social superiority and show their loyalty to the society used this type of ties.

Now in modern society, four-in-hand refers standard necktie and the knot used to tie it.