Mutual Assured Existence

 

  The history of neckwear is long and complex, making it of particular interest here at The Devil's In. Dating back to time immemorable tribes have worn neckwear(even if little else ;) and throughout human history cloth, in some form or fashion, worn around the neck has served both as a practical solution to everyday problems, as well as often serving a dual purpose as a symbolic expression.

 

  From this shared origin two of the most popular articles of the modern day emerged... the neck scarf and the neck tie. Two staples of fashion and style, developed organically throughout history and long established before the fashion industry was even a thing.

 

  And that's what defines a staple, a true classic... even when embraced by the fashion industry, they are not new trends pushed by said industry, but rather established articles of history adopted after the fact.

 

  So, without further ado...

The necks of many Pharaohs are depicted wearing broad ties adorned with precious stones wrapped around their necks. 

  Queen Nefertiti is reported to have been fond of woven headscarves.

 

Neck covering are depicted in images of warriors with fabric wrapped around their necks to protect their Adam’s apples, believed to be a source of strength. 

 

Roman legionnaires are tying bands of cloth around their necks for protection during the 2nd century BC.

Scarves are used as military markers to identify the rank of Chinese warriors, or their status as officers. Many Terracotta Warriors are depicted wearing them.

In Greece women wear scarves for seductive charm, while in India women wear them flirtatiously as headgear.

In Rome the garment is called a focale, or sudarium ("sweat cloth"), and worn around the neck or tied to a belt.

During the 1600s we see neckwear truly begin to evolve into numerous distinct articles, with the scarf essentially remaining true to its origins, while new articles branch off and/or combine to create distinctions.

Josephine Bonaparte is a fan of scarves, with a luxurious collection of hundreds from around the world, many gifted to her by Napoleon.

1639 - King Louis XIII hires Croatian mercenaries to fight for the King’s cause in the Thirty Years War. These mercenaries close their jackets with colorful pieces of cloth, tied at the neck. Fascinated with the comfortable, stylish look, the King soon favors the style over the popular ruffled collars and calls it the "cravate," a derivation of the French word for Croatians, or Croates.

The fashion catches on and soon crosses The Channel to England, where cravate becomes cravat.

Coachmen begin to slip-knot their cravats, in order to prevent them from blowing in the wind as they drive their teams. The popular "four in hand" knot is a reference to these early necktie pioneers.

The Stock becomes the neckwear of choice throughout europe. While the cravat is a neckcloth for aristocrats, made of expensive, comfortable materials such as lace, muslin or linen, that have to be laundered and pressed, usually by servants, the stock is the neckwear of the common man. A simple high collar made of horsehair, whale bone, pig bristle or wood covered in cloth. Unlike the cravat in everyway, it is very uncomfortable, yet easy to put, it is also easily replaceable and more resistant to soiling. This leads to the stock becoming standard issue for soldiers(obviously), though the fit is often terrible and it impacts soldier’s health and ability. Bureaucrats gonna Bureaucrat).

Surprise! The crevat makes a comeback. As young middle class men develop a taste for more comfortable fashion, they begin using long lengths of muslin wrapped around the neck and tied at the back. This style is know as the "stock" in reference to, or to spite, the military neckware it replaced.

The new and improved "stock" soon gives way to the more ornate "Solitaire," a large ribbon tied elaborately at the front.

As the 18th Century progresses, the ‘Cravat’ fully re-emerges(and now available in silk!), thanks to a club of young  men known as "Macaroni," who have returned to England from the Grand Tour of Italy with a new sense of Style.

This variant of the cravat is all about status, the more elaborate the method of tying, the more status it affords. It was less about the expense of the cloth, but rather about the time it took to tie. This was very much the look of a gentleman of leisure, and also an early example of the Italian "sprezzatura" or looking perfectly imperfect. An example of this taken to the extreme is the Regency Dandy Beau Brummel who spends hours a day tying his cravat in order to achieve the perfectly imperfect look. Personally, I achieve it by getting dressed and then just going about my day. And also by not being completely insane. Not completely.

1769 - Horace Walpole wears a wooden cravat, made by sculptor and wood carver Grinling Gibbons, as a joke, to a formal reception of French guests. The French return home convinced the English wear wooden cravats. The birth of the novelty necktie?

More gentlemen(upper case G, mind you) begin to work and this ushers in a more practical look, consisting of a long length of cloth, often silk, tied either in a bow or in the same manner as a modern tie. And the rest is.... almost, not quite.

1922 - The specific look of the modern tie comes about in New York when tiemaker Jesse Langsdorf begins to make silk ties with the weave of the cloth cut on the bias(or the diagonal). This makes the ties more resilient and better able to hold shape.

His patented method is still used in the majority of tie making today. And, now,... the rest is history.