Few items of clothing are as familiar, or as odd, as a strip of cloth knotted at the throat. It has no obvious job, yet it has a long history.
Its story runs from the battlefields of seventeenth-century Europe through the French court and Regency England to a workshop patent in New York.
1630s–1640s: Croatian Soldiers Bring the Neckcloth to France
Croatian mercenaries (soldiers paid to fight for a foreign power) served France during the Thirty Years' War, which lasted from 1618 to 1648. As part of their uniform, these soldiers wore knotted cloths around their necks.
Foot soldiers' neckcloths were plain fabric, while officers' were finer muslin or silk.
A Croatian regiment in the French army, known as the Royal-Cravates, was raised in the 1640s.
The Word: How 'Croat' Became 'Cravate'
The name of the garment comes from the people who wore it. The French word cravate comes from the French name for a Croat, Croate.
English took the word from French, and the English cravat comes from cravate. Other languages followed the same path: the German Krawatte and the Spanish corbata also derive from the word for a Croat.
1660s: The Cravat Becomes Court Fashion Under Louis XIV
A soldier's garment became a fashionable accessory when the young King Louis XIV of France adopted the cravat at court in the 1650s–1660s. Fashionable men across Europe followed his lead.
Cravats of the period were made of linen, lace or silk and tied in front of the neck.
The style crossed the Channel too. The cravat spread to England after the Restoration of Charles II in 1660.
1920s: Jesse Langsdorf's Three-Piece Tie
In the 1920s ties were made in the United States by cutting fabric on the bias, meaning diagonally across the weave. Jesse Langsdorf of New York was granted a US patent in 1924 for cutting a tie from three pieces of fabric on the bias.
The advantage was practical. Bias-cut ties spring back into shape after being knotted and worn.
Timeline
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1618–1648 | The Thirty Years' War, in which Croatian mercenaries fight for France |
| 1640s | The Croatian Royal-Cravates regiment is raised in the French army |
| 1650s–1660s | Louis XIV adopts the cravat at the French court |
| 1660 | The cravat spreads to England after the Restoration of Charles II |
| 1778–1840 | Lifetime of Beau Brummell, who popularised the starched white linen cravat |
| 1924 | Jesse Langsdorf is granted a US patent for a three-piece bias-cut tie |
