Croats’ Neckwear in War Is Closely Tied With Ties

Even in ancient times, man embellished his neck and chest with beads, bangles and stones. The ancestor to the modern tie appeared only about 350 years ago.

The fashion that was to sweep Europe came from silk neck scarves of Croat soldiers in the Thirty Years War (1618-1648) between Sweden and France and the Hapsburg Empire, historians say.

When the Croats visited Paris, the city and later the continent fell in love with their cravats, a scarf tied in a bow with loose ends. The term is thought to come from the Croatian name for the tie, or perhaps the word Croat itself.

In just a few decades, the cravat took on such importance that James II of England spent 36 pounds on neckwear for his coronation, a sum that could have purchased a considerable country estate at the time.

Before this time, peasants and soldiers probably used scarfs to soak up sweat or cushion armor. Beginning in the 1500s, higher-class men had also revered collars and ruffs, partly because other male frills had fallen out of favor.

With the cravat firmly in fashion, a second forerunner to the necktie appeared in the 18th Century. The stock, which fastened at the back of the neck, also derived from military dress, this time from high, stiff collars for soldiers.

As collars diminished in size and grew looser, the modern necktie evolved.

Sources: Neckwear Handbook by MR magazine and the Neckwear Assn. of America; “The Book of Ties” by David Mosconi and Riccardo Villarosa.