The history of the tie is one of the most interesting in the history of men's fashion and clothing. It also seems like ties have been around for ages. But of course that's not true. You hardly ever see Roman or Greek statues of emperors and warriors wearing ties!

No, the history of the tie is a little more recent than that.

Or is it?

Because when did men actually start wearing ties?

An antique accessory

Ties as we know them may not be more than a thousand years old, but neckerchiefs are. And they can definitely be considered the forerunners of the tie. As early as the 3rd century BC, warriors were wrapping cloth around their necks. Not only could these cloths be used to wipe sweat from the forehead in the heat of battle, but they were also used to clean or staunch wounds, as well as keeping the neck warm.

In the book “The 85 Ways To Tie a Tie”, Thomas Fink and Yong Mao write that knotted neck cloths were used in ancient China. In fact, many of the famous life-size terracotta warriors buried with Emperor Quin Shih-huang-di clearly show that they have cloths around their necks. They almost look like loose-fitting neckties.

Almost exactly the same applies to the Column of Trajan, erected in 113 AD by the Roman Emperor Traianus, which depicts Roman soldiers with cloth collars. They were called “focalium”, from the Latin word “fauces” or neck.

But it wasn't until many centuries later that the first men wore cravat-like accessories that were considered the first ties. The men were mercenaries from Croatia and, not surprisingly, there is also a French connection.

Croats and cravats

The year was 1636, and France was ruled by King Louis XIII. The Thirty Years' War was still raging against England, and the king decided to hire Croatian mercenaries to fight on his behalf. These foreign cavalrymen wore their jackets fastened with colorful pieces of cloth that they tied at the neck. King Louis XIII loved the comfortable and stylish outfit. He was tired of the busy and ruffled collars worn at the French court at the time, which could be uncomfortable and troublesome.

He named the Croatian scarf “cravate”, a derivation of the French word for Croatian, or “croate”. He was the country's king, so this new fashion caught on quickly and soon made its way across the Channel to England. Charles II immediately fell in love with the cravat. The style varied from very simple to elaborate, but all were typically a long piece of cloth worn around the neck and tied at the front. They were often made of finer fabrics, such as silk or intricate lace.

In 1820, King George IV of Great Britain used what was called a “Stock”. Quite simple in construction, it was folded into shape and wrapped around the neck. Finally, it was fastened at the back to keep it in place.

The famous 19th century English dandy and dressmaker, George Bryan Brummell, nicknamed Beau Brummell, wore a cravat as part of his outfit almost every day. Other fashionable men in London followed suit and soon there were a number of books and pamphlets instructing men on how to tie the cravat in many different ways!

The modern tie

The tie continued to be fashionable for men well into the 19th century. The modern tie had not yet made its real entrance. That changed with the Victorian era. Men's fashion changed and became less fussy and more tailored. Jackets and collars shrank, making ties too big for them.

Therefore, men began to wear the tie on either side of the collar instead of down the chest. Still, these 19th century ties were often “floppy” and looked more like big bows than today's ties. Just look at photographs of men like Abraham Lincoln and Oscar Wilde to get an idea of the oversized ties worn in the late 1800s.

However, it wasn't until 1926 that Jesse Langsdorf, a tie maker in New York, decided to create silk ties that were made from diagonally shaped cloth that was cut with the weave of the cloth on the diagonal. This was known as “on the bias” cutting, which made the ties much stiffer and better able to hold their shape. The Langsdorf tie soon conquered the world, and it's the tie we still know and love today.

When ties became the norm, it was the knot type that became the most popular . One such knot was the so-called “Four-in-Hand” knot, which is quite easy to tie and a reliable knot. Even more famous is the Windsor knot, named after the Duke of Windsor, who invented the iconic knot in 1936.

Since then, trends in ties have varied between thicker and thinner, and from very simple to elaborate in pattern and design. Yet the tie has endured and been worn by men all over the world in all seasons and for virtually all occasions.

When we look back at the history of the tie, it still seems incredible to realize that the tie we wear today is not even a hundred years old as a design. We have Jesse Langsdorf to thank for that, not to mention the Croatian mercenaries.