18 Sept 2013

A History Lesson On Men’s Ties


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This post is brought to you by yd.

Ties, they come in all shapes, colours and sizes. They range from the luxury silk bow-tie to the inferior clip-ons, the skinny ties of modern times to the neckerchiefs of old. Teachers often wear garish ones and learning to tie a Windsor knot is a rite of passage for many young men. And, in spite of the casual anti-tie approach of the 90s and 00s, the modern, more sartorial man still regards a good tie as a staple wardrobe item. In the spirit of all things tie, we’re giving you a brief history lesson on this most refined of accessories.

221 BBC – The first emperor of a unified China, the great Qin Shi Huang, had a “Terracotta Army” built to protect him in the afterlife and the statues of soldiers wear a form of necktie.

1818 – Neckclothitania or Tietania is published with illustrations on the 14 different ways to tie a cravat. Before the days of online fashion, this was the go-to guide.

1840 – The term “tie” enters into common parlance, replacing the necktie.

1936 – The Windsor knot is invented by none other than the Duke of Windsor.

1950s – The skinny tie becomes a trend, popularized by The Beatles among others, and remains popular over the coming decades (see the iconic cover of Blondie’s Parallel Lines from 1978). You can find a remarkably similar example on the yd clothing store online of this classic tie.

1971 – The iconic bolo or bootlace tie was made the official neckwear of Arizona. Commonly associated with Western wear, it’s an accessory as common as the Stetson and cowboy boots.

Today – The skinny tie is still popular but the styles have greatly expanded, giving the tie-wearer an impressive array of choice.