The History Of Neckties And How To Care For Them

 

The tradition, or history of neckties, first being worn in weddings by the groom is largely unknown; however, what is known is that men in a Hawaiian marriage ceremony generally wear the traditional lei over their neck, instead of the traditional tie.

 

History

 

Neckties in general date back to about 200 B.C. by Chinese warriors to enhance their social status. However, the necktie that both men and women wear today was originally designed for soldiers to keep them warm while on the battle field in France, back when Louis XIII was king. In addition during his reign, the king recruited some Croatian soldiers to wear a scarf that was knotted around their necks. When Louis the XIV became king in the mid-1600’s ties were being worn by the everyday person and quite often competitions would be held in the king’s court to see who could wear the most elegant outfits with as much silk and lace ribbon as possible.

 

Wearing ties as a fashion statement began to spread throughout Europe in the 1700’s as they were primarily worn by the rich and upper class. The tie continued to be popular into the next century, but had gone through some changes. By the second half of the 19th century a more functional tie was created from the influence of the new way to create textiles from new invented machines. This new tie was called the Regatta and, not only was a bit straighter and gave the appearance of being a little longer, it is where the modern tie first began to get its traditional shape of which we wear today. In 1926 Jesse Langsford, who at that time was an inventor in New York, designed the modern tie by having the idea to cut its form diagonally across the fabric and having the tie made of three separate pieces.

 

How To Care For

 

In our everyday world, millions of people wear ties to work, school or to just look nice. Two of the biggest problems that ties have are that they can be easily creased or become stained. To avoid getting stained, there are certain suggestions you need to take to ensure their longevity, such as:

 

-While eating, be aware of not leaning over your plate allowing your tie to sit atop your food by sitting up straight.

-Gently wipe your spoon on the edge of your bowl when eating soup so that there are no drops of food hiding under the spoon.

-If you do drop food on your tie take it to the cleaners right away.

-While getting dressed, be careful when applying perfume or cologne because if you get it on your tie, it could stain.

 

If you notice that your tie is or is beginning to crease, remember the following:

 

-Do not try to remove the crease with an iron. Irons are too hot and may completely ruin it.

-Have it professionally steamed or simply put it in the bathroom while you take a hot shower. The steam will cause the creases to soften.

-To avoid creases altogether, try to avoid making the knot too tight.

-When you remove your tie, it should be hung up or at least gently rolled up or laid flat.

-When traveling you might want to invest in a special traveling case designed for your ties, thus causing you less worries about your ties becoming wrinkled or how you will get the wrinkles out.

 

When tying your ties, there are five distinctive ways to consider. They are:

 

-The easiest is the small knot as it works great with heavy fabric and close cut collars, but it should be avoided with wide or long collars.

-The four-in-one hand knot is the one that is the most used as it is easy and does well with most fabrics of ties and collars.

-A similar knot is called the double knot, as it has a thicker knot and works well with most fabrics, with the exception of thick fabrics.

-The Windsor knot is named after the Duke of Windsor and is designed to be worn on special occasions and can be very difficult to do.

-The Half Windsor. The difference between the half Windsor and the Windsor is the half Windsor is not as big or as difficult to tie.

 

Despite which knot you choose, just remember not to tie them to tight and make sure they are done correctly, as nothing looks worse than a tie that is all wrinkled. After all, the tie is a nice accessory that can add a bit of sophistication to almost any outfit.

 

Maui Wedding Photographer, Nicole Sanchez