Necktie

A necktie or simply tie is a long piece of cloth worn for decorative purposes around the neck, resting under the shirt collar and knotted at the throat.

Variants include the ascot tie, bow tie, bolo tie, zipper tie, cravat and clip-on tie. The modern necktie, ascot, and bow tie are descended from the cravat. Neck ties are generally unsized, but may be available in a longer size. Men and boys wear neckties as part of regular office attire or formal wear. Some women wear them as well but usually not as often as men. Neckties can also be worn as part of a uniform (e.g. military, school and waitstaff), whereas some choose to wear them as everyday clothing attire. Neckties are traditionally worn with the top shirt button fastened, and the tie knot resting between the collar points. Among younger men, neckties are sometimes worn as a casual item, tied loosely around the neck, with the top shirt button unfastened.

History

Origins

The modern necktie spread by Europe traces back to the time of the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) when Croatian mercenaries from the Croatian Military Frontier in French service, wearing their traditional small, knotted neckerchiefs, aroused the interest of the Parisians. Due to the slight difference between the Croatian word for Croats, Hrvati, and the French word, Croates, the garment gained the name "cravat" ("cravate" in French). The boy-king Louis XIV began wearing a lace cravat about 1646, when he was seven, and set the fashion for French nobility. This new article of clothing started a fashion craze in Europe; both men and women wore pieces of fabric around their necks. From its introduction by the French king, men wore lace cravats, or jabots, that took a large amount of time and effort to arrange. These cravats were often tied in place by cravat strings, arranged neatly and tied in a bow.

Clip-on tie

A clip-on tie is a bow tie or necktie which is permanently tied, and worn by attaching it to the front of the shirt collar by a clip. Alternately, especially in the case of bow ties, the tie may have a band around the neck fastened with a hook and eye.

Reasons for use

The following are some reasons that this style of tie may be used:

Criticisms

People in white collar occupations are often mocked for wearing a clip-on tie in lieu of a standard necktie, the implication being that refusal to learn how to tie a "proper" tie reflects a wider lack of sophistication. Pre-tied bow ties are especially disliked in formal circles; according to one writer, "The quirky irregularities of a self-tied bow give it personality and flair... while the cookie-cutter precision of a pre-tied model diminishes it to an assembly-line commodity." Because child-sized ties are often clip-ons, some consider clip-ons juvenile. Finally, clip-on ties are generally available in limited styles, sizes, and prints relative to their conventional counterparts.