In the Thirty Years’ War from 1618 to 1648, the Croatian mercenaries wore little knotted neckerchiefs, and the French, ever aware of new fashions, started a fashion craze in Europe. Both men and women wore these little neckerchiefs.

Near the turn of the 17th/18th century, men were wearing fancy lace cravats. In 1692, at the Battle of Steenkerque, the princes hastily wound those cravats around their necks and passed the ends through a buttonhole on their jackets.

Stocks, a small piece of muslin folded into a narrow band wound a few times around the shirt collar and fastened in the back with a pin, made their appearance in 1715. At this time, the men wore their hair very long and tucked it into a bag at the back of their necks.

Late in the 18th century, cravats appeared again, now called macaronis (think Yankee Doodle). These were brought to England by young men returning from Europe. Soon, the way to tie a cravat became a source of interest. A book was published to instruct men in 14 ways to tie a cravat. It’s also at this time that “tie” began to be associated with neckwear.

The Industrial Revolution affected every other part of society, so it’s no wonder that it also played a role in neckwear. It was at this time that the modern necktie, worn today all over the world, was born. Bow ties, a smaller version of the cravat, also came at about this time, and the Ascot also emerged, which had wide flaps crossed and pinned together on the chest. A New York tie maker began to make them on the bias, and the final step was taken in the evolution of the original neckerchief to the tie worn by modern businessmen.

After World War I, wide, handpainted ties became the thing. Some were as wide as 4.5 inches. They were loud and flamboyant and remained in style through the 1950s. However, in Great Britain, regimental stripes have been popular beginning in the 1920s.

Brooks Brothers introduced the striped ties in the United States but altered them from the left-shoulder-to-the-right-side stripes to the opposite. Until World War II, ties were shorter and wider than they are today. (Actually, in Great Britain in the 1970s, these became popular.)

The world changed in many ways in the 1960s, and this was reflected in the ties of the period. Pop art began to appear on the ties, but that burst of exuberance declined and was replaced by more restrained designs by the end of the ‘70s.

Ties also became narrower, 2 to 3 inches wide and were in subdued colors and motifs. Many of the traditional designs of the 1930s and 1950s reappeared such as the paisley patterns. Ties also began to be sold to match shirts, and bolder colors began to appear. In the 1980s, very narrow ties were popular, and into the 1990s, unusual designs were popular such as cartoon characters. Some ties in plastic and wood even appeared. These designs are available today, of course, but ties have become more traditional and are a mark of the corporate workplace.