TIES are hugely underestimated
Ties are hugely underestimated, those people who don’t or never have worn ties as part of their dress or uniform will probably not understand the significance of ties per say.
Ties originated in the form of a cravatte, worn by Croatian soldiers during the thirty year war which started on the 23rd May, 1618 and went on for- you guess- thirty years!! with the term Cravatte, being a French word for ties, originating from the word La Croat meaning a piece of fabric worn by Croation soldiers to identify themselves.
Ties were ultimately made famous by the French as they were the ones who were the first to introduce modern ties but the root of ties lies in cravattes, so in other words, from cravattes, came ties or modern ties as we know them now.
Croats or cravattes were used by the Croatian soldiers simply to identify themselves, it was well known that the officers wore croats made from silk and the run of the mill soldiers or those soldiers and officers without shoulder rank wore cheaper forms of fabric.
It has always been accepted that silk is an expensive fabric and generally only worn by the elite.
Nothing has really changed when it comes to modern ties as silk is significantly more expensive than the fabric option used for making ties, this being polyester, a man made fabric.
Cravattes or early ties as we may refer to them were first worn in the 1600’s generally by the wealthy and those holding high rank or status.
In those days, early ties or cravattes generally consisted of a long pieces of fabric which may or may not have been decorated and could be ties around the neck in several different ways.
It was also possible, even in those early days of ties or cravattes to purchase one that had been specially pre- tied, that notion carried forward until today- it is still possible to purchase pre made ties, and often makes a lot of sense, especially if the ties being worn form part of a uniform where consistency is required.
In the 1700’s, early ties or cravattes were replaced by more squarish scarves which were also wrapped in various ways around the neck to resemble ties.
However, over time, square scarves became long scarves which ultimately became ties.
The English were quick to develop a liking for ties and the various clubs and organisations started to order them, ties had now become fashionable as formal neck wear.
This takes us back to one of my previous blogs discussing the wearing of ties as being equated to a sense of belonging, in other words the fact that a person wears a tie or ties which represents a certain club or institution, thereby creating a sense of belonging or association.
Modern neck ties got their identity in the early 1920,s when a process of manufacture was patented, which is still very much in use.
Since then, we have gone through periods of ties not being worn as a rule to being worn again by a great number of people, the fashion of wearing ties seems to come and go but never completely leaves and the number of ties sold around the world whether they are fashion ties, corporate ties or school ties remains extremely significant.
However, there has never actually been a time since the early ties or Cravattes were introduced by the creation soldiers, known as Croats, where ties have not been worn in some form or shape by somebody.
This in itself is an achievement for ties alone in that for over 500 years, ties in one form or another have been around, albeit that they have changed in appearance from a piece of wrap a round cloth to what we now have as well designed and manufactured ties.
With this in mind and understanding how important school ties are in the context of creating belonging or used as an item that will identify oneself with regards to which school, club or institution they may belong.
