Ever since printed ties in the form of custom ties, or should I say custom ties in the form of printed ties hit the scene and started to dislodge woven ties from their high society pillar, it has been quite a point of contention- do I go with woven ties or printed ties?

At all times we must keep in mind that it really doesn’t matter whether the tie is printed or woven, they remain custom ties which Is really an umbrella term for all ties listed as follows:

Company ties, corporate ties, school ties, matric ties, club ties, branded ties and sports ties aswell as fashion ties.

The reason why we use the term custom ties is simply to allow people to understand that all ties are custom made and therefore custom ties.

Anyway, back to basics.

Woven ties have been around since the beginning of time, obviously in a much coarser form than we see today.(In fact. The first wearers of woven ties were the Croatian military who started wearing ties or cravats) the term cravats which is a well known name for other types of custom ties actually originates from the word croat or Croatia, but renamed by the then and still now kings of fashion, the French.

These Croat soldiers or mercenaries employed to fight in the Great War, used to distinguish themselves by wearing a piece of fabric around their necks in a certain colour to distinguish themselves A, as a Croat and B as part of a particular band of men or soldiers.

Hence, nothing has changed, for example school ties which are also custom ties are still worn for this very same reason, simply to distinguish one school from another and to set apart the wearer from another wearer of a different school.

Also, to promote togetherness and unity which was one of the main reasons back in the day why the croats wore different coloured pieces of fabric tied around their necks to identify them as part of a specific brigade of soldiers or fighters.

In other words “Don’t shoot him, he is one of us”!!

So for all intent and purpose, these pieces of fabric in their varies colours were custom ties and probably the first custom ties made specifically for the purpose pf identification and unity.

In saying and away from the discussion, in other words, I digress a little, the same goes for what we today know as custom scarves and corporate scarves because although these items are worn by ladies, they are still representative of unity and belonging.

However, it is important to note that the choice between woven ties and printed ties is very much a personal one because at the end of the day, there is very little difference in the quality even though the fabric differs and certainly no difference in the way the two types of ties are made by tie makers or tie manufacturers.

It is simply a difference in the way the design is transferred onto or into the fabric itself.