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Necktie:
Blue necktie. A necktie (usually just called a tie) is a
long piece of material worn around the neck and under a
collar with a knot tied in front. The modern necktie, along
with the ascot and the bow tie, are all descended from the
cravat. They are mainly worn by men, though they are
sometimes worn by women, either as fashionable dress wear or
as part of a uniform (e.g. military).
Cravat
A cravat is the neckband that was the forerunner of the
modern tailored necktie. From the end of the 16th century,
the term "band" applied to any long strip of cloth worn
round the neck that was not a "ruff". The ruff itself had
started its career in the earlier 16th century as a starched
and pleated strip of white linen that could be freshly
changed to keep the neck of a doublet from getting
increasingly grimy, or for use as a bib or napkin. A "band"
could indicate a plain, attached shirt collar or a detached
"falling band" that draped over the doublet collar.
Necktie Accessories:
By the time your necktie collection is growing and when you
are wearing ties on a more regular basis, you may want to
think about getting yourself a necktie accessory to hold
your tie in place at all times and prevent it from getting
in your way when you eat, work or play.
Basically, there are five kinds of necktie accessories - tie
bars, tie clips, tie tacks, tie chains and tie straps - made
of different types of metals, including gold and silver, or
plastics.
Tie Bar
The tie bar - also known as a tie slide - is a thin piece of
metal that you slide across the middle part of your tie in
order to attach your tie to your dress shirt.
As you can see on the left, tie bars come in all sorts of
different shapes: There are the plain ones such as the first
tie bar at the top, some oddly shaped ones such as the
second one or even some really creative ones such as the
fountain pen tie bar at the bottom.
Tie Clip
The tie clip - also known as a tie clasp - is very similar
in use to the tie bar. Instead of sliding it across, though,
you would clip it horizontally across your tie, thus
attaching it to the dress shirt you are wearing.
Again, you have many different choices in regard to the
shape, the length or the material that the tie clip is made
of. Remember that the material you choose makes a great
difference to the overall appearance of the tie clip.
Tie Tack
The tie tack is very different in form and function from
both the tie bar and the tie clip. A complete tie tack is
made up of two different parts: The decorative part, the
pin, on the left and the back, or base, with a chain
attached to it on the right.
To don a tie tack, you have the remove the pin from its
base, then pierce through the silk cloth of your tie,
connect the base to the pin again and then slip the metal
weight and chain through one of the button holes of your
dress shirt.
Tie tacks, or rather their pins, come in many different
forms, too. Instead of a colored stone up front, I have seen
some more creative ones with police badges, flags or company
logos.
Due to the permanent damage a tie tack does to your ties, I
would like to caution its use, though.
Tie Chain
The tie chain is yet another tie restraining device to
ensure that your tie remains in place at all times.
The fixed upper part of the tie chain, the bar, is hooked to
one of the buttons of your dress shirt and then the tie is
put through the chain's loop in such a fashion that the bar
is hidden behind the tie and the chain is visible in the
front.
Most tie chains are made of gold or silver and most often do
not differ much in form or shape from the example shown on
the left.
Tie Strap
The tie strap is a restraining device that was introduced
relatively recently. It keeps your tie in place without
restricting its vertical movement.
The tie strap works by slipping it through the label loop on
the back of your tie and then by buttoning it onto your
shirt buttons above and below the label loop.
Unlike the other tie accessories, this one is most often
made from either cloth or transparent plastics, making it
virtually invisible in the latter case.
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