When was the first tie worn?

Today’s neckties are the direct descendants of the neckcloths worn by the Croatian troops in the army of the French king Louis XIV (1638-1715). The French called the neckcloth by the same name they called the Croat: Cravate. In English it became  the cravat, ancestor of the modern tie.

In the mid-1660s men of fashion began to adopt the cravat as a replacement for the large linen collars which where customary. At first the chosen style consisted of linen strips tied at the throat in a bow with cravat-strings which were sometimes colored ribbons. Later the neckcolth was looped at the throat. By the turn of the century it had become wider with tasselled or lace-bordered ends.

Towards the middle of the 18^th Century a twist of fashion decreed a stiff, folded neckband called the stock, which fastened at the back of the neck and became higher round the throat as the century progressed. Soon after 1800 the collar of the shirt began to appear above the stock and the neckband was worn almost to the ears.

As collars rose still higher, the folded stocks gave place to ties. These were sometimes very large but, but smaller bow ties with the stocks were quite common. The frilled shirt gave way fast to the plain shirt  front visible above the waistcoat. About the year 1840 men about town resorted to turning their collars down.