Necktie

A necktie, or simply a tie, is a piece of cloth worn for decorative purposes around the neck, resting under the shirt collar and knotted at the throat, and often draped down the chest.

Neckties are traditionally worn with the top shirt button fastened, and the tie knot resting between the collar points.

From its introduction by the French king, men wore lace cravats, or jabots, which took a large amount of time and effort to arrange.

International Necktie Day is celebrated on October 18 in Croatia and in various cities around the world, including in Dublin, Tübingen, Como, Tokyo, Sydney and other towns.

The term originally referred to a leather collar, laced at the back, worn by soldiers to promote holding the head high in a military bearing.

Stock ties were initially just a small piece of muslin folded into a narrow band wound a few times around the shirt collar and secured from behind with a pin.

[7][8] By this time, the sometimes complicated array of knots and styles of neckwear gave way to neckties and bow ties, the latter a much smaller, more convenient version of the cravat.

In Britain and other Commonwealth countries, these have been used to denote association with a particular military regiment, corps, or service since at least the 1920s, and are also used to represent civic and educational institutions.

Members of the British Royal Family are frequently seen wearing regimental striped ties corresponding to the military unit in which they have served or been appointed to an honorary position such as colonel-in-chief.

The new style, characterized by tapered suits, slimmer lapels, and smaller hat brims, included thinner and not so wild ties.

These included ties featuring cartoon characters, commercial products, or pop culture icons, and those made of unusual materials, such as plastic or wood.

The clip-on tie sees use with children, and in occupations where a traditional necktie might pose a safety hazard to mechanical equipment operators, etc.

The perceived utility of this development in the history of the style is evidenced by the series of patents issued for various forms of these ties, beginning in the late 19th century,[16][18] and by the businesses filing these applications and fulfilling a market need for them.

[19]The inventor proceeded to claim for the invention—the latest version of the 1930s–1950s product line from former concert violinist Joseph Less, Iowan brothers Walter and Louis, and son-in-law W. Emmett Thiessen evolved to be identifiable as the modern clip-on[20]—"a novel method for making up the tie [...] [eliminating] the neckband of the tie, which is useless and uncomfortable in warm weather [...] [and providing] means of attachment which is effective and provides no discomfort to the wearer", and in doing so achieves "accurate simulation of the Windsor knot, and extremely low material and labor costs".

[19] Notably, the company made use of ordinary ties purchased from the New York garment industry and was a significant employer of women in the pre-war and World War II years.

Other types of knots include: The use of coloured and patterned neckties indicating the wearer's membership in a club, military regiment, school, professional association (Royal Colleges, Inns of Courts) or other institution, dates only from late-19th century England.

[citation needed] In the United States, diagonally striped ties are commonly worn with no connotation of a group membership.

Neckties are sometimes part of uniforms worn by women, which nowadays might be required in professions such as in the restaurant industry or in police forces.

[30] Outside of these environments, ties are usually worn especially when attending traditionally formal or professional events, including weddings, important religious ceremonies, funerals, job interviews, court appearances, and fine dining.

Removing the necktie as a social and sartorial business requirement (and sometimes forbidding it) is a modern trend often attributed to the rise of popular culture.

There was a resurgence in the 1980s, but in the 1990s, ties again fell out of favor, with many technology-based companies having casual dress requirements, including Apple, Amazon, eBay, Genentech, Microsoft, Monsanto, and Google.

Some businesses have extended casual dress days to Thursday, and even Wednesday; others require neckties only on Monday (to start the workweek).

[40] An example of anti-necktie sentiment is found in Iran, where the government of the Islamic Republic considers neckties to be "decadent, un-Islamic and viewed as "symbols of the Cross" and the oppressive West.

"[41] Most Iranian men in Iran have retained the Western-style long-sleeved collared shirt and three-piece suit, while excluding the necktie.

While ties are viewed as "highly politicised clothing" in Iran, some Iranian men continue to wear them, as do many Westerners who visit the country.

A 2018 study published in the medical journal Neuroradiology found that a Windsor knot tightened to the point of "slight discomfort" could interrupt as much as 7.5% of cerebral blood flow.

[54][55] A 2013 study published in the British Journal of Ophthalmology found increased intraocular pressure in such cases, which can aggravate the condition of people with weakened retinas.

Entanglement is a risk when working with machinery or in dangerous, possibly violent, jobs such as police officers and prison guards, and certain medical fields.

[57] Paramedics performing life support remove an injured man's necktie as a first step to ensure it does not block his airway.

Police officers, traffic wardens, and security guards in the UK wear clip-on ties which instantly unclip when pulled to prevent any risk of strangulation during a confrontation.