An officer’s Tie



In the 1880s the British military finally decided to abandon its array of brightly coloured uniforms that had always made such good targets. But they retained the beloved old military colours on the stripes of the neckties each regiment would come to adopt. These ties not only preserved the traditional colours, they provided the only creativity for the drab new uniforms.

The Royal Rifle Corps sported rifle green and scarlet ties, while the stripes of the Artists' Rifles were black, grey, and red; the Inns of Court wore green and blue stripes.

Rules on who may wear the more than 200 regimental ties can be quite strict. Some of the prestigious London stores sometimes ask customers to indicate they have the right to wear a particular tie. This pushes up the price collectors are willing to pay for an especially rare tie. Some unusual or rare ties will change hands for thousands of dollars.

The Ja-Bow Tie

The bow tie gets is name from the French, jabot, (pronounced ja-bow), a type of readymade 17th century lace cravat. In the 18th and 19th centuries, bow ties came in various materials and styles.

White bow ties were formal, but others were coloured. For example, 19th century Irish immigrants to America favoured brown, green, or red bow ties.

The enduring popularity of the black bow tie dates to 1886, when Pierre Lorillard V invented the tuxedo as an alternative to the tailcoats worn with white bow ties. The new dinner jacket got its name from the resort of Tuxedo Park, New York, where it was first worn.

Black bow ties and tuxedo are now standard at high school proms and weddings. But bow ties have lost favour for business because they are complicated to tie and must be made in the correct collar size.

And what about women?

Although women have probably always adorned their necks, they did not wear neckties until the later 1800s. Feminine versions of men's neckties began to appear along with the more tailored clothing women wore while bicycling, skating, hiking, or boating. A pioneer of the Rational Dress Movement, Englishwoman Amelia Bloomer, invented a pair of long, loose woman's pants, which bear her name.

Even more women began wearing ties, and trousers, during World War I, as millions of women headed to offices and factories to fill the vacancies created by men at war.

Lord Byron: Did or Didn’t he?

Ironically several ties have been named after the romantic poet, Lord Byron, who seldom wore any sort of neck cloth. The first Byron was a big floppy bow in white; brown or black appeared in the 1820s. In the 1840s, a Byron was made of string or narrow ribbon, while after the 1860s it was a large, often readymade bow.