With 508 visits to this blog since it's inception some three months ago, I feel in celebratory mood. And when I celebrate I prefer wearing ties, looking the part. Ties go way back. Back to the days of cravats, scarves worn by men inside open-necked shirts. They made their name when Croat barbarians in the 17th century donned them to go out to battle in France in aid of Louis XIII against the Duc de Guise and the Queen Mother, Marie de Medici. The French were curious about these items of apparel, and mis-pronounced them as 'cravate', from the Croatian word for 'Croat'-which was 'Hrvat'. Over the centuries, men knotted the cravat in various ways and thus ended up being referred to as a 'tie'.
Today, ties are used less to display military might and more to portray business acumen. Nevertheless, their roots and origins were drenched in blood and gore. An interesting thought as we wear these mini-nooses naively around our necks.
Here is the collection of my cravats. Not so scary, but steeped in history all the same.
