The History Of The Necktie

The necktie's story begins not in a tailor's shop but on a battlefield. In the 17th century, Croatian mercenaries serving in France wore knotted scarves at the neck, a look that caught the eye of Parisian fashion, who named the style "cravate", a corruption of "Croat".

From cravat to modern tie

Over the following two centuries the cravat evolved through countless forms (the stock, the bow, the ascot) before settling, by the late 1800s, into something close to the necktie we recognise today: a long strip of fabric, knotted simply at the collar.

A symbol that endured

Through the 20th century the tie became shorthand for professionalism, occasion, and care in presentation. Widths and patterns have moved with the decades, but the core idea, a considered detail at the neck, has never gone out of style.

At Vane Kensington, we see every tie as part of that long thread: a small, deliberate act of dressing well, connecting a Croatian battlefield to a modern boardroom.

That same idea, a considered detail signalling exactly the right register, still applies today. See our guide to black tie vs. business formal for what a tie actually signals in each setting.