CRAVAT

 

         

            CRAVAT, A short, wide, straight trimmed piece of material worn loosely by men around the neck and tucked inside an opened neck of a shirt. It was especially worn by the members of Croatian military in 17^th century. On one side some voice, it was initially garbed to hide soil on shirt but on other side say it use to serve psychological protection around the neck during battle from attack by a spear.

 

            Initially the steps of tying cravat were divided into sixteen lessons. Romans were the first to wear knotted version, originated in 1660’s.During the rule of Louis XIV of France, Croatian Soldiers were sign-up in 1660 wearing a necktie called tour de cou. The word cravat is a corruption of the French word for “Croatian”. The word came to be practiced in England and French to any kind of neckerchief garb by men. After the War of Steenkerke in 1692, a loosely tied cravat made of linen or muslin with wide lace on the edge and worn negligently knotted with one end passed through the buttonhole was known as Steinkirk. In the late 18^th century and early 19^th century the cravat was an elaborately folded and lightly starched or cambric neck cloth was tucked under the collar of the shirt. 

            The simplification and standardization of men’s dress in the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries transformed the cravat into the necktie. In the modern writing, the term cravat is applied specifically to the formal scarf worn with a dress suit; this cravat is folded or tied in front and the ends are tucked into the inside shirt.

Difference between Ascot and Cravat: Ascot refers to a necktie commonly used in formal setting and are secured to the shirt by being tied in a simple knot and then secured to the shirt front. On the other hand, Cravat refers to all neck-wear and can refer to bow ties, ascots, neckerchiefs and even neckties.

Ways of Wearing Cravat: There are three course of action to wear a cravat.

Traditional Method: It doesn’t matter where pleats fix (up or down) but it is oblige to have pleats overlap the knot, so the knot will be tighter and look your best all day. The right end needs to be about three to four inches longer than the left one. Second, the right end, the longer end, goes over the left end. What’s important here is that the pleated part is actually part of the knot. You want to keep this rather tight, longer end goes back around then again around up through the back and down. With the traditional cravat, you may want to unbutton your shirt and then you close it once you have it tucked in and then simply adjust it to your liking, one it can be tucked in so that it hides and second it pops out to flaunt.

Simple Method: Simple because of a single knot. Both ends are of equal length and you just create one knot and you tuck both ends in. For this type of knot, it is rather loose so it is likely for it to become looser over the course of the day.

Modified Four in Hand: Wear around the neck and the right end should be about two inches longer, know you tie a regular four in hand knot, take the longer end get over the shorter end and around, come over again go through the back and then pass through the knot you created and push it through, adjust it around your neck, just like the regular tie knot, unlike the tie front end will be shorter than the back end, know you pass the longer back end, from your neck side and basically bring it through from the back so it comes over and you simply adjust it, so you get some nice pleats and then you put it in side shirt and adjust it. In ascot, it’s more complicated because it is unlined. The advantage of this is that even it comes loose which is not likely, you can always simply tighten it. The modified four in hand adds more volume in the knot making it pop and flow down nicely.

Half Cravat Version: There is also a half cravat version, where you have one loop and one wide end. To tie this, the wide end goes through the loop and you pull it tight, adjust it and just bring the end through the back, adjust it again and put it in. It’s not as full but can be advantageous when it’s warm and you want less material on your chest.

Things to avoid when Wearing Cravat: 

·         Never button your shirt all the way up.

·         Never unbutton more than two buttons an exposed chest is not attractive.

·         Avoid cheap silk on your skin or jacquard woven silk because it will pull more threads and it will be more uncomfortable.

·         For day-wear, avoid cravat with interlining because it’s stiffer and not very comfortable to wear.

·         If you sweat a lot, be careful with your shirts because cheap material has the tendency to bleed off the colour and you don’t want to ruin your shirt.