Ties that bind are a bind to tie

Writer: Murray Stewart

The For Fact’s Sake columns are – according to Google and the Duck ’n Fiddle’s Explanation of Everything – based in truth. Occasionally however, names and places have been changed to protect innocent people involved.

Getting Knotted

“Why in heaven’s name do men still wear ties?” someone asked casually, but this innocent query caused such divisions at the recent AGM of the Yodelling Plumbers Society, that the police were called and arrests made. It was horrible. There were professional yodellers who could plumb a bit, versus professional plumbers who yodelled a bit, but in the end – after the ambulances had left – the question still remained unanswered. Why ties?

Well, for a start, we can blame Croatia. During France’s 30-year war (1618– ‘48), platoons of Croatian mercenaries were deployed in the conflict, and part of their traditional uniform was a small knotted neckerchief. This caught the eye of the Parisian upper classes (tres chic, nè), who began flaunting them as jaunty fashion statements – either as a cravat that was tucked in, or a thinner version that dangled down from a knot/toggle. (Out of morbid interest, ‘cravat’ stems from the French nickname for this Croatian accessory – la cravate.)

Click below to read more. (The full article can be found on page 8)