Tie Tie Phisss!

As in the necktie! That long cloth which hangs from your neck or shoulders, knotted at the throat and then part of which is rested under the shirt’s collar. Ever wondered how it came into being? It’s a descendent of Cravat, a neckband Croatians used in the 17^th century. And now it has become an integral part of the formal wear, at least for men, and in many cases, part of school uniforms for boys and girls alike.

One would wonder if there is only one way to tie a tie. If you’re one of those to think so, it’s time to put some light on that thought! There are in numerous ways to tie a tie and there exist tens of variations of shapes and sizes. An interesting fact, but many are not aware of.
The most commonly used knot is called Four-in-hand, then there are Windsors and half-Windsors, Pratt, diagonal or simple double, Kelvin and the customized ones like Prince Albert and Atlantic.

These different forms of knots are basically country specific knots. Like Four-in-hand is most preferred by the Englishmen, Pratt’s used by the Americans and the Windsor being the Europeans alike, which are usually thicker than rest of the knot types.

Did you know that with a conventional tie, eighty-five knots are possible! A mathematical modelling was conceived by Thomas Fink and Yong Mao of Cambridge in the late 1990’s to come to the discovery.

Many have had issue of safety hazard to wear a traditional tie, but they still have to considering their profession is formal, for example, the pilots. Clip-on ties are specially made to use in such conditions. These are, unlike traditional ties, permanently knotted bow tie or four-in-hand style affixed with a metal clip to the front of the shirt collar. So when they’re in the cockpit and need to be confined inside for the flight duration, they take it off and just before to step out they put it on. I possibly didn’t know this, before my recent trip to Kerala. The co-pilot was a friend’s friend had agreed on to show me the cockpit. So I had waited till the flight was completely empty and then he stepped out, dressing up. And that’s when I realized what the pilots do!

And the other day I happened to see an app on one of the smartphones, on detailed ways to how to tie a tie, the different knots and what each knot is called. Apparently there exists hundreds of website itself to provide people with this information!

Am not a big fan of football but many of my friends are. And I happen to see a lot of football matches all thanks to them. One thing I quite noticed, apart from the match, is that although it’s only the players who are in uniforms, their club managers isn’t far behind to carry the fan image. In their formal attire, they tend to wear their club’s ties. Or even if they do not have their club names printed, they follow it with its colours, like red or blue. So much of a diehard fan for their club!

It sure is impressive! This journey of ties from how it originated to what it is now is surely a fascinating thing to know. Never knew it would really be a vast topic to know, than what it is perceived as. Am out of that illusion, hope you are too, now!