Mondo Knows Facts
The modern necktie originated from 17th-century Croatian neck scarves
French fashion adopted knotted silk cravates worn by Croatian mercenary troops
Modern neckties trace back to knotted silk neckcloths worn by Croatian mercenary soldiers serving King Louis XIV in seventeenth-century France. French Parisians admired the distinctive neck scarves, calling them cravates. The fashion evolved across centuries into standard business neckwear.
Where this comes from
Facts that can change over time are reviewed and updated. If something here looks wrong, Mondo would rather know than be confidently incorrect.
Go further
More facts like this
Men's and women's shirts traditionally button on opposite sidesHistorical dressing customs created opposing button placement for men and womenHigh heels were originally designed for male cavalry ridersTenth-century Persian soldiers wore raised heels to lock boots into stirrupsYKK on zippers stands for a Japanese manufacturing companyThe world's largest zipper maker uses the initials of its founder's businessThe small extra pocket on blue jeans was designed for pocket watchesLevi Strauss added the small front watch pocket to protect pocket timepiecesThe plastic or metal tip on a shoelace is called an agletAglets prevent shoelace fibres from fraying and ease eyelet threadingGarment zippers incorporate spring latches to stay closed securelyPull tab locking pins prevent clothing zips from sliding down under stress
Tags: clothing, fashion, history
The modern necktie originated from 17th-century Croatian neck scarves: the short answers
- Where does this come from, and can I check it?
- French fashion adopted knotted silk cravates worn by Croatian mercenary troops. The figure is taken from Encyclopaedia Britannica, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.
- Is this really a everyday life fact?
- Yes. It sits on the Everyday Life shelf, one of 1,090 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.
- What else can I read about it?
- The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.