A Lesson in history..
The history of neckties dates back a measly hundred years or so. They came into existence as a direct result of a war. In 1660, in celebration of its hard-fought victory over the Ottoman Empire, a crack regiment from Croatia (then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire) visited Paris. There, the soldiers were presented as glorious heroes to Louis XIV, a monarch who you could say was more on the materialistic side and enjoyed much adornment. It so happened that the officers of this regiment were wearing brightly colored handkerchiefs created of silk around their necks. These neck cloths were originally worn by orators to warm the vocal chords and they apparently struck the fancy of the king, and he soon made them an insignia of royalty as he created a regiment of Royal Cravates (definition according to dictionary.com means: A scarf or band of fabric worn around the neck as a tie). The word "cravat," incidentally, is derived from the word "Croat."

It did not take long before this “style� crossed the channel to England. Soon no gentleman would have considered himself well dressed without sporting some sort of cloth around his neck, the more decorative, the better. At times, cravats were worn so high that a man could not move his head without turning his whole body. They even say that there were cravats worn so thick that they stopped sword thrusts. The various styles knew no limits, there were cravats of tasseled strings, plaid scarves, tufts and bows of ribbon, lace, and embroidered linen. Nearly one hundred different knots were accepted! (They even had people whose job it was to instruct people on the proper techniques).

Now… In our country, ties were also an integral part of a man's wardrobe. However, until the time of the Civil War, most ties were imported from Europe. Gradually, the industry gained ground to the point that at the beginning of the twentieth century, American neckwear finally began to contend to that of Europe, despite the fact that European fabrics were still being heavily imported.

The rest, as they say… Is just history. At the present, sales and popularity of ties are more popular than ever. It is diverting to think about because ties have no functional purpose, they are the one garment we wear that are just for looks. On the other hand, there does seem to be some aesthetic value in wearing a tie. In addition to covering the buttons of the shirt and giving emphasis to the verticality of the body, it adds a sense of luxury and richness, color and texture, to the soberness of the dress shirt and business suit. As long as world business leaders continue to wear ties, young people will follow, and the tradition of tie wearing will be kept alive.
Below are the four accepted ways to tie a tie:

• The Four-in-Hand knot - Most popular type of knot and easiest to learn, probably over
80% of tie wearers, knot their ties with this. The knot is long and straight but slightly
lopsided.

• The Half-Windsor knot A medium triangular knot that is considered more formal than
the four-in-hand.

• The Windsor knot - A wide triangular knot that is usually worn for formal occasions,
this type of knot should be worn with wide spread collar shirts.

• The Pratt/Shelby knot - A Semi-wide knot, when beginning to tie this knot the tie is
turned outward.

(Information on the 4 different ways are directly from tieguide.com)

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