History of a necktie

HISTORY OF A NECKTIE
by Jakov Ilić

A necktie, or simply a tie, is a long piece of cloth, worn, usually by men, for decorative purposes around the neck, resting under the shirt collar and knotted at the throat. 

The necktie that spread from Europe traces back to Croatian Mercenaries serving in France during the Thirty Year's  War (1618–1648). These mercenaries from the Croatian Military Frontier wearing their traditional small, knotted neckerchiefs, aroused the interest of the Parisians  because of the difference between the Croatian word for Croats, Hrvati, and the French word, Croates, the garment gained the name cravat  (cravate in French). The boy-king Louis XIV began wearing a lace cravat around 1646, when he was seven, and set the fashion for French nobility. International Necktie Day is celebrated on October 18 in Croatia and in various cities around the world.