More on Ties

The world of ties is a little curiouser than I imagined. Ever since that conversation, I’ve mentioned it a couple of times – in appropriate circumstances, of course – and I’ve got varied replies.

One was most interesting, pointing out that the length of the tie is also something indicative, as it can be made longer or shorter depending on where the first cross-over point is – a tie which ends below the belt buckle apparently indicates an available bachelor. This ties (ed: I’m sorry) right in with the previous conversation, and had the person who know the length as being an indicator suddenly realising why it meant what it meant. Presumably the shorter the tie the less attention that is being drawn to the man-bits? of course there’s a limit (i.e. when the thinner end pokes out from behind the wider end, but that could mean something else entirely!), but it’s interesting to think…

Ties (or more correctly Neck ties) are descended from the Cravat, according to Wikipedia. A cravat is a thin scarf type thing that European types wear to make themselves look fancy. Cravats serve much the same purpose as a scarf, and are themselves descended from something the Roman soldiers used to wear (ah, there we are – antiquity, where it was once purposeful, now turns into an unnecessary bit of fluff. Hooray modernity!).

And the other thing is that I’ve discovered there are 85 ways of tying the tie. Eighty-five! I’d only been taught one – apparently, one of the more complex, the full Windsor knot – and seeing as this comes in at number 31 of rising complexity, I’m pleased to find easier alternatives =) Of those eighty-five, nineteen are named (and not variances on the named version), and there’s one which is a modifier for pretty much all (the Onassis), resulting in 170 all up really! Oh the possibilities. Of course most can’t be told from another, but that’s just by-the-by. 85 ways people! Imagine how many you could impress with your tie mastery!

(Shall we call this a Research Thursday then? :D)