How the phrase ‘cravat’ got here from the battlefields of seventeenth century Europe : NPR

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Hrvoje Polan/AFP through Getty Photographs For a lot of within the enterprise world, a return to work after the winter break will imply as soon as once more donning the dreaded swimsuit and tie. The company neckwear is the on a regular basis counterpart to the historically extra luxurious cravat – a voluminous neckscarf that conjures up photographs of opulent dinners aboard a yacht crusing via the Mediterranean.

President Abraham Lincoln wore cravats, as did Hollywood actor Cary Grant and the extravagant entertainer Liberace. In newer instances, the garment has been popularized within the American mainstream by the likes of Madonna and the late Diane Keaton.

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Night Commonplace/Getty Photographs/Hulton Archive On this installment of NPR's "Phrase of the Week" collection we hint the origins of the "cravat" (borrowed from the French "cravate") again to the battlefields of seventeenth century Europe and discover its hyperlinks to the fashionable day necktie, patented in New York greater than 100 years in the past.

"Scarves worn across the neck existed lengthy earlier than, however the story of the cravat actually begins within the Thirty Years' Battle when it first gained wider European recognition," explains Filip Hren, a navy historian on the Croatian Catholic College in Zagreb.

Hren is referring to the 1618-48 battle fought between Catholics and Protestants and often known as Europe's final non secular battle.

The phrase "cravate" first appeared within the French language to explain navy apparel worn by Croatian mercenaries who had been famend amongst their enemies for his or her brutal preventing prowess.

"The Swedish king mentioned they're the brand new tribe of the satan," says Hren.

The "swift, quick and lethal" Croats, who entered the battle in service of the Holy Roman Empire, wore distinctive pink scarves round their necks. Manufactured from silk or cotton, the fabric is claimed to have been used to guard their faces in opposition to chilly climate and smoke in battle, and to deal with accidents.

"Wounded troopers might use the headband as a bandage, nevertheless it additionally had symbolic that means," says Vladimir Brnardić, a historian and journalist who has written extensively about Croatian navy historical past.

"There are legends that younger ladies and the wives of troopers tied the headband across the necks of their beloved to point out their belief and love for them, and to indicate that they might be ready for them once they return," he provides.

The French military observed the Croats' preventing expertise – and their trend sense – recruiting many into elite cavalry regiments that may grow to be often known as the Royal Cravates.

<img src="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/2056x2844+0+0/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F39%2F84%2Fdea2008a4c20993053dce90e9f11%2Fgettyimages-51245000.jpg" data-template="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/2056x2844+0+0/resize/{width}/quality/{quality}/format/{format}/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F39%2F84%2Fdea2008a4c20993053dce90e9f11%2Fgettyimages-51245000.jpg" class="img" alt="Circa 1661, King Louis XIV of France, (1638 - 1715), king of France from 1643. He was known as 'The Sun King'." loading="lazy"/> Circa 1661, King Louis XIV of France, (1638 - 1715), king of France from 1643. He was often known as 'The Solar King'. Getty Photographs/Hulton Archive disguise caption

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Getty Photographs/Hulton Archive "The scarves took their names from Croats. It was tied in a Croatian method, or in French – a la Croate," explains Filip Hren.

King Louis XIV launched the cravat into French trend and from Paris it quickly unfold throughout Europe.

"King Louis XIV was significantly keen on the cravat and it is mentioned that his pages would carry cravats to him each morning. He was a task mannequin for the French the Aristocracy and for a lot of different European rulers as nicely," says Hren.

The earliest use of the English model "cravat," in keeping with the Oxford English Dictionary, was recorded in 1656 within the writing of English antiquary and lexicographer Thomas Blount.

Within the nineteenth century, the rise of bourgeois society within the Industrial Revolution noticed the arrival of the necktie. Historians say the accent turned an emblem of professionalism and social self-discipline, "significantly in males's clothes." Within the twentieth century it entered enterprise, diplomatic and political tradition, and "turned a way of non-public expression."

In French and plenty of different European languages, the phrase for "necktie" nonetheless retains an etymological hyperlink to the phrases for "Croats".

"Krawatte" in German. In Spanish, "corbata." "Cravatta" in Italian and "gravata" in Greek.

The necktie as we all know it as we speak was patented in New York within the early Twenties by tailor Jesse Langsdorf.

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Elisabetta Villa/Getty Photographs Europe "Langsdorf created a revolution after we speak about neckties. He designed it in a method that it retains its [form] and to not be delicate as a pure silk scarf," says Igor Mladinović, co-founder of the Cravaticum Museum in Zagreb, which amongst its reveals hosts a "bulletproof" necktie made in Thailand and one other sewn from the pores and skin of a lifeless snake.

New patterns, colours and materials have outlined its evolution, usually reflecting new trend traits, social and financial change. Considerably so after the Second World Battle when the invention of polyester cloth made neckties extra inexpensive to fabricate and purchase. The designs additionally turned brighter and extra colourful.

"The necktie has modified when it comes to materials and sample design, however the best way it's produced has remained unchanged for the final 100 years," provides Mladinović.

Over time, the necktie has come to represent success, sophistication and standing, however has additionally been criticized by some as an emblem of energy, management and oppression. In that method, maybe, it echoes partially among the earliest seventeenth century origins of its ancestor, the cravat.