Neckwear :: The Cravat
How many of you can honestly say that you know what a cravat is? Wikipedia describes the cravat as:"a neckband, the forerunner of the modern tailored necktie and bow tie, originating from 17th century Croatia. From the end of the 16th century, the term band applied to any long-strip neckcloth that was not a ruff. The ruff, a starched, pleated white linen strip, started its fashion career earlier in the 16th century as a neckcloth (readily changeable, to minimize the soiling of a doublet), as a bib, or as a napkin. A band could be either a plain, attached shirt collar or a detachable "falling band" that draped over the doublet collar. It is possible that cravats were initially worn to hide shirts which were not immaculately clean."
I love that all my fashion forward friends know how much I love a creative challenge. The inspiration for this post came after receiving the following tweet from friend and designer Jenny P who is notorious for keeping me on my toes.As soon as I can my hands on a decent cravat I'm going to do a follow up post with the results of my styling options for the classic neck piece. Thanks, Jen! ;)
Ironically, the same day I received the challenge from Jen, I later watched an episode of The Game where Hosea Chanchez's character Malik Wright was so brilliantly styled in a paisley print cravat, tuxedo jacket with big lapels and plum colored dress shirt. This definitely got my wheels turning on possible alternatives... And low key, I have worn something like a chavat, but unfortunately have no photos of myself from that night. Oh well! It just gives me excuse to get dressed up again.
For more coverage on the classic neck piece, click here for my brother and fellow fashionisto Quimari's take on his blog A Tailored Observation.
