Neckties Through the Ages | A Tie Singing Dixie
Updated February 21, 2017 | Factmonster Staff 
A Tie Singing Dixie
by David Johnson |
| NECKTIES THROUGH THE AGES | |
| Introduction • 210 B.C. China's First Emperor • 113 A.D. Did Romans Wear Ties? • 17th Century Croatian Cravats for the King of France Cravats Go to England Real Men Wear Lace • 18th Century Cowboy Bandannas from India Sailing the Seven Seas • 19th Century Business Suit Takes Shape Cambridge & Oxford School Ties Ties Fit for Officers and Gentlemen Bow Ties Center Stage A Tie Singing Dixie Lord Byron's Legacy Women Tie the Knot, Too! • 20th Century Paris Presents Designer Ties Celebrities & Rock Stars Ascots Cross Finish Line Bolo: The Tie That Won the West Turtleneck: The Anti-Tie |
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It was too hot in the American south to wear lace or silk cravats. However, in the early 1800s plantation owners displayed their social superiority by wearing wide ribbons tied in bows. Worn with a low-collared shirt, the plantation tie was the first American neckwear.
River gamblers galore
The tie went west, becoming part of Mississippi River boat culture. Mark Twain himself was painted wearing a plantation tie. It is also part of the uniform, along with a fancy white shirt and a light suit, of the riverboat gambler. The leading proponent of the plantation tie nowadays is Colonel Sanders of chicken fame, who is never pictured without one.
Country music singers and square dancers occasionally sport plantation ties as well.
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