| It's well documented that in 1880, the rowing club | | | | is believed to have created the first sporting |
| at Oxford University's Exeter College, invented | | | | colours. They designed a flag of black, bright, |
| the first designer silk ties. After an emotional win | | | | orange-red, and gold, symbolizing "out of |
| over their rivals, they celebrated by removing | | | | darkness, through fire, into light." Blazers, caps, |
| their ribbon hat bands from their boater hats and | | | | and ties were eventually created in these colours. |
| tying them, four-in-hand around their necks. When | | | | It took another one hundred and twenty years |
| they ordered a set of ties, with the colours from | | | | before the tie saw any significant change. In the |
| their hatbands, they had accidentally created the | | | | 1920's a pioneering Paris fashion designer Jean |
| modern school tie. Schools, clubs, and athletic ties | | | | Patou invented the designer silk ties. He made silk |
| appeared in abundance. Some schools had | | | | ties from women's clothing material. Targeted |
| different ties for various grades, levels of | | | | towards women purchasers, his expensive ties |
| achievement, and for graduates. Thanks to | | | | were highly successful. In fact in America three |
| historians and their method of accurate | | | | out of four ties are bought buy women. |
| documentation all the original college colours are | | | | Jesse Langsdorf an American tailor discovered |
| still available from archived samples and replicate | | | | that by cutting the tie on the bias of the cloth, |
| ties can be made to order. | | | | the tie would be much more resilient and long- |
| The four in hand knot used to tie their hat | | | | wearing. Cut slightly off bias, the tie would pull |
| ribbons, which later became one of the most | | | | off-centre and fall crookedly, but if cut at exactly |
| popular ways to tie a tie has its own unique origin. | | | | 45 degrees, the aprons of the tie would drape |
| Coachman who lead a team of two horses en | | | | elegantly, straight down from the knot. He also |
| route would take the four reins, two for each | | | | constructed his ties using three different pieces of |
| horse, and tie them in particular fashion across | | | | silk (the blade, the gusset and the under end) |
| their hand , thus four reins in hand, or, four in | | | | sewn together. He patented his idea and sold it to |
| hand. Later the knot and the phrase the | | | | the world. |
| coachman used were adapted to neckwear. Two | | | | Throughout the ages the striped tie has remained |
| unrelated occurrences made contribution to a | | | | a favourite style of men who don't want to step |
| style that survives in tact to this day. And | | | | outside a conventional framework. Didn't some |
| interestingly both working class and upper class | | | | one once say "style is constant, fashion comes |
| made equal contribution, the coachman's phrase | | | | and goes"? |
| and the university student boating hat band. | | | | So maybe the next time you knot your favourite |
| Let's not leave Cambridge University out of the | | | | designer silk ties four in hand around your neck, |
| race; they also played a part in establishing an | | | | you'll appreciate its colourful history. A word of |
| everlasting style, albeit forty five years after the | | | | warning, when tieing the knot, don't' think too hard |
| first Oxford school tie. A Cricket Club, founded by | | | | about the coachman pulling tight on the reins, 'four |
| a group of Cambridge University students in 1845 | | | | in hand', you might choke yourself. |