Tying a Regency Cravat

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=195 BGCOLOR="#663366" TEXT="#080000" background="040c6172dkcfuy.gif"> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" BGCOLOR="#CC99CC" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#663366" FACE="Arial" >Jessica's Costume History Page</FONT><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#663399" FACE="Times New Roman" >    </FONT> |    <B> </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#6633CC" FACE="Times New Roman" ><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Jessicas Costume History Page"><U><B>home</B></U></A></FONT></div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="12" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="12">  <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="12" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="12">     <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="12" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="7">    <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="12" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="7"></div> <div> <IMG SRC="046f0030.gif" border=0 width="496" height="3" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Tying a Regency Cravat</div> <div> One item of interest that characterized the regency man’s attire was his cravat or, neckcloth. Those of you who have seen Leslie Howard as the elegantly foppish Sir Percy in <U>The Scarlet Pimpernel</U>, will know how essential a well-tied cravat is to the distinguished gentleman. While it does achieve the much desired, “dandy” image, of the times, tying one is (pun fully intended) quite a pain in the neck. </div> <div>      On my first attempt, I began by trying to tie my cravat around my own neck. This quickly proved to be too advanced for my unpracticed fingers so I used the excellent suggest of my lower leg as a “neck”. The cloth I used (a strip with dimensions of about 6"x55") was quite stiff in and of itself, having been some type of drapery at one point in it’s life, so I thankfully did not need to use any starch. I began with the seemingly simple looking “Mathematical” design but then realized I had forgotten the two vertical pleats when I began and my knot looked horrendous as well. I quickly turned it into a “Mailcoach” by covering the failure knot with one end of the tie and the result was admittedly better. </div> <div>      Feeling slightly more competent in my cravat tying skills I turned to my family for “cravat models”. One sister ran yelling from the room. I then found the dog, who proved a far more patient *ahem* victim, but I was hindered in that her neck was much larger then that of a human’s. After managing another Mailcoach on her, (even if somewhat shorter then desired), I found one of my siblings who was willing to let me use his neck as a model. With his help (and patience) I tried a variety of ties, using both the stiff cloth and a lightweight knit scarf I had found. My conclusions are as follows: (a.) there is no reason on earth anyone should want to tie a cravat, but if you insist I shall move on to (b.) If you begin by wrapping your cloth around the front of your neck first, rather then the back, you will get better results with a shorter cloth. (c.)The neater you can tie a knot, (a gordion knot is the one generally used), the neater the overall appearance of your cravat will be. (d.) While the stiffer fabric is better for ties with intricate pleats and/or smooth surfaces like the Oriental, Mathematical or American, softer ties like the Mailcoach or Waterfall come out better when used with the knit scarf.</div> <div>      The photo’s will, once I get them developed, give you a visual of what exactly it is I’m talking about. And yes, I promise, I will include the dog’s cravat.</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >See </FONT><A HREF="id37.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Cravat Photos"><U>Cravat Photos</U></A></div> <bR> <div> <B>Back to </B><A HREF="id18.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE=" Assignments"><U><B> Assignments</B></U></A></div> </td> </tr></table></body>