Q: What are cravats? What is the best way to tie one?

Learn how to wear the latest neckwear accessory

I’ve seen well-dressed guys like David Beckham wearing cravats. What’s the deal with that? What’s the best way to tie it?

Hi there. Thanks for writing. 

A generation ago, working guys everywhere cursed the invention of the stifling tie. But the real source of their grumbling? It was the cravat, the predecessor to every neck accessory. These days, dressing up with a tie is cool, and the cravat has reintroduced itself as a stylish alternative to the expected necktie. It first originated in the 17th Century when France’s Louis XIV spotted it on the Croatian military (“cravate” means “Croat” in French). Now, it’s an extra tool that diversifies your neckwear collection. It has been picked up by the everyman—and no, not just hipsters and Downton Abbey fanatics. And it’s not limited to formal events. Try it unknotted with a T-shirt and cardigan, or tied with a button front shirt. For an outline on how to tie the elegant accessory, we tapped cravat enthusiast Yuvi Alpert (pictured on the left), founder of accessories website Men in Cities.

Barrel Knot
1. Place the cravat cloth around your collar with the right side extending slightly longer than the left.
2. Placing the right side over and under the left, create a loose X with the cloth, leaving two loose ends free.
3. Wrap the right side over once more, creating a loop around the X.
4. Take the end of the right side and pull it through the loop, adjusting it as tightly as desired.
5. Use your fingers to straighten the knot and cravat and position it against your shirt. 

Victorian Cravat
1. Put the cravat across the front of your neck, crossing the ends in the back.
3.Bring the loose ends forward again, adjusting the fit so it's comfortable but snug.
4.Cross the loose ends in front.
5.Make a simple knot (right over left), and leave the knot loose.
6.Make another knot in the opposite direction (left over right), again leaving the ends loose.
7.Pull the loose ends tighter. If you pull the ends too tight, the knot will be too small.
8.Tuck both ends down into your button down or sweater.

Make sense? Let us know how it goes.

—The Men’s Health Style Team


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