The "Old boys tie" regimental tie

It is not well known how Regimental ties were born, or rather to have the idea of ??giving rise to accessories of this type. It was the students of Exeter College, who in the course of traditional rowing competitions used to take off their tank tops to tie them around their necks as a symbol of belonging to their school.

It did not take long for these improvised accessories to evolve into real striped ties, bearing the college colors: and here were the regimental models, which as the name implies were (and still are) also used by military organizations such as emblem of its own distinctive colors. Regardless of how the idea was born, the regimental tie (known as the Old Boys Tie) originally indicated the tie worn by the British military, decorated with diagonal stripes with the colors of the regiment to which it belongs, I take this opportunity to introduce some hints historians.

When in 1919, the young Prince of Wales visited the United States, wearing the tie of the regiment in which he had served, his elegance became popular, as well as the regimental ties. From that moment the universal fashion of ties was born

regimental, then the striped ties typical of clubs, colleges or universities, such as Oxford.

In the United Kingdom and the United States, regimentals have meant and still mean belonging to a group. The Regimental UK and USA ties.

The stripes on the European ties go down from right to left, the American ones in the opposite direction, because the creators of the latter were passionate about the English Regimentals who, to wear them without creating embarrassment, made them using original English fabrics, reversing the sense of stripes, thus creating non-Regimental ties with original stripes and fabrics. This process was conceived by an enterprising American, Mr. Abbott. There are two large families that can be distinguished on the basis of the motifs: "Classic and Fantasy". The former are divided into five subgroups with “all over” geometric designs, that is repeated several times on its surface, with stripes, polka dots, tartan designs and paisley designs.

The latter, on the other hand, are divided into two subgroups with designs relating to sport, and animal or floral motifs. For the striped category we find the "Titan" one line placed under the knot, when the lines are placed on the surface of the tie with a regular sequence in one or more colors, we have the ties with "Ribbon" motifs; while the “Mogador” have a wide stripe interspersed with two other narrow ones. When horizontal or vertical lines appear on the tie, these take the name of "Heraldry", because they recall the ancient noble coat of arms.

If the tie has stripes of the same size, but in contrasting colors, it is defined as "Bengal", because they are reminiscent of the tiger's cloak. Finally, when the colors of the lines have different shades of the same color, they are coded as "Amber". Within these motifs are placed the Regimental ties, or clubs, which may have Mogador, Ribbon, Bengal motifs, but only if they refer to the colors of the English Regiments, sports clubs or different colleges.

Regimental ties are not to be confused with striped ties. From an aesthetic point of view it seems there are not too many differences, but the meanings are completely different, wearing them in British territory, therefore, would be inadvisable, considering the risk of meeting those who belong to these very exclusive circles and thus create a certain embarrassment.

Sergio Cairati

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