Tie as we know it today...

The tie as we know it today has been around since the 1920s, aided by the manufacturing methods of a New York tie maker who developed the idea of cutting tie fabric on the bias and sewing it in three segments. He also added the "slip-stitch" to provide elasticity and allow the tie to return to its former shape after wear. The modern necktie has been manufactured in the same way since that time.

For many years the four-in-hand tie served the purpose of showing the wearer's affiliations. With the expansion of English public schools during the late 19th century came the tradition of intercollegiate sports. Sporting colors became de rigeur. At first, supporters wore school colors on hatbands around boaters, but eventually someone started the practice of putting the stripes arounds the neck. The old school tie was born, and with it, the beginning of neckties as we know them today. Regiments followed suit, by using the colors of their uniform facings to evidence their necktie colors, after the British army began to shed its colorful tunics for practical khaki, less visible to the enemy.