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cravat

Apparel
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

An earlier form of the necktie, often of lace or fine linen, worn in the 17th to 19th centuries, associated with elegance, wit, and the dandy aesthetic in romantic and Regency poetry.

Detailed Definition
The cravat is a garment steeped in the culture of the beau monde, appearing in the poetry of the Restoration, the Regency, and the Romantic period as a sign of male fashion and personal vanity. Its elaborate tying techniques—the waterfall, the Oriental, the mathematical—were subjects of both admiration and satire. In love poetry, a perfectly tied cravat could win a lady's glance, while a carelessly tied one signaled distraction or bohemian disregard. Poets like Byron and Baudelaire used the cravat to paint their dandies and rakes, linking it to a philosophy of surface and style. The cravat also appears in historical narrative poetry, where its white linen starkly contrasts with darker clothing, drawing the eye to the throat. Its eventual replacement by the modern necktie is often noted with nostalgia in poems about changing times.
Example
Example in poetry:
"This rust-colored handwoven cravat, I trust, will protect my shirt-bust from dust" (John Holmes); "But the walks were bepester'd with Cravat, and Fan, and Beaver, and Wigg"; "The painful tie you are wearing oh civilised one, take it off if you wish to breathe well" (Guillaume Apollinaire, "La Cravate et la montre"); "Jenny come tye my, Jenny come tye my bonny Cravat" (Broadside Ballad); "His cravat was tied with the mathematical precision of a man who feared disorder"; "The cravat's lace spilled over his waistcoat like a frozen waterfall"
Additional Notes
The cravat is a garment steeped in the culture of the beau monde, appearing in the poetry of the Restoration, the Regency, and the Romantic period as a sign of male fashion and personal vanity. Its elaborate tying techniques—the waterfall, the Oriental, the mathematical—were subjects of both admiration and satire. In love poetry, a perfectly tied cravat could win a lady's glance, while a carelessly tied one signaled distraction or bohemian disregard. Poets like Byron and Baudelaire used the cravat to paint their dandies and rakes, linking it to a philosophy of surface and style. The cravat also appears in historical narrative poetry, where its white linen starkly contrasts with darker clothing, drawing the eye to the throat. Its eventual replacement by the modern necktie is often noted with nostalgia in poems about changing times. Related terms include necktie, ascot, and stock. Students should note the cravat's role in signaling a specific historical period and its association with wit, elegance, and the performance of masculinity.
Also Known As
neckcloth jabot decorative neckwear necktie
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