A necktie, or more common – tie is an accessory that doesn't go out of fashion. It's worn for the bussiness and formal purposes, but did you know that it comes from Croatia? International Necktie/Cravat Day is celebrated on October 18th in Croatia and in various cities around the world and we bring you the background story. 

The modern necktie traces back to the time of the Thirty Years' War when Croatian mercenaries from the Croatian Military Frontier in French service, wearing their traditional small, knotted neckerchiefs, aroused the interest of the Parisians.

Due to the slight difference between the Croatian word for Croats, which is 'Hrvati', and the French word 'Croates', that small piece of clothing got the name "cravat" or "cravate" in French.

The boy-king Louis XIV began wearing a lace cravat about 1646, when he was seven, and set the fashion for French nobility. This new article of clothing started a fashion craze in Europe; both men and women wore pieces of fabric around their necks.

Nowdays, it's pretty much the same – necktie is almost an essential piece of clothing. If only it was easier to make a perfect knot...