THE EAGLE Articles
A spotter’s guide to College ties David Waddilove (1998) read Theology as an undergraduate at St John’s before completing graduate degrees in Theology at Yale and Law at the University of Michigan. After a period of law practice, he returned to St John’s on a Maitland Studentship and is now working towards a PhD in English Legal History. David was President of the Samuel Butler Room during 2011/12.
ARTICLES
More than forty years ago, a correspondent of The Eagle suggested that it ‘should publish, with one or more colour plates, a compilation of all of the neckties associated with the College’. The writer was sure that this ‘would arouse considerable and worthwhile interest’.1 Relying entirely on the fact that late is better than never, we have made a start on that project. This article does not purport to create a comprehensive catalogue of College ties. In fact, it is certain that many ties associated with the College are not represented in these pages. But it is hoped that this article might, in addition to providing entertaining information, inspire readers to photograph their College-related ties and send the photos, along with a description of the organisation or activity represented by the tie, to the author, who shall continue to build the catalogue. The author can be reached by post at the College, or by email at waddilove@cantab.net. Perhaps a future issue of The Eagle will present another edition of this article with the results gathered. The origins of ‘affiliational’ neckties The necktie in the form that we know it is a relatively late innovation. While various forms of neckcloth have been in use throughout history, the long, thin strips of fabric that we use today did not emerge until the late nineteenth century.2 Even then, competition remained from other forms of neckwear, some of which, such as the Ascot, survive in esoteric enclaves. It was not until the early years of the twentieth century that our modern necktie established its hegemony of the male neck.3 Almost as soon as the necktie itself developed, the ‘affiliational’ form – designed to signal relation to a group or activity – emerged. The earliest and still most common way to represent an affiliation is with stripes in a particular pattern. One might reasonably infer from the common description of these stripes as ‘regimental’ that they found their origin in the armed forces. But this is not the case. Affiliational ties both began and were popularised by sports clubs that adopted colours and expressed them on various forms of attire.4 The armed
Page 50 johnian.joh.cam.ac.uk