DIAGRAMS ILLUSTRATING THE TYING OF THE "NŒUD GORDIEN."
A. The Cravat folded. B. The Cravat à la Byron. S. The Cravat Sentimentale.
"The Cravat Sentimentale."
This, as its name implies, should only be adopted by those whose physiognomy inspires the tender passion. It may be worn from the age of "seventeen to twenty-seven; after that age it cannot, with propriety, be patronised even by the most agreeable."
"You, then, whom Nature has not gifted with eyes of fire—with complexions rivalling the rose and lily; you, to whom she has denied pearly teeth and coral lips—a gift which, in our opinion, would be somewhat inconvenient; you, in fact, whose faces do not possess that sympathetic charm which, in a moment—at a glance—spreads confusion o'er the senses," &c., pause before adopting the cravat sentimentale—avoid it, in fact; leave it to more highly favoured mortals.
"The Cravat à la Byron."
This must be worn by none but those who would mount the topmost slopes of Parnassus, and drink deeply of the Castalian spring.[20] Our author does not, indeed, say so, but the fact is sufficiently evident.
It is universally allowed that the least constraint on the body has a corresponding effect on the mind; a tight cravat, therefore, will "cramp the imagination and, as it were, suffocate the thoughts." This is the reason why Lord Byron submitted to the inconveniences of a cravat, only "when accommodating himself to the bienséances of society," and explains the fact that "whenever he is painted in the ardour of composition his neck is always free from the trammels of the neckcloth."
Black silk cravats, at the time of our author's writing (1828), were generally worn, and coloured silk handkerchiefs occasionally patronised. It appears that Napoleon invariably wore a black silk cravat, but at Waterloo it was observed that, contrary to his usual custom, he wore a white neckerchief with a flowing bow, although the day previous he appeared in his black cravat. The superstitiously inclined will note this fact; it is, however, extremely unlikely that the change influenced in the slightest degree the result of the battle.
In the late thirties and early forties Dame Fashion turned her attention in the direction of embroidered muslin. Delicate floral patterns, often displaying considerable taste in design and a high degree of technical skill, were wrought upon collarettes, cuffs, chemisettes, &c.; it was chiefly produced in the north of Ireland, and an extensive trade arose, finding employment for large numbers of women and girls in the counties of Donegal, Tyrone, and Down. The delicacy of the material and the absence of colour, lent itself insensibly to a naturalistic treatment.