One of our antiquarian friends, who has devoted his time to long and laborious researches on the origin of Cravats, asserts, that the real Cravate à l’Orientale consists of a very small silken cord; and that in the highest circles of Turkey, it is sometimes the custom to draw it tighter than the human frame can well bear; he very properly adds that this fashion produces the most serious results to the health of any one who is suddenly compelled to adopt it.
The Cravat, for this style, must be small, that it may present two small ends only; these must be strongly starched at the tips, that they may retain the form of the crescent, as not the slightest wrinkle can be suffered. A whalebone stiffener must, therefore, be used, as the least deviation from this rule will entirely deprive it of its denomination Orientale.
The Cravate à l’Orientale must be of the purest white muslin, or white cachemire.
LESSON IV.
Cravate à l’Américaine.
The Cravate à l’Américaine is extremely pretty and easily formed, provided the handkerchief is well starched.
When it is correctly formed, it presents the appearance of a column, destined to support a Corinthian capital. This style has many admirers here, and also among our friends, the fashionables of the New World, who pride themselves on its name, which they call “Independence;” this title may, to a certain point, be disputed, as the neck is fixed in a kind of vice, which entirely prohibits any very free movements.