The Probert Encyclopaedia of Costume

CRAVAT

A cravat is a rectangular scarf of silk, muslin or fine wool worn around the neck by men, originally they were worn by Croats in the French army during the Thirty Years' War and the name is derived from the French Cravate meaning a Croat. Towards the end of the 18th and the beginning of the 19th century the cravat attained an incredible degree of extravagance, but common sense at last brought in the simpler style.
Research Cravat