The Windsor knot, sometimes referred to as a full Windsor (or misleadingly as a double Windsor) to distinguish it from the
half-Windsor, is a
knot
A knot is an intentional complication in cordage which may be practical or decorative, or both. Practical knots are classified by function, including hitches, bends, loop knots, and splices: a ''hitch'' fastens a rope to another object; a ' ...
used to tie a
necktie
A necktie, or simply a tie, is a piece of cloth worn for decorative purposes around the neck, resting under the shirt collar and knotted at the throat, and often draped down the chest.
Variants include the ascot, bow, bolo, zipper tie, cra ...
. As with other common necktie knots, the Windsor knot is triangular, and the wide end of the tie drapes in front of the narrow end. The Windsor is a wider knot than most common knots, and while not truly symmetric is more balanced than the common
four-in-hand knot. The Windsor's width makes it especially suited to be used with a
spread or cutaway collar.
History and adoption
The knot is named after the
Duke of Windsor. He is sometimes credited with its invention
alongside his London shirtmaker.
[Gibbings, Sarah (1990) ''The Tie: Trends and Traditions'', , p. 194] It is however the case that the Duke achieved the wide knot that was his signature by wearing ties of thicker cloth that produced a wider knot from the conventional
four-in-hand, and hence the Windsor knot was likely invented to emulate the Duke's wide knots using ties of normal thickness.
The Windsor knot is the only tie knot that is to be used by all personnel in the
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
and the Royal Air Force Cadets (
ATC and CCF(RAF)) in the UK when wearing their black tie while in uniform. However, it is often frowned upon in other Armed Services or Regiments of the British Forces through its association with the Duke, who as
King Edward VIII famously
abdicated
Abdication is the act of formally relinquishing monarchical authority. Abdications have played various roles in the succession procedures of monarchies. While some cultures have viewed abdication as an extreme abandonment of duty, in other societ ...
in order to marry American divorcee
Wallis Simpson
Wallis, Duchess of Windsor (born Bessie Wallis Warfield, later Simpson; June 19, 1896 – April 24, 1986), was an American socialite and wife of the former King Edward VIII. Their intention to marry and her status as a divorcée caused ...
.
The Windsor and four-in-hand knots are authorized for use by all services of the Canadian Forces.
Specification
In the 1999 book ''
The 85 Ways to Tie a Tie
''The 85 Ways to Tie a Tie'' is a book by Thomas Fink and Yong Mao about the history of the knotted neckcloth, the modern necktie, and how to tie each. It is based on two mathematics papers published by the authors in ''Nature'' and '' Physica&n ...
'', by
Thomas Fink
Thomas Fink (born 1972) is an Anglo-American physicist, author and entrepreneur. He has published papers in statistical physics and its applications, written two books and designed an iPhone app. He set up the London Institute for Mathematical ...
and Yong Mao, the Windsor knot is knot 31 and described in
that book's notation as:
* Li Co Ri Lo Ci Ro Li Co T
This notation encodes the following series of steps:
# Start with the tie draped over the neck, with the seam inward and the wide end of the tie to the right.
# Cross the wide end over the narrow end.
# Bring the wide end inward and up so that it passes under the intersection and out under the neck.
# Bring the wide end over to the right.
# Bring the wide end inward and left so that it passes under the intersection and out to the left.
# Bring the wide end up to the center.
# Bring the wide end inward and down so that it passes under the intersection and out to the right.
# Bring the wide end over to the left.
# Bring the wide end inward and up so that it passes under the intersection and out under the neck.
# Bring the wide end down and thread it between the front-most horizontal segment and the rest of the knot. Pull both ends gently to tighten.
Common variations on the Windsor include:
* Li Co Li Ro Ci Lo Ri Co T (knot 32) (the "Persian Knot")
* Li Co Ri Lo Ci Lo Ri Co T (knot 33)
* Li Co Li Ro Ci Ro Li Co T (knot 35)
In fiction
In
Ian Fleming
Ian Lancaster Fleming (28 May 1908 – 12 August 1964) was a British writer who is best known for his postwar ''James Bond'' series of spy novels. Fleming came from a wealthy family connected to the merchant bank Robert Fleming & Co., a ...
's novel ''
From Russia, with Love'', Chapter 25 is entitled "A tie with a Windsor knot".
James Bond
The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...
, traveling on the
Orient Express
The ''Orient Express'' was a long-distance passenger train service created in 1883 by the Belgian company ''Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits'' (CIWL) that operated until 2009. The train traveled the length of continental Europe and int ...
, is met by a supposed fellow British agent, who wears "the dark blue and red zigzagged tie of the
Royal Artillery
The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...
, tied with a Windsor knot.
..Bond mistrusted anyone who tied his tie with a Windsor knot. It showed too much vanity. It was often the mark of a cad."
See also
*
List of knots
References
External links
*
{{Knots
Necktie knots
de:Krawattenknoten#Windsorknoten