Advice from the past

Here is some advice from Count Della Galda’s book (1827) “The art of knotting cravats in usual and unusual ways in sixteen lessons”. Here are some guidelines on which cravats to take on a journey. A man should never travel without a small suitcase in which he will put his cravat collection.


The suitcase should contain:

  • 1. a dozen of plain white cravats.
  • 2. a dozen of white cravats with a chequered, polka-dot or striped pattern.
  • 3. a dozen of coloured cravats.
  • 4. at least three dozens of shirt collars.
  • 5. two fake collars.
  • 6. two black silk cravats.
  • 7. a small iron.