History of Uniform Neckwear:
The History of Uniforms:
Uniforms have been in existence since human civilization started. Weather you look at ancient Rome, Greece or Egypt, men and women alike used to wear uniforms. The first uniforms were either military uniforms, or served a religious purpose.
In business, the history of uniforms goes back to the 14th century during the middle ages in Europe. Those first business uniforms were mostly worn for functional reasons. Bakers for instance used to wear white to prevent flour stains.
Today companies pick uniforms for a wide variety of reasons. Just like the first uniforms worn over 5,000 years ago, company choose uniforms to help establish an identity, create a corporate image, and even helps with branding.
The Positive Impact of Wearing Uniforms:
To learn more about “Customer Perception of Uniforms in the Workplace” the Uniform & Textile Service Association (UTSA) appointed J.D. Powers and Associates to conduct a detailed survey to find out more. The study supported previous documentation in literature on the psychology of clothing in the workplace. Two main things stood out in this study: First, customers associate positive personal attributes with uniforms, and think of people wearing uniforms as professional and well trained. Second, uniforms create brand recognition. In addition, the survey showed that customer preferred to do business with employees in uniforms. Uniforms give customers the confidence that they will receive quality service from the employee wearing the uniform.
Many companies know about the link between uniforms and positive customer perception. For that reason the number of companies that outfit their employees with uniforms has been increasing. In fact the USTA shows studies that the use of uniforms increase by about 4% per year. Currently over 33 million employees in the US wear a company uniform to work.
Neckties And Company Uniforms:
The origin of the necktie dates back to the 17th century in France. During the 30 years war Croatian mercenaries went to France to show their support to King Louis. The Croats used to wear a scarf like piece of clothing to tie the top of their uniforms. Not only did this serve a practical purpose such as protection from the wind and the cold, but it also had a decorative purpose. When the war ended, King Louis was impressed with how brave the Croats had fought. He also found liking in their scarves, and ended up adopting this piece of clothing for formal gatherings. To honor the Croats, he gave the scarf the name “La Cravat”, a name still used in France today.
Since then the necktie had been part of many uniforms. During the 1880s the British even adopted the necktie as part of their formal military uniforms. For the British the necktie was made in colors to represent specific military regiments. For that reason, this classic British style necktie got the name Regimental Tie. Today neckties are part of many company uniforms. The largest industries are: Restaurants, Hotels, Airlines, and Banking.