a neckband, the forerunner of the modern tailored necktie and bow tie, originating from a style worn by members of the seventeenth-century military unit known as the Croats.
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The gas jet threw its full light on the bloodless, sunken face under the black hat and on the white cravat, brilliant against the beaver of the coat.
Leo Tolstoy. Anna Karenina (1878)
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"Hallo, Bertie," said Bingo. "My God, man!" I gargled. "The cravat! The gent's neckwear! Why? For what reason?" "Oh, the tie?" He blushed. "I—er—I was given it."
P. G. Wodehouse. Death at the Excelsior And Other Stories
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He should have a black patch, over one eye, a cravat with horseshoes on it.
Margaret Atwood. The Handmaid's Tale (1986)
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Utterly preposterous as his cravat was, and as his collars were, I was conscious of a sort of dignity in the look.