There is news from the Western fashion front this month that will make men breathe a little easier, especially as the days grow hotter. The tie, after having had its victims by the throat for several centuries, may finally be seeing its grip loosened.

It has had a good run. In fact, the tie represents one of the biggest success stories in sartorial history. It originated, according to historians of such matters, in Croatia, where a neck scarf knotted in a highly specific manner was part of the traditional male costume. When Croatian mercenaries showed up in Paris around the middle of the 17th century, the French — tired of starched lace collars — were charmed by their convenient yet picturesque neckwear. By the end of Louis XIV's reign (1715), scarves worn "a la Croate" had become de rigueur, giving rise to the French word "cravate" and, before long, to its equivalents in many other European languages: "cravat" in English, "Krawatte" in German, "gravata" in Portuguese, and so on.

From Europe, the cravat (and later its slimmed-down successor, the "nekutai") wound its way around the world on the ships of empire. By the 19th century, it was a fashion fixture on four continents (even on the fifth, Antarctica, the penguins do a fair imitation of stiff little men in suits), and its hegemony remains unchecked. On the cusp of the 21st century, it has been estimated, as many as 600 million men worldwide regularly wear a tie. It has become the ultimate Western male symbol of respectability, responsibility, power.