A length of fabric worn around the neck and tied or arranged as neckwear.
In English, a cravat is a short, wide piece of silk or similar cloth worn by men around the neck and folded inside the collar of a shirt; in North American English it is also called an ascot. The French cravate is wider in meaning. It is the ordinary word for a necktie, the band of cloth passed under the shirt collar and knotted at the front with its two ends hanging down the chest, and in its broadest sense it also covers bow ties and some scarves. In a French listing, cravates are ties.
Older neckcloths show how such a piece is worn. The V&A describes Victorian neckcloths as large squares of printed cotton, folded diagonally, folded again, fastened around the neck and tied, with the ends arranged to cover or to show the shirt front.
In job listings
Cravat is a product word rather than a job title. Neckwear sits with silk and soft accessories, where design and product roles cover scarves, ties and pocket squares, and boutique advisors sell ties among a house’s accessories. See current silk roles.
