A kipper tie is a type of necktie primarily fashionable in Britain in the mid-1960s to late 1970s. The primary characteristics of the kipper tie are its extreme breadth (normally ) and often garish colours and patterns.

Design origin

Wide neckties were fashionable in the 1940s: first among Zoot suiters rebelling against wartime austerity, and later as part of the "Bold Look" worn by World War II veterans returning to civilian life. Ties of this period often featured bright colors and bold prints, including birds, animals, and floral designs like paisley. British comedian Max Miller was well known for wearing suits and wide ties made from the same fabric as

aloha shirt The aloha shirt (), also referred to as a Hawaiian shirt, is a style of dress shirt originating in Hawaii. They are collared and buttoned dress shirts, usually short-sleeved and made from printed fabric. They are traditionally worn untucked, but ...

s. Kipper ties made a comeback among the younger generation during the late 1960s and early 70s as the thin ties and slim fitting

Mod Mod, MOD or mods may refer to: Places * Modesto City–County Airport, Stanislaus County, California, US Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Mods (band), a Norwegian rock band * M.O.D. (Method of Destruction), a band from New York City, US ...

suits began to be replaced by the precursors to disco fashion. British fashion designer

Michael Fish Michael Fish, (born 27 April 1944 in Eastbourne, Sussex) is a British weather forecaster. From 1974 to 2004, he was a television presenter for BBC Weather. Career Educated at Eastbourne College and City University London, Fish was the lon ...

designed the kipper tie in 1966 in his establishment in Piccadilly.

Revival

Despite the backlash against disco during the early 1980s, thinner kipper ties continued to be worn, often with

double-breasted A double-breasted garment is a coat, jacket, waistcoat, or dress with wide, overlapping front flaps which has on its front two symmetrical columns of buttons; by contrast, a single-breasted item has a narrow overlap and only one column of butt ...

"power suits". The end of the 80s saw ultra-thin ties become fashionable, together with 1950s-inspired

bolo ties A bolo tie (sometimes bola tie or shoestring necktie) is a type of necktie consisting of a piece of cord or braided leather with decorative metal tips (called aiguillettes) and secured with an ornamental clasp or slide. Popularity In the United ...

. In the mid-1990s, kipper ties made a comeback due to a resurgence of interest in

1970s fashion Fashion in the 1970s was about individuality. In the early 1970s, ''Vogue'' proclaimed "There are no rules in the fashion game now" due to overproduction flooding the market with cheap synthetic clothing. Common items included mini skirts, ...

. These were typically darker and less

kitsch Kitsch ( ; loanword from German) is a term applied to art and design that is perceived as naïve imitation, overly-eccentric, gratuitous, or of banal taste. The avant-garde opposed kitsch as melodramatic and superficial affiliation wi ...

than those from its heyday. By the 2000s, however, wide ties had become associated with older men, and fell out of favour as skinny ties influenced by

indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and su ...

and

Mod subculture Mod, from the word modernist, is a subculture that began in London and spread throughout Great Britain and elsewhere, eventually influencing fashions and trends in other countries, and continues today on a smaller scale. Focused on music and f ...

became fashionable.

Name of the tie

It has alternately been proposed that the name "kipper tie" is a reference to the extreme breadth of the tie resembling a

kipper A kipper is a whole herring, a small, oily fish, that has been split in a butterfly fashion from tail to head along the dorsal ridge, gutted, salted or pickled, and cold-smoked over smouldering wood chips (typically oak). In the United Ki ...

, or a sly reference to the designer, whose last name, Fish, was evocative of a kipper.

Subject of humour

The terminology itself "kipper tie" forms a part of a joke: "Who says Kipper Tie?" to which the

punch line A punch line (a. k. a. punch-line or punchline) concludes a joke; it is intended to make people laugh. It is the third and final part of the typical joke structure. It follows the introductory framing of the joke and the narrative which sets up ...

is "A

Brummie The Brummie dialect, or more formally the Birmingham dialect, is spoken by many people in Birmingham, England, and some of its surrounding areas. "Brummie" is also a demonym for people from Birmingham. It is often erroneously used in referring to ...

when you ask him whether he'd like a tea or a coffee!". It makes a joke of the

Brummie dialect The Brummie dialect, or more formally the Birmingham dialect, is spoken by many people in Birmingham, England, and some of its surrounding areas. "Brummie" is also a demonym for people from Birmingham. It is often erroneously used in referring t ...

Notes

{{Clothing Neckties Neckwear 1960s fashion 1970s fashion