How to Choose a Cravat, 1828

"Although coloured Cravats are made of more costly materials than those which are entirely plain, it is most clearly laid down, as a rule in the laws of taste, that they can only be admitted as undress costume... they are entirely prohibited in evening parties." 

H. Le Blanc, The Art of Tying the Cravat (1828)

It's always mortifying when someone shows up to a party wearing a colored cravat. So tawdry!