Kipper tie
Encyclopedia
A Kipper Tie is a type of necktie
Necktie
A necktie is a long piece of cloth worn for decorative purposes around the neck or shoulders, resting under the shirt collar and knotted at the throat. Variants include the ascot tie, bow tie, bolo tie, and the clip-on tie. The modern necktie, ascot, and bow tie are descended from the cravat. Neck...

 primarily fashionable in Britain in the mid 1960s to late 1970s. The primary characteristics of the kipper tie are its extreme breadth (normally 4.5 - 5 inches) and often garish colors and patterns.

Design origin

British fashion designer Michael Fish designed the kipper tie in 1966 working out of his establishment in Piccadilly
Piccadilly
Piccadilly is a major street in central London, running from Hyde Park Corner in the west to Piccadilly Circus in the east. It is completely within the city of Westminster. The street is part of the A4 road, London's second most important western artery. St...

.

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
Kipper
A kipper is a whole herring, a small, oily fish, that has been split from tail to head, gutted, salted or pickled, and cold smoked.In the United Kingdom, in Japan, and in some North American regions they are often eaten for breakfast...

, or a sly reference to the designer, whose last name, Fish, was evocative of a kipper. Perhaps the tag derives from the Spoonerisation of Piccadilly as "Kippadilly".

Alternate slang meaning

Kippertie has also been known to, as slang, refer to being shy: 'don't be a kippertie' meaning don't be shy.
It has also been known to be used in jokes to refer to a 'cup of tea' in a broad Black Country accent.
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