In 1890 a knot called four in hand knot become fashionable. Designed to be worn with a shirt and waistcoat and to expose the required number of visible studs on a man’s shirt, the knot soon gained popular acceptance. It has been suggested that carriage drivers tied their horse reins with the four in hand knot.
The four in hand hand knot forms the basis of what most men would recognize as the standard knot today.