When are ascots appropriate?

[yachtie]

Originally Posted by LaoHu

Can you wear one of those hats without an ascot?
I don't think so.

 

[vncrz]

Originally Posted by brittain

That said, if your lifestyle supports it, rock it.
Unfortunately my lifestyle doesn't support yachts or horse races

… yet

Originally Posted by srivats

I like this ... you are wearing it properly. Don't listen to the haters! I wear an ascot when a tie might be considered too dressy.
That's exactly what I was thinking…

Originally Posted by ManofKent

I like them, and occasionally wear one to fill the gap between smart and completely casual, but they do have an eccentric edge these days. I get the impression that they're probably slightly more common in the UK (at least in the country/provinces) whilst in the states bow-ties often fill the same position.
I also heard they're common in Argentina, must be the polo thing

 

[Neo1824]

not a fan...my neck is perfectly happy unwrapped and open collared.

 

[blackbowtie]

Originally Posted by ManofKent

I get the impression that they're probably slightly more common in the UK (at least in the country/provinces) whilst in the states bow-ties often fill the same position.

I would actually contest this statement. I think bowties are more formal than ascots. While I could definitely get away with wearing a bowtie to work - albeit perhaps attracting some comments and attention - I don't think the same applies to ascots. (I work in an organization where dark suits are de rigueur.) I would see the ascot as casual wear: there's something about it that's too redolent of leisurely tea parties, or yachting in the Aegean.

 

[voxsartoria]

- B

 

[amplifiedheat]

Remember the Brummell principle--dressing well involves subtlety. A touch of silk around the collar can be quite effective. The shirt-undone-to-the-navel, billowing-out-everywhere school is clearly a bridge too far.

 

[Dragon]

Originally Posted by voxsartoria

- B

Wow...nice jacket and nice shoes, but I don`t understand the need to put in a pocket square or wear an ascot with that.

 

[cgardel]

When are ascots appropriate? Perhaps an iGent convention.

 

[DocHolliday]

You can also break out the creative neckwear when offering lewd witticisms on your favorite televised game show:

Actually, now that I think about it, watching Match Game isn't too far removed from reading SF.

 

[voxsartoria]

Originally Posted by DocHolliday

Actually, now that I think about it, watching Match Game isn't too far removed from reading SF.

"Every evening, Johnny StyleForvm takes off his pants and [blanks] in front of the computer."

- B

 

[Roikins]

When Ashton stops wearing them.

 

[Bounder]

Originally Posted by vncrz

I recently tried on an ascot a family member had from a long time ago and liked the look. When are they supposed to be worn?

1923

 

[ralphandricky1967]

I've been seeing Ralph Lauren's Purple Label showcase the ascot look more in the past couple of years. I kind of like it. Might sport this to opening day of polo this season.

 

[Butterfly]

Originally Posted by JLibourel

Aside from that relentless philistine I am married to, nobody ever gives me any grief or ridicule about wearing an ascot. I suspect most of them don't even know what the hell it is or attach any particular symbolism to it. At one market, a checkout clerk was much more curious about my pocket square than my ascot.
This is correct. The menswear forums are the only place where people are particularly opinionated about ascots, one way or another. In public, ascots are practically invisible because 96% of the public have no idea what they are. Having said that, they often make me feel a bit overdressed, so I don't wear them very much. The days when a collared shirt worn open with no neckwear could regarded as "slovenly" outside the workplace are long gone.

 

[SkinnyGoomba]

my feeling is that they're like bowties, you guys are all scared to death of them, and they're received well often out there in the real world.