When are ascots appropriate?

[acidboy]

Originally Posted by voxsartoria

those shorts make you look rotund

 

[DocHolliday]

Originally Posted by 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.

This is also true of top hats. People say only the nicest things.

 

[ed1234]

Originally Posted by blackbowtie

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.
+1, though I agree that it is a UK/US thing. Wearing a bow tie in the UK to work would look out of place even in the most formal of offices - they are for dinner jacket / tuxedo levels of formality. I get the impression that the same is not the case in the US - bow ties are acceptable, if unusual, as every day wear (albeit formal every day wear). To wear one in the UK when not wearing a dinner jacket would mark one out as eccentric in the same way as one who wore an ascot, I would suggest. Not that there's anything wrong with that, of course. I wore one once when I visited a restaurant in Europe which had a tie/jacket rule. It was an unexpected engagement so I didn't have a tie, and they fitted me out with a very comfortable ascot.

 

[LabelKing]

Originally Posted by 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.
I like the look of a neckerchief/cravat. Bowties strike me as very suitable for summer-wear. I am wearing one right now in 36 Celsius/97 Farenheit Beijing.

 

[Butterfly]

Originally Posted by ed1234

+1, though I agree that it is a UK/US thing. Wearing a bow tie in the UK to work would look out of place even in the most formal of offices - they are for dinner jacket / tuxedo levels of formality. I get the impression that the same is not the case in the US - bow ties are acceptable, if unusual, as every day wear (albeit formal every day wear). To wear one in the UK when not wearing a dinner jacket would mark one out as eccentric in the same way as one who wore an ascot, I would suggest. Not that there's anything wrong with that, of course. I wore one once when I visited a restaurant in Europe which had a tie/jacket rule. It was an unexpected engagement so I didn't have a tie, and they fitted me out with a very comfortable ascot.
No, I think this is off the mark. Ascots and bowties are more common in the UK. By far. Also, to say bow-ties are only for "dinner jacket levels of formality" is meaningless because only one kind of bowtie is allowed with a DJ, so any patterned or non-black bowtie can only be worn with something other than a DJ. Everyone knows that. Lastly, let me assure you that a bowtie wearer is just as much an eccentric in any office in the States as he is in the UK, regardless of how formal the office is. How I love to nitpick on these points, I who don't even need to suit up for work and don't even own a DJ.

Originally Posted by LabelKing

Bowties strike me as very suitable for summer-wear. I am wearing one right now in 36 Celsius/97 Farenheit Beijing.
You just made me feel the need to undo another button on my shirt

 

[superfans124]

I love it, but because of the haters on this forum and in the outside world, I don't have the courage to wear them (not once, though I have a few sitting in closet), so here's my support, you look good and go ROCK it.

one reason I'm afraid of wearing them is because the lack of it seem in public, I don't recall seeing younger (relatively) celebrities wearing them, only douches like jeremy piven and jeff ross. so to be on the safe side, I'm gonna wait out a bit more until I see some respectable celebrities with them in public.

 

[amplifiedheat]

Originally Posted by ed1234

Wearing a bow tie in the UK to work would look out of place even in the most formal of offices - they are for dinner jacket / tuxedo levels of formality. I get the impression that the same is not the case in the US - bow ties are acceptable, if unusual, as every day wear (albeit formal every day wear).

You're telling me bow ties are not worn in daylight in the land of Winston Churchill?

 

[LabelKing]

Originally Posted by Butterfly

You just made me feel the need to undo another button on my shirt

I've been wearing decorative neckwear everyday I've been here.

 

[Horatio]

I wear an ascot when I think a tie is overdressing. Not for work, not for meetings. I have the feeling the outfit is not complete and missing something around the neck wearing shirt & sports jacket. I only leave the top button of the shirt open so that the ascot just adds a little subtle color at the neck for completeness, not to show off. No negative experiences doing so so far but I wouldn't care anyway

Best, Horatio

 

[esq]

Halloween.

 

[centalones]

I just received my first ascot for my birthday from my girlfriend, and I was thrilled.

My attitude: I fully intend to wear it for the ***** and giggles.

 

[trogdor]

It's funny to hear people describing the ascot (or "cravat" as I think of it) as terribly formal; the image that springs to my mind when I think of cravats is Buster Merryfield playing Uncle Albert in Only Fools and Horses. On him, it doesn't look affected at all:

 

[hendrix]

I've never worn one, but i'd like to try it.

For whatever reason, i feel they wouldn't be appropriate in the winter, and i'd only wear one at a party, i.e. not during the day or at work.

Therefore I think that the perfect occasion for me to wear one would be at a new years party - I live in the southern hemisphere, so it would be summer, and new years parties allow for all types of eccentricities anyway.

 

[barims]

Originally Posted by amplifiedheat

You're telling me bow ties are not worn in daylight in the land of Winston Churchill?

Oh, they are, albeit rarely. Besides myself and a friend of mine (both of us under 30, neither concerned about the haters, the swearing or the pointing), I see them infrequently in Central London, sported mainly by middle aged and older gentlemen. They're still a favourite of academics the country over, naturally

I also enjoy a nice cravat (/ascot), although I haven't posted any such outfits here yet

 

[ed1234]

Originally Posted by Butterfly

No, I think this is off the mark. Ascots and bowties are more common in the UK. By far. Also, to say bow-ties are only for "dinner jacket levels of formality" is meaningless because only one kind of bowtie is allowed with a DJ, so any patterned or non-black bowtie can only be worn with something other than a DJ.

Interesting post - I take your point about dinner jackets and non-black bowties. From this and your second post, I guess it just goes to show how rare bow ties and ascots are in both the US and the UK. My experience in this is different from yours - I have never seen either in London (except for black tie events) but have seen a few on my business (and personal - they seem to appear in casual settings in the US) trips stateside. Perhaps this is down to the sorts of eccentrics I tend to visit in the US though!