When are ascots appropriate?

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?

On your yacht at Marseille; otherwise, never

Originally Posted by Big A

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On your yacht at Marseille; otherwise, never

+1000000000

I think you have Marseille confused with nice parts of the south of France. Ascot can be worn whenever, if you can pull it off.

If you're him: or him:

Or when taking a break from insulting that bubble-headed booby robot:

Originally Posted by vncrz

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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?

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.

Originally Posted by srivats

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I wear an ascot when a tie might be considered too dressy.
as much as I like the look of the day cravat, when a tie would be considered too dressy, I just wear....no tie. I think the look is a bit out there for most occasions in mainstream America, at least. Dont get me wrong, if I could pull it off, I would. But I think having to answer the never-ending questions about it would be more hassle than it would be worth. That said, if your lifestyle supports it, rock it.

Honestly, these threads always produce a similar reaction. Some will argue it's wearable, some will say it's a snobbish affectation, some will tell you it's laughable. If you're comfortable with that sort of response, wear it and enjoy it. But don't be surprised if some people react negatively.

Originally Posted by yachtie

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If you're him:

or him:

Can you wear one of those hats without an ascot?

You would really have to wear it at you leisure. You cant go to a meeting or event with one. Maybe a party depending...

Ascots are supposed to be casual, unfortunately they are viewed as pompous and pretentious, worn by the wealthy prickery who have never done a day's work.

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 wear an ascot much of the time these days when I am not wearing a tie. I wore one to a dog show on Friday and when I ran subsequent errands.

On Saturday, I wore one to the reunion of my prep school class for the 50th anniversary of our graduation. Nobody else wore an ascot, I'll admit, and most of the men were in jeans (ugh!). Only one other man was wearing a sport coat.

Often, when I come home from work, I'll change from a tie into an ascot to enjoy the gentle caress of silk around my throat.

As I have often remarked in these threads, I have come to perceive the ascot as a nice way-station between the formality of the necktie and the inherent slovenliness of the open-necked shirt. It just dresses up leisure attire a bit.

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.

"Ascots and pocket squares
that's what every cool guy wears."