Recommended neckwear for a men's Victorian outfit
October 4, 2016 12:22 PM Subscribe
I'll be attending a wedding with a Victorian era dress theme. I've got my tailcoat and waistcoat picked out, which you can take a look at here. Unlike in the photo I'll be wearing it with a white dress shirt underneath. I'm wondering what I should go for in an ascot/cravat/tie/whatever. I'm less concerned about 100% period accuracy than I am about something that looks interesting and/or good. If it affects the recommendation at all, I'm blond and fair skinned, and don't currently plan on wearing a hat.
Any and all suggestions or ideas are welcome, thanks!
Best answer: You can fake an ascot with a woman's long rectangular scarf, tucking the bottom long end inside your waistcoat. You can buy these kinds of scarves all day long for a couple of bucks at thrift stores and they always have a huge selection.
posted by raisingsand at 12:59 PM on October 4, 2016 [4 favorites]
posted by raisingsand at 12:59 PM on October 4, 2016 [4 favorites]
I'd suggest an ascot in a medium blue- not as dark as the jacket, so it brightens your face and bridges the gap from dark jacket to pale skin. A silky scarf from a thrift shop will work.
posted by pseudostrabismus at 2:05 PM on October 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by pseudostrabismus at 2:05 PM on October 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
Seconding thrift store scarf as cheap/awesome ascot. There are tons of video descriptions on how to tie them.
It really depends on how much you want to spend. Ascots from Brooks Brothers can cost twice what your jacket did, many other sources are in the $30+ range. If you think the scarf would lose you legitimacy points I see decent stuff on ebay (likely made from scarves) in the $10-15 range.
I'd go cheap, but I'm also not currently in to SCA or steampunk or have other reason to wear vaguely period neck wear outside of this wedding.
posted by SaltySalticid at 4:11 PM on October 4, 2016
It really depends on how much you want to spend. Ascots from Brooks Brothers can cost twice what your jacket did, many other sources are in the $30+ range. If you think the scarf would lose you legitimacy points I see decent stuff on ebay (likely made from scarves) in the $10-15 range.
I'd go cheap, but I'm also not currently in to SCA or steampunk or have other reason to wear vaguely period neck wear outside of this wedding.
posted by SaltySalticid at 4:11 PM on October 4, 2016
The amazon model is much too large for that coat tho. It makes me uncomfortable to look at him, everything's too tight and too small. He looks like a boy with thrifty parents. The cuffs should come down over the backs of the hands a bit. Seconding the thrift store scarf: some kind of paisley.
posted by glasseyes at 11:09 AM on October 5, 2016
posted by glasseyes at 11:09 AM on October 5, 2016
Response by poster: Thanks for the great and helpful advice! I ended up ordering a couple of cheap but nice looking ascots on Amazon, so of course they decided to deliver them three hours after we left for the drive up to Maine. Luckily we had a day before the wedding to do some thrift store browsing (don't know what I would have done without that advice!) So in the third shop I visited, I was able to find a nice slightly textured black silk scarf which served quite admirably. It possibly didn't look quite as good as the nice blue ascot I'd picked out, but considering its improvised nature I was really quite happy.
In regards to the coat size, thankfully either the coat was a better size for me or my more slender shoulders than the model meant the coat sleeve length was much better on me than in the picture of him. Not exactly a tailored fit of course but not bad for something I couldn't try on before buying.
So thanks again for the VERY helpful answers, a women's scarf does indeed make a great ascot! A picture of the results if anyone is curious: located here
posted by haveanicesummer at 9:06 PM on October 18, 2016
In regards to the coat size, thankfully either the coat was a better size for me or my more slender shoulders than the model meant the coat sleeve length was much better on me than in the picture of him. Not exactly a tailored fit of course but not bad for something I couldn't try on before buying.
So thanks again for the VERY helpful answers, a women's scarf does indeed make a great ascot! A picture of the results if anyone is curious: located here
posted by haveanicesummer at 9:06 PM on October 18, 2016
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The guy in your link is wearing a "day cravat" style ascot. With that style of cutaway jacket and for a formal event, you'll probably want to wear it over the collar of your shirt, tied with an ascot knot and secured with a pin. I *think* you could also use a four-in-hand knot for this?
A bow tie might also be acceptable.
I wouldn't wear either a stock (the ruffly neck thing you see guys in Jane Austen adaptations wearing) or a modern "langsdorf" necktie (not invented until the late 1920s).
posted by Sara C. at 12:40 PM on October 4, 2016 [4 favorites]