Of ascots and collars

June 26, 2007 8:36 PM

Hi, Do you happen to know where one may find an ascot in Chicago? Also, what type of collar should be worn with an ascot?--I was thinking of the open collar, summery ascot (in case there are multiple variations). Sorry to "ascot" so many times in such a short span of time. Yours in mildly ironic fashion, Mike
posted by mwachs to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (4 answers total)

Do you mean a day cravat?

Because, this is an ascot and it's traditionally only worn with formal wear, specifically a morning coat.
posted by pineapple at 8:43 PM on June 26, 2007

I used to know someone who actually wore an ascot regularly (he was also being mildly ironic). pineapple is correct and he called it an ascot but what he wore was actually a day cravat though. Anyhow, he fashioned his own and you really couldn't tell it wasn't a professionally made ascot. And nobody else wore them so we couldn't exactly do a side by side comparison.
posted by miss lynnster at 9:21 PM on June 26, 2007

In my experience, the ascot/cravat distinction isn't followed in American usage. I've been to a number of men's clothing stores in San Francisco, and all of the ones that sold something as an "ascot" were selling the casual sort.

The only chain store that I found that had them was Saks Fifth Avenue, which the web tells me has a store in Chicago. You might try there.

I didn't find what I was looking for locally (I wanted a solid color, and I could only find patterns), so I ended up ordering one online from these guys in Italy.

You could also just use a silk scarf. Pleat it in the middle, and tie a four-in-hand knot but leave out the last step, where you pass the end of the tie through the loop.
posted by aneel at 11:13 PM on June 26, 2007

In Chicago, I imagine Paul Stuart would carry a few.
posted by milkrate at 12:53 AM on June 27, 2007