People tend to think of the ascot as a rather formal type of neckwear. If you asked ten men if the ascot is more or less formal than the necktie, a majority might answer that the ascot is the more formal option. So, is it? Well, it’s complicated. The ascot is arguably more charming. It’s also, without question, more luxurious and more elegant. But do those things mean formal? Maybe, in some sense. Maybe not, in another sense. There is an argument to be made that the necktie i

The six days between Christmas and New Year’s Day are a liminal time. It’s not quite the past year anymore, and it’s not quite the new one either. The holidays are over, almost. New Year’s Eve and the following day of recovery - New Year’s Day - are the bookends at an end and the starting shot at a beginning. The final week of a year that is about to find itself fading in the rearview mirror is a time for reflection. We don’t need to make ourselves do it. We don’t need to set

The building blocks of our closets are made of cotton and wool. Silk is our flourish, the cherry on top. It's found in the form of neckties, pocket squares, and of course, ascots. It's the domain of joy and exuberance. It's elegant drape and lush pattern. It's music more than math. It's artistry. It's where we expand and enjoy. Man doesn't work all his days. He works some, he rests some, he plays some. If cotton and wool are his tools of labor, silk is his object of play. Of

There's a sense that the ascot is the most formal piece of neckwear a man can wear, and if not the most formal, then perhaps the most profound, for lack of a better word. For many men, the ascot feels far away or from another time. For whatever reason, over the years, the ascot has grown distant - a fine piece that we see in film, but one that feels hard to find and even harder to grab hold of. There's no reason why a man who reaches for a necktie every week shouldn't also re