Sunday, September 12, 2010

Considerably More Stylish

An ascot or a neckerchief turns the familiar crew necked pullover ensemble into something considerably more stylish. Particularly when said silk harmonizes with but is a color unrelated to either the sweater or the shirt beneath the sweater.

Using seemingly unrelated colors together is a core concept of prep dressing as well as the English style that prep is related to. Such combinations look as though the wearer did not care about this clothes. And, as I have written before and will write again, that should be an objective for each day's ensemble, no matter how long it takes to achieve. After all, since the 17th century the masculine look has derived more from uniforms and the uniformity of black and white evening clothes than it has from the peacock dress that came before. And though green, lilac and navy combinations like the one in the photo are definitely not uniform their carelessness gives much the same impression. And look good at the same time. 

Photo: Sergei Sviatchenko for Up Close and Private

3 comments:

Erik Mannby said...

I love to see the ascot getting the recognition it deserves. I think it has wrongfully been placed in the victorian age, never to be worn in modern times except as a clever wink to times gone by, or by English country lords. I however think it´s a timeless classic that can lend that final piece of je nes sais quoi to almost any casual outfit.

/ Erik
http://www.enforloradvarld.se

Genuine Lustre said...

Silk feels so good against the neck, too. I love this look.

Horatio said...

Is peach fuzz on the chin necessary to pull this off? ;-)

I'm quite fond of the ascot and cardigan combination, but have yet to pair an ascot with a crew neck sweater. I'll have to remedy that lacuna when the mercury dips a bit more.

P.S. to men: some women's scarves lend themselves nicely to wearing as an ascot.

 
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