Cravats and Ascots...

I've long been wanting something to wear with dress shirts when I would like to be more casual, yet still have some neckwear on. I don't like to wear a dress shirt without neckwear... I think it's silly if one is to go to the effort of wearing something nice to stop short; I think it ought to be completed.

That said, the other reason, is that I think bow ties work best when balanced against a sweater/sweater vest, blazer/coat, etc. Alone on a shirt, a bow seems lost and top-heavy almost.

Enter the cravat/ascot. Because it fits inside the shirt, it does not cause imbalance to the outfit and allows the wearer to continue his business in delicious elegance. Of course all this happy thinking had been going on for some time before I was so delighted and blessed to run into a cravat scarf on sale. I've never seen them on sale before--ever. As you can imagine I fell for the bait and purchased the one I liked best.

Here's a picture:

I tied it in much the same way as ascots (British: Day Cravat) are tied. As per these instructions. The difference is that as my cravat in this case is more of a scarf, I had to fold it in three for it to fit around my neck properly. Here's an example of a cravat similar to mine, you can zoom in to see the details, if you like.

I wore it to work and was surprised at how few injudicious remarks I received and how many compliments I was given. Additionally, I wore it to my monthly political party meeting for young people in my county and received a huge number of favorable compliments.

What do you all think? :)