# Men! When Will These Things Be BACK In Style? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 24, 2003, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-when-will-these-things-be-back-in-style/214974 "2003-11-24T07:57:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2003, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-when-will-these-things-be-back-in-style/214974/1 "2003-11-24T07:57:04Z")
I’m wondering when these fashion favorites of mine will make a comeback: -double-breasted suits -hats (no, NOT baseball caps) -ascots -beards (non-muslims) -bowties -spats -berets -vests WILL ANY of these be returning anytime soon? ---
**Author:** ![DreadCthulhu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/db5fbb/32.png) [@DreadCthulhu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DreadCthulhu)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2003, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-when-will-these-things-be-back-in-style/214974/2 "2003-11-24T08:37:58Z")
Berets? ewww -only a total wussy pansy would wear one of those. (Don’t tell any Green Berets I said that.) ---
**Author:** ![Brutus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Brutus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brutus)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2003, 8:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-when-will-these-things-be-back-in-style/214974/3 "2003-11-24T08:47:20Z")
I think that _all_ Army personnel were some shade of beret these days. I generally wear a vest if I bother putting on a suit, but I have yet to don the hat that has been passed down to me. Damn Kennedy for ending the wearing of hats! ---
**Author:** ![DaPearl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5e925/32.png) [@DaPearl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaPearl)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2003, 9:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-when-will-these-things-be-back-in-style/214974/4 "2003-11-24T09:28:27Z")
-double-breasted suits Don’t even know what makes a suit double breasted, so I guess I’ll just say tommarow it’ll be back in style. -hats (no, NOT baseball caps) I’ll wear one, but only if I’m a big tycoon with monopolies and I get to wear a monacle and carry around money bags as well. -ascots Huh? Is that english? -beards (non-muslims) Hey, no shaving means less work for me. -bowties Maybe with my tycoon outfit. -spats The hell? -berets Bwahaha! Oh, your serious… -vests Michael J. Fox 80s style vests? ---
**Author:** ![Colinmarshall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Colinmarshall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colinmarshall)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2003, 9:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-when-will-these-things-be-back-in-style/214974/5 "2003-11-24T09:38:31Z")
**Double-breasted suits:** Tough to call. It could happen, though they wouldn’t be the same colors they were in their heyday. **Hats:** Needless accessory. Probably gone. **Ascots:** They’ll probably never be mainstream again, but I could well imagine a cult revival. **Beards:** Don’t know if they’ve ever been really heavily IN, but there’s no reason they couldn’t make a flash in the pan. **Bowties:** There’s a chance, but we’d need some celebrity to do it first. **Spats:** Doubtful. They’re an artifact of a bygone era. **Berets:** Like ascots, perhaps in the “underground” sense. **Vests:** Perhaps their return to _GQ_ isn’t so far away. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2003, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-when-will-these-things-be-back-in-style/214974/6 "2003-11-24T10:58:42Z")
Goatees - I don’t know if you’re considering them a separate issue from beards or not - definitely have their fans. I’ve had one for years. For whatever reason, not a lot of public figures these days have beards, I’m not sure why. Don’t know what would change that. I think fedoras are cool, but I think in general wardrobes have become less complicated over the years. I very much enjoy being able to get dressed in 2 minutes if I so choose, so there’s no chance I’ll ever be wearing an ascot, spats, vests, etc. on a regular basis. ---
**Author:** ![bizzwire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/958977/32.png) [@bizzwire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bizzwire)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2003, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-when-will-these-things-be-back-in-style/214974/7 "2003-11-24T11:14:18Z")
To paraphrase P.J. O’Rourke, " A man should remove his hat upon entering a room, and leave it off for the rest of his life. Nothing looks stupider on a man than a hat" I wear a double-breasted suit. I makes me feel…_pretty_. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2003, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-when-will-these-things-be-back-in-style/214974/8 "2003-11-24T11:28:04Z")
I should add that I think fedoras look cool, but I don’t wear them (or any other hat). I’d look like a faker wearing one. ---
**Author:** ![DreadCthulhu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/db5fbb/32.png) [@DreadCthulhu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DreadCthulhu)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2003, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-when-will-these-things-be-back-in-style/214974/9 "2003-11-24T12:02:57Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Brutus \* > \*\*I think that _all_ Army personnel were some shade of beret these days. > \*\* Well, I know the regular Army is wearing black berets these days, but I can take them. Only the special forces guys would be a bother to me. ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2003, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-when-will-these-things-be-back-in-style/214974/10 "2003-11-24T12:24:10Z")
Double breasted suits and beads are out of fashion. Damn I knew I wasn’t hip to the scene daddio 😉 yojimbo, who has only ever worn double breasted suits and apart from one drunken incident has had a beard for the last 15 years. ---
**Author:** ![elfje](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19b73/32.png) [@elfje](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfje)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2003, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-when-will-these-things-be-back-in-style/214974/11 "2003-11-24T13:45:18Z")
as a woman, I should add to this thread that double breasted suits (suits with two rows of buttons, for the philistines) will never come back into fashion. They stink. Especially the navy coloured ones with shiny gold buttons. ugh!! They make everyone look bulky and fat. Bowties are only ever worn by James Bond (whom I dislike) and clowns. nuff said, I reckon. I like a three piece suit, so I’m all for vests, yes. berets? hmm. only for the 50+, since it’s something I associate with my dad. but why wait until things get back in fashion? Be your own guy, not a fashion fad, and start a retro trend! come on, you can do it. make a stand! ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2003, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-when-will-these-things-be-back-in-style/214974/12 "2003-11-24T15:14:58Z")
I always liked the clothes they wore in the old west. Any idea when those will come back? -Joe, urban non-cowboy ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2003, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-when-will-these-things-be-back-in-style/214974/13 "2003-11-24T15:50:27Z")
Why wait? Start wearing all of them now. Please be sure to accept the mockery and beatings they will attract with all good graces. ---
**Author:** ![LonesomePolecat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a88e57/32.png) [@LonesomePolecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LonesomePolecat)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2003, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-when-will-these-things-be-back-in-style/214974/14 "2003-11-24T15:57:32Z")
A more important question would be, why can’t we make ties go out of fashion permanently? Is there any custom more stupid than tying a noose around your neck every morning? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2003, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-when-will-these-things-be-back-in-style/214974/15 "2003-11-24T22:26:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Colinmarshall \* > \*\ ***Double-breasted suits:** Tough to call. It could happen, though they wouldn’t be the same colors they were in their heyday. > > **Hats:** Needless accessory. Probably gone. > > **Beards:** Don’t know if they’ve ever been really heavily IN, but there’s no reason they couldn’t make a flash in the pan. > > **Bowties:** There’s a chance, but we’d need some celebrity to do it first. > > **Vests:** Perhaps their return to _GQ_ isn’t so far away. \*\* Face hair fashions come & go. I expect face hair will stay gone for a while as it makes men look older & more mature- and everyone wants to be young. Last time they were “heavily in” was during the last part of the 19th century. Vests, ties & suit styles come & go even faster, but a vest makes a man look a bit pudgier if he has any sort of a middle, thus I also expect this will stay gone for a while. However, hats are NOT “needless”- they are becoming more important to keep UV rays off the face. Already wearing a fedora (I do) although rare, isn’t stared at- and I expect this will come back. ---
**Author:** ![Gaudere](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e495f1/32.png) [@Gaudere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gaudere)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2003, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-when-will-these-things-be-back-in-style/214974/16 "2003-11-24T22:36:57Z")
[Moderator Hat ON] To IMHO. [Moderator Hat OFF] ---
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2003, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-when-will-these-things-be-back-in-style/214974/17 "2003-11-24T22:45:54Z")
Some men will never be _in_ style… ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2003, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-when-will-these-things-be-back-in-style/214974/18 "2003-11-24T22:53:07Z")
Suits, at least if you mean the traditional wool numbers complete with tie, are unfortunately just not practical attire anymore. At least in my experience, and in the places which I frequent, the ambient temperature is much too warm to be comfortable in a jacket and tie. The underlying problem, so to speak, is that when you remove the jacket you lose all the much vaunted impressiveness of the suit. Left with just the pants, shirt, and tie, you look like a store clerk, or perhaps a harried middle manager. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2003, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-when-will-these-things-be-back-in-style/214974/19 "2003-11-24T23:29:58Z")
Never. I hope. ---
**Author:** ![Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4da419/32.png) [@Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gala_Matrix_Fire)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2003, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-when-will-these-things-be-back-in-style/214974/20 "2003-11-24T23:57:06Z")
As a woman, I want to interject that hats look great. They certainly look a thousand times better than that greasy, misshapen baseball hat you wear everywhere. I know of several grown, sexy men who wear hats when they’re outside in the elements, and since they chose hats that flatter them, they look great. Useless? That’s crazy talk. They keep the sun and the rain off your face. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-when-will-these-things-be-back-in-style/214974.md?page=2)