# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2003, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-when-will-these-things-be-back-in-style/214974/41 "2003-11-25T15:46:24Z")
Okay. What the _heck_ are spats, ascots, and snoods? ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2003, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-when-will-these-things-be-back-in-style/214974/42 "2003-11-25T15:49:41Z")
At least I think I know what a fedora is: it’s the red hat in the Red Hat Linux logo. [sub]Okay, I’m a geek. I admit it.[/sub] I wore a borrowed grey suit to my sister’s funeral. Everyone said I looked good, but I felt like a Junior Mafioso. That was a while ago though; I wouldn’t mind exploring the field of suits a little again… ---
**Author:** ![plnnr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@plnnr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plnnr)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2003, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-when-will-these-things-be-back-in-style/214974/43 "2003-11-25T15:56:40Z")
As was pointed out, double breasted suits did make a brief comeback in the mid-1990s. The only problem was that too many guys wouldn’t button the damn things and they looked ridiculous. Double breasted suits also accentuate the middle of the body, so if you’ve got a bit of a paunch or belly they draw attention right to it. On a tall, slender guy double breasted suits look great (of course, on a tall, slender guy a grocery bag looks pretty good). Bowties are still worn by some folks - usually older men with a certain gentility about them. While not older or particularly genteel, I wore one to church last Sunday and got raves. They’re sort of fun for every now and then. BTW, spats are coverings that go over the vamp of your shoe, ascots are kerchiefs that men wrap around their neck (if you’re the Duke of Windsor, that is), and snoods are hair nets for women. ---
**Author:** ![SirRay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@SirRay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SirRay)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2003, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-when-will-these-things-be-back-in-style/214974/44 "2003-11-25T16:02:37Z")
I remember a brief ‘fedora’ revival among the post-punk crowd of the early-mid 80s - on the whole, kinda looked rather dorky. Hats are a pain, and only useful ones (such as wool caps for winter, baseball/brush hats for summer outdoor times) should remain - else just another thing for me to forget. Our fathers risked and sacrificed so much during the 1960s for us men to go hatless nowadays, how could we let them down (actually, they probably just thought one day - “Hey, why am I wearing this dumb hat?” and that was that). Bowties will always remain for formal wear; for everyday use, only a tiny handful of people can pull it off (currently countable on one hand in the United States 😛 ) Spats and ascots won’t be coming back in style, but I do believe chain mail is 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2003, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-when-will-these-things-be-back-in-style/214974/45 "2003-11-25T16:34:59Z")
Kalhoun said, “But I must say, I have an almost uncontrollable urge to slap the shit out of ANY man who wears a bow tie (unless he’s wearing a tux).” Then Plnnr said, “I wore one to church last Sunday and got raves.” Don’t MAKE me come over there!!! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2003, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-when-will-these-things-be-back-in-style/214974/46 "2003-11-25T16:35:30Z")
I think the codpiece deserves a second chance. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2003, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-when-will-these-things-be-back-in-style/214974/47 "2003-11-25T16:37:13Z")
Sunspace said, “Okay. What the heck are spats, ascots, and snoods?” Spats are those goofy-looking shoes that have cloth sock-looking things attached to them. And buttons up the side. Like 1920s tuxedo guys wear. An ascot is a snobby scarf-like thing that men wore in the 20s. A snood was worn by a woman. It’s like a net bag that they put their long hair in. Think “Little Women”, although they used them later than the Civil War. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Babbington](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Mr.Babbington](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Babbington)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2003, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-when-will-these-things-be-back-in-style/214974/48 "2003-11-25T16:42:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by dantheman \* > \*_Why would you want to see women in hoop skirts, **Mr. Babbington**? Those things were gigantic_, and they look like they were painful to wear. \*\* Strangely enough, I think they look hot. Except in Merchant-Ivory flicks. Then I want to throw something at the screen. ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2003, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-when-will-these-things-be-back-in-style/214974/49 "2003-11-25T17:02:47Z")
Hey, I have a black pinstriped double-breasted suit, and I look like a badass when I wear it. Goes great with my black and white Doc Martens spectator shoes. My gray trench coat is also a double-breated number. And I have two knit “cabbie caps” but no fedora, unfortunately. I’m all about retro: vintage bowling shirts, Hawaiian shirts, pocket watches, suspenders with a shirt and tie… and I’ve never heard a woman complain about how I dress. Quite the opposite, in fact. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Scrivener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@The\_Scrivener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Scrivener)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2003, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-when-will-these-things-be-back-in-style/214974/50 "2003-11-25T17:02:48Z")
Some guys look fantastic with the right hat. There was a character on “Homicide” who always wore a black leather porkpie, if I’m not mistaken. Bitchin’. I have an old fedora that I’ve Scotchgarded, so that rain rolls right off it. Great on chilly, rainy Jersey days… And I’m female. ---
**Author:** ![Olentzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90ced4/32.png) [@Olentzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Olentzero)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2003, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-when-will-these-things-be-back-in-style/214974/51 "2003-11-25T17:13:12Z")
OK, for the double-breasted suit and fedora crowd: [www.zootsuitstore.com](http://www.zootsuitstore.com) For the ascot, spats, and high-collar crowd: [www.historyinthemaking.org/index.htm](http://www.historyinthemaking.org/index.htm) (I’ve corresponded with this fellow and he’s a dead serious tailor. He makes 'em to wear, not jut to dress up in for history shows.) ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2003, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-when-will-these-things-be-back-in-style/214974/52 "2003-11-25T17:14:54Z")
When I go to my friend’s formal New Year’s Eve party I’ll be wearing my double-breasted 1940’s style dinner jacket with my tasteful small black bow-tie and all the trimmings. I always feel like James Bond\* when I dress up and I’ll _defy_ the conventions of the world in order to pretend for one brief moment that life is like a movie and all is well. **Kalhoun** , you’re welcome to come and try to slap me but I’ll try and Judo-chop you back! 😃 I love hats, I own about 10 or 20, lost count, (I wont’ even count the historical recreation ones) on a cold morning (like today) there’s nothing warmer than my wool beret (made in London). \*although I probubly come off more like Bertie Wooster! ---
**Author:** ![Algernon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a183cd/32.png) [@Algernon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algernon)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2003, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-when-will-these-things-be-back-in-style/214974/53 "2003-11-25T18:11:37Z")
Double breasted suits are no more out of fashion than suits in general. They may not be at the height of popularity right now compared to single breasted suits, but a classic conservative double breasted suit will never be completely a fashion _faux pas_. It’s the same with a traditional navy blazer with gold buttons. Now, a double breasted suit with gold buttons would certainly look out of place, except perhaps on a yacht. Or, as **JRDelirious** points out, if you’re in the US Navy. As far as the other items mentioned in the OP… -hats (no, NOT baseball caps) [Never wore one. I doubt they’ll return to style.] -ascots [I wore one frequently when I dressed up to go to church in the mid 1960s, when I was about 12 years old. I thought it looked cool. Unlikely to come back into style.] -beards (non-muslims) [I had a beard for 16 years. Mid 1970s to circa 1990. This fashion will continue to ebb and flow with the times.] -bowties [Only with a tux. Unlikely to make a resurgence.] -spats [Only with a drum and bugle corps uniform] -berets [Nope. Might become stylish to the general population someday, rather than just the French and artists. I have to say though, that there is nothing, I repeat, _nothing_ more attractive to me than a woman wearing a beret.] -vests [All my suits at one time were 3-piece. Now they are few and far between, and I don’t own one. This is the one item that I’d say _will_ eventually come back into style.] ---
**Author:** ![Godfrey\_Daniels](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Godfrey\_Daniels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Godfrey_Daniels)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2003, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-when-will-these-things-be-back-in-style/214974/54 "2003-11-25T20:07:21Z")
In the interest of clarification, spats are not shoes. They are, as **plnnr** said, coverings that go over the top part of the shoe, kind of like gaiters, if that helps. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2003, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-when-will-these-things-be-back-in-style/214974/55 "2003-11-25T21:01:18Z")
I like berets, but on _me_. I’m not sure I know of any guys they wouldn’t look goofy on. But I keep hoping that after people see the errors of their ways, and burn the neo 60s and 70s stuff that is currently apallingly popular, the beat look will come back next. That look I could embrace, as long as I didn’t need to wear a turtleneck. And some men even look good in all black, so it would work for both sexes 😃 ---
**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 25, 2003, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-when-will-these-things-be-back-in-style/214974/56 "2003-11-25T21:22:23Z")
I have two hats, but I rarely wear them because the climate seldom warrants it. One’s a fedora, and the other is an Indiana Jones style leather hat. The wife likes the way they look, at least. ---
**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 25, 2003, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-when-will-these-things-be-back-in-style/214974/57 "2003-11-25T22:55:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by elfkin477 \* > \*\*I like berets, but on _me_. I’m not sure I know of any guys they wouldn’t look goofy on. But I keep hoping that after people see the errors of their ways, and burn the neo 60s and 70s stuff that is currently apallingly popular, the beat look will come back next. That look I could embrace, as long as I didn’t need to wear a turtleneck. And some men even look good in all black, so it would work for both sexes 😃 \*\* Lest we forget, Monica Lewinsky (remember her?) wore one. Maybe still does. And… I always thought spats were those things cowboys wore on their lower legs… what are those, then? ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2003, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-when-will-these-things-be-back-in-style/214974/58 "2003-11-25T23:17:07Z")
Chaps. ---
**Author:** ![SirRay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@SirRay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SirRay)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2003, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-when-will-these-things-be-back-in-style/214974/59 "2003-11-26T00:13:54Z")
So, with all this talk of double breasted suits, fedoras, bowties, and other such styles coming back, I guess we can forget those White Polyester one piece jumpsuits with really wide shoulders, silver-lamé zippered boots, and plastic-domed hats we were all supposed to be wearing by now… ---
**Author:** ![burundi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3ec8ea/32.png) [@burundi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burundi)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2003, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-when-will-these-things-be-back-in-style/214974/60 "2003-11-26T00:46:15Z")
Mmm-mmm, men look good in hats! Very distinguished, very manly. As opposed to baseball hats, which make grown men look like little boys. I would love it if hats came back in fashion. I like vests, too. And pocketwatches. **Mr. Babbington** , I occasionally have to wear hoop skirts for work. They’re a royal pain in the ass. Not particularly painful, but damned awkward if you’re doing anything besides looking purty. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-when-will-these-things-be-back-in-style/214974.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-when-will-these-things-be-back-in-style/214974.md?page=4)