What is this men's fashion accessory

I bought a beautiful piece of silk the other day thinking it was a bow tie. Jet lag was working is wonderful effects on my brain, as anyone with a clear head should have realised that the object in question was not, in fact, a bow tie. I do not think it is a necktie, nor an ascot. I am left with a simple question: wtf is this thing I bought.

Allow me to describe this piece of fashion: it is a piece of silk, folded and sown in the manner of a necktie. It is slighty over three feet in length and about four or five inches in width. Its edges are folded and sewn diagonally, so that it is in fact an elongated trapeze. Like this:



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So, people of the dope, my question is thus: what in heaven is this thing and how do I wear it?

Sounds like an old-fashioned form of cravat (a/k/a ascot). See illustration here.