Necktie Alternatives, Pros and Cons: How not to tie a necktie!
Tired of tying a knot and looking for cool necktie alternatives? Find out some common yet fashionable alternatives for neckties like scarf, bow tie, Ascot and so on, and the pros and cons of using those neck tie alternatives. Keep reading!
Necktie alternatives have always been a parallel and alternative fashion statement for men, and many a men of honour have been known to the fashion world for not using a traditional necktie. Brad Pitt, wearing a scarf as a necktie alternative, almost became a fashion statement. The current United States Secretary of the Interior, Mr. Ken Salazar, is also widely known for his cowboy fashion statement with a cowboy hat on his head, and around his neck, a bolo tie as a necktie alternative. Here in this article, we have discussed about some popular necktie alternatives. They also have a great advantages; none of these alternative neckties are going to trouble you by flopping in the air, or getting caught it into something or even by getting soiled. Image Gratitude:
Nevertheless, remember that all these fashionable alternatives for necktie may not turn out to be really that cool if you cannot carry them. Not everyone can carry a scarf or a bolo tie as neatly as Mr. Pitt or Salazar, nor do they look good in them. Alternative fashions for neckties can be great, but can also be equally embarrassing for the wrong person. Here, we have discussed some of the common alternatives of necktie, and the pros and cons, advantages and disadvantages of those necktie alternatives.Ascot Ties as Neck Tie Alternatives: Not a bad knot!
Ascot tie knots are popular alternatives of the traditional necktie knots, and a great advantage of the Ascot tie knot is that you can keep the collar of your shirt open. An ascot tie, usually referred as simply Ascot, is a narrow neck band with its wings wider and more pointed that a traditional necktie. The Ascot Tie is a formal necktie and is traditionally fastened with a tie tack or a stick pin. As Wikipedia tells us about the Ascot tie, it is usually worn with formal morning dress, for weddings at 
day time for example, with a cutaway morning coat and striped grey trousers. These ties are traditionally thicker than usual neckties and are usually grey or black in color. Some of the famous persons known for wearing Ascot ties as informal alternatives of usual neckties range from John Singer Sargent (1856-1925), the eminent portrait painter of the Victorian-Edwardian Era, to the noted Hollywood actor Archibald Alexander Leach alias Cary Grant (1904-1986), or even our contemporary Ashton Kutcher (b. 1978), Walden Schmidt of Two and a Half Men. But remember, not everyone is a Cary Grant and therefore does not look handsome in an Ascot as formal necktie alternatives; you can easily end up in looking the butter baby of your gang!Bow Ties: The traditional replacements of formal neckties
Bow tie as an alternative neckwear needs no introduction. Perhaps the oldest among neckwear that continue to be in fashion till now, the bow tie is also referred to as the knot par excellence by some. The history of bow ties date back to the late seventeenth century, 
and had its ebb and flows in popular cultures throughout the years in between, but it still remains a fashionable necktie alternative, more so if you are a classicist! In fact to associate bow tie with classicism is no more a truth since a revolution has taken over the world of bow ties in the last couple of decades; instead of their pale shapes bow ties are now available in attractive designs and colors all around. It is reemerging fast as a fashionable alternative of neckties, and not only neckties but men's neckwear in general. Almost all the celebrities use a bow tie some time or other, and a list is really not needed!
There is a popular misconception that tying a bow tie is more difficult than tying a necktie. Not at all, if you actually know how to tie a bow tie. Tying a bow tie is just like tying the laces of your shoes. Bow ties look equally good in wedding dresses and cocktail parties. Only, if you are too skinny, you might not look that good in a bow tie, so judge according to your physique! Nevertheless, not only well built but the men of average physique and shape usually look good, smart and classic in a bow tie. It is also great for kids and teenagers because you cannot get it dirty or caught anywhere or flop annoyingly!Bolo Tie as a Necktie Alternative: Are you a perfect cowboy?
The Bolo tie as a necktie alternative is perfect if you can carry a rowdy cowboy look, and even eminent people like the present United States Secretary of the Interior Mr. Ken Salazar do wear it regularly as an alternative for formal neckties even 
in the highest state affairs! A great advantage of the bolo tie over the formal necktie is that it allows you to put a cowboy hat alongside a formal suit, but you must, and you must have the personality to carry it out smartly. A skinny guy with a feeble personality will not look cool at all in a cowboy hat and a bolo tie as a necktie alternative. The bolo tie is also known as bola tie or shoestring tie.
In 1971, it was also proclaimed the official neckwear of Arizona, and later in New Mexico and Texas as well; so we cannot really call the bolo tie an informal neckband any more. In the United Kingdom the bolo tie was popularized in the 1950s by the Teddy Boys along with drape suits, and were known as bootlace ties. Of late, bolo ties have become a bit out of fashion, but can still be a remarkable fashion statement for those like Salazar who can really carry it out.Scarf and Mufflers as Alternative Neckties: The romantic?
The youth icon and romance hero of India in the 1960s, Dev Anand, was renowned for using a muffler, called comforter in those days, around his neck to wear as cool and casual necktie alternative. A scarf as a trendy necktie alternative has also been used by several Hollywood actors, including Brad Pitt. A scarf is a great informal neckband; I bet you won't love a necktie flopping around you while you are enjoying an evening walk in the beach with your spouse, or playing a guitar in a cosy gossip at a friend's house. With casual outfits like tee shirts, Hawaii shirts or Indian Style short Kurtas, a scarf is a truly adorable neckwear and the perfect informal alternative for a clumsy necktie. The scarf or the muffler can also be a great necktie alternatives for aged people; isn't Mr. Anand looking cute in his simple yet fashionable scarf?
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Cary Grant and Grace Kelly in Alfred Hitchcock's To Catch a Thief (1955): casaditartaruga.blogspot.com
Barack Obama with his bow tie, delivering a lecture: deskofbrian.com
Ken Salazar with his cowboy hat and bolo tie: arcticgaspipeline.com
Dev Anand in his scarf at a leisurely mood: deccanherald.com