The Glory of Ascots

   

    Maybe it is a bit odd to write the second posting of this blog over an out-dated piece of men's neckwear, but I think the resurgence of the ascot's presence does a great job of illustrating the power of retrochronofantism. Take a decent looking man and put him in a shirt and tie and he's a Dell worker or some other typical office monkey. Take that same man and put him in an ascot, and all of a sudden he's a hotty or at least a man of steamy intrigue. Same thing even if the man is not that good looking to begin with. He becomes someone with more dignity, more discernment simply because he chose an older, more traditional throat-throttler than the rest of society.

    Can an ascot be worn badly? Yes, I do believe it can as Fred from Scooby Doo or Ken from the Barbie line demonstrate. Well developed pectoral muscles certainly compliment the ascot, but they should not be its only backdrop. Also, if the ends of the tie are just flopping around, it's no longer an ascot-it's a neck scarf, that thing French women in black leggings and berets wear when grocery shopping or aiding the resistance.

    The fantastic thing about ascots is in present times they don't have to be that complicated. You can either tie them like a regular tie or tie them in a square knot. Some even come practically tied for you. They can sit over your shirt but under your jacket. Although, I think we'll all agree the nicest look is that flirty open collar with the ascot peeking out just around the throat. Men, I don't know if you are aware of this, but we women do think about your neck and that lovely little hollow at the base of the throat and not in some weird, angsty Twilight way...well, not always.

   So here's to the ascot, reminder from the past that at one time men took as much care and pride in their dressing (if not more so) as the women. It encourages us that good looks are never completely lost and that borrowing a little bit from yesterday can be the item that sets you apart for today and tomorrow.

*PS- Pictures posted here are not my own. They are images from the web that I thought demonstrated ascot very nicely. No harm meant. Licentia mihi unus.

Introduction to the Retrochronofantist

Greetings!
    And what, pray tell, is a retrochronofantist? If we take a linguistic approach, we observe the word can be broken down to retro*chrono*fantist. 'Retro' indicates a reverse or backwards order or movement. 'Chrono' is of course the prefix indicating time. 'Fantist' could be derived either from 'enfant', indicating a child, 'fantasy', indicating the imagined, or perhaps a horrible misspelling of 'phant' an ending usually applied to indicate how an object or subject is perceived. Thus, the retrochronofantist is someone who perceives, imagines, or is a child of backwards time...or something.
     Really, I came up with the word as something to explain the phenomenon of nostalgia taken to creative lengths is our current generation. Reenactors, role-players, model builders, sharp shooters, duelists, steam punk, gothic, victorianna, renaissance, medieval, or just having a tea party with nice hats could apply. Whether you simply enjoy going to Renaissance fairs on the weekend, savor restoring antique machinery or costume, or embrace the manners and sensibilities of eras past, you may be a retrochronofantist, or RCFer yourself. I know, not as pretty, but it rolls off the tongue more quickly.
    Having just said that, I have to admit I wonder if that's part of my obsession with languages, behaviour, and clothing of the past. They had the same twenty-four hours in their days, and perhaps they did not do as much in a day, but our ancestors still managed to achieve some incredible feats and come to some fascinating conclusions at their much more "leisurely" pace. After all, how many of us get frustrated when typing an email takes longer than five minutes? That's why we have texting, right? Up until this century letter writing was an art and entertainment. Imagine spending a whole hour writing to someone you could not pick up a phone and speak to, get on a computer and type to, nor get in a car and drive across distance to see.
    I could go into great lengths about other differences between the centuries, but then this introduction would get laboriously long. That, and what would I write about next time? So, to finish our introduction and present an idea of what this ruckus is all about, let me be the first to point out the irony of a Luddite such as myself using tomorrow's technology to put out my ideas. I do not believe admiration of the past is misplaced. They created us, so to speak. Idealization of the past is dangerous. Learning from the past, even replicating, and improving upon their philosophies and noble intentions is an endeavor worth undertaking. I hope to show what RCFers world wide have been up to and discuss what's good, what's silly, and what maybe should have been left in the past.
    The SCA's (Society of Creative Anachronism's) motto is "How the past should have been", which allows them to make everyone a lord, let ladies participate in sports, and have no disease, famine, or taxes. Very practical for allowing us all to enjoy the ideas and pageantry of the past. Thus the retrochronofantist's motto shall be: "Recreating the past today for an ideal tomorrow".
    Thank you for joining us. I look forward to hearing from you. Take care until next time.