The Shot!

If we had to rank the top South Carolinians who love to read their name in the paper, it would go:

1. Katon Dawson
2. Rick Beltram
3. Jeffrey Sewell

So, we weren’t real surprised to read a whole article about Jeffrey Sewell in the paper today. However, we were surprised to read a whole article about Jeffrey’s ascot. It’s almost like reading a whole article about someone’s genital worts. Isn’t that something you want to hide? We guess not…as much as he likes to flaunt it around Columbia’s bars.

And just in case you are wondering, it’s called peacocking.

Give it up for Columbia’s top playa - Mr. Jeffrey Sewell.

Tie one on: Real men wear ASCOTS for a feeling of freedom, a dash of individuality
By OTIS R. TAYLOR JR.
otaylor@thestate.com
One would assume that an inaugural gathering would be an odd choice for a man to make a fashion statement.

But political consultant Jeffrey Sewell picked an accessory — a handmade necktie — that made him stand out like a Democratic-voting usher at a Republican convention.

He wore an ascot to Gov. Mark Sanford’s second inauguration bash in January.

“I had best friends begging me, ‘Do not do it,’” he said.

Once a requirement to claim — or suggest — nobility status, the ascot has become an accouterment for the daring, or some might say, the confused and off-kilter.

“My wife, Vee, was like ‘I don’t know if you can wear that,” Sewell said of the particular formal, silk ascot that was mentioned in political blogs and this newspaper.

“I thought that was very keen that someone would pick up on that.”

Ascots, the narrow neckbands with pointed wings, once were reserved for proper morning dress of England’s noble society. The tie’s name refers to Royal Ascot, an English version of the Kentucky Derby, where elegance and socializing is more important than the horse racing. (Sound familiar?)

If you are interested in perusing the ascot look, Brittons, a Devine Street clothing store, will host an ascot trunk show from 2-7:30 p.m. Thursday. (Other kinds of ties and vests will be on display as well.)

Any man knows that a necktie can be constricting, like wearing a barber’s cape through several meetings, a long lunch and two commutes. But an ascot gives open-collar freedom and a not-so-subtle look of individuality.

In this flip-flop generation, dress codes for men — pre-ripped jeans with perfectly distressed creases that cost $300 but look like a rummage sale find — are contrived and conformist. And that’s not saying anything about Air Jordans and boxy, tent-like white T-shirts.

The Southern dress code — khaki pants, white collared shirt, blue blazer and, of course, boat shoes — is even more uniforming. Though a uniform does seem a better choice than, say, going to the post office in Nike sneakers, Adidas ankle socks, carpenter jean shorts and a Vans T-shirt.

Almost out of necessity, Bill Stubbs, a retired commercial real estate agent, chose the ascot look about five years ago.

“I lost 90 pounds and I had nothing in my closet that fit at all,” he said. “Literally, I had to rebuild my wardrobe, so I wanted to do something different.”

Stubbs, 59, who doesn’t wear ascots until the temperature dips below 80 degrees, pairs his with blazers and crew neck sweaters. He is fond of the traditional ascot: a scarf knotted around the neck, which invokes an image of aviators coolly navigating a high-altitude dogfight.

Ascots, as Stubbs pointed out, are for men who aren’t afraid of widening their fashion palate. A lot of men in this jeans and T-shirt fashion era — and women, for that matter — might see the ascot and men’s neckwear as effeminate.

“Which is utterly ridiculous,” Stubbs said.

• John Wayne, an unquestioned man’s man, wore bandannas around his neck while corralling the West.

• Speed Racer, the racing champ coming to big screens in 2008, wears a neckerchief.

• The quietly volatile Michael Corleone, everyone’s favorite don B.T.S. (Before Tony Soprano) wore an ascot.

• And Kanye West, in his “Can’t Tell Me Nothing” video, sports an oversized scarf.

Though not endorsed in Esquire’s latest Big Black Book volume, men who know fashion — like Andre 3000, a former Esquire best-dressed man honoree — are comfortable in an ascot.

Ascots are beholden to an age when people rarely went out except in their Sunday best.

“I’m still young enough to remember when people got dressed up for ball games and to get on airplanes,” said Sewell, 40, who wore a goldish ascot to last week’s USC-Kentucky game.

“Everybody looked good. You should always look your best.”

In addition, the ascot is easier to knot than a conventional tie and more of a statement than — sorry, (USC President) Andrew Sorenson and Fonzworth Bentley — a bowtie.

It’s for a man of indefatigable confidence; a man who doesn’t need his wife, girlfriend or mother to dress him; a man who knows what he wants in his outfits. (Let’s go ahead and add men who refer to their clothes as ensembles or outfits, too.)

“I’ll do anything not to wear a regular tie,” said Sewell, who has been wearing ascots for almost 10 years. “To match a tie with a blazer, that’s work.”

Reach Taylor at (803) 771-8362.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 9th, 2007 at 1:53 pm and is filed under Random Fun, The Chaser. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.