Men’s formal fashion options are normally somewhat boring, mainly because most men don’t care about it. What do men wear? You might have a brown, black, navy blue or gray suit, you wear black or brown shoes, and probably a white shirt and tie, or maybe a light blue shirt and tie. Recently I’ve seen men branch out enough to buy a black shirt with a mono-colored silk blue or red tie. The following are a list of what I believe are under-utilized men’s fashion items. I don’t necessarily recommend wearing these to a job interview, or on the job (unless you own the place), but for friendly social gathering they can be fun.

Al Pacino

Neck-scarf, Day Cravat, Ascot
Depending on who you ask this piece of neck wear is an ascot, day cravat, or neck scarf. As far as I can gather, technically an Ascot is a formal tie that comes from an English horse race of the same name. Whatever it is called, what I’m talking about is pictured to the left. In film they are often worn by villains, and some believe it bestows instant sleaze-bag / aristobrat status, however, I think they’re classy. The key is to keep them subtle. Some believe only men such as Cary Grant can pull it off, but Ashton Kutcher and David Beckham have been seen sporting the ascot, and I’m not one to believe that the rich and famous are better than the rest of us.

Andy Garcia in Ocean’s 11

The Vest
The vest never went away, but sadly, most men go with the two piece suit and save the vest for tuxedos. I’ll be honest, I don’t own a vest yet, however, I think they look great with or without a matching coat. Normally vests you see will all be part of a three piece suit, however, a contrasting vest looks good as well. Another nice thing about the vest is you still look quite classy even with your jacket off, and not as much like Jim Cramer.

Wing Collar
Sometimes called a wing-tip collar, or worse, a “Tuxedo Shirt.” Much more popular in the 1890s, still sometimes worn with tuxedos, the wing collar adds variety to an otherwise fairly homogeneous collar scene. Andy Garcia wears one in Ocean’s 11 with a tie, sweater, and coat. The coat covers the exposed tie for the most part, and the tie he chose is white so it blends in with the shirt, however, I think even with more contrasting colors, it looks good. As a double bonus, Andy Garcia also wears an ascot and vest in Ocean’s 13.

Daniel Craig as James Bond, Sporting the Cuff links

Cuff-links
French cuffs add flair and class, and cuff-links add even more. They don’t have to be expensive, I found some brass cuff-links at a thrift store for $3. Cuff-links have been making a comeback with the younger crowd in the form of silk (or elastic) knot cuff-links, which are still classy and but a little less formal for everyday wear. Please stay away from the “novelty cufflinks,” such as the bingo board, dice, or puzzle piece cuff-links. Why waste your money on a french-cuff dress shirt if you’re going to wear safety-pin cuff-links? You can look like a clown for much cheaper.

And if you spend a little more than $3, Cuff-links can also be a great heirloom item, passed down from father to son and worn at the most formal and special occasions.

If you decide you do want to mix up your formal wardrobe a bit, the vest is probably the “safest,” option to go with right now, with cuff-links being a close second. But there you have it, four under-utilized fashion items. Have fun and keep it classy.