Most guys are so frightened of standing out in a crowd that they recoil at the sight of anything that might imply that they put any thought into what they were wearing.

The “I grabbed the first thing  that was clean” look is oh-so-popular. And boring.

Sure many men are much more conscious of what they wear, but many are also conscious not to look too conscious of what they are wearing.

A friend (who will remain nameless, but you know who you are) asked me to take him shopping and the one stipulation he had was that he wanted to look stylish, but … not to stylish. He thought this would be a deterrent to picking up women.

I argued that women appreciate a man with style, even if it’s a little out the ordinary. It’s one of the best conversation starters. I assured him that as long as he looked and felt comfortable, he could wear something well fit and accessorized and still look quite attractive (no matter which sex he was trying to attract).

We argued and then decided that his biggest fear was being flirted with by men. At that point, I stopped arguing and told him that perhaps looking like a slob suited his Neanderthal attitude.

After that we had a lovely shopping experience.

So having said that, I can’t imagine not being able to experiment with a new color, hair do or article of clothing just because people might … I’m not sure what the real fear is. Has public stoning come back into fashion and no one told me?

So in one small step for mankind, earlier this year, Ashton Kutcher tweeted that he was on a mission to bring the ascot back.

And although he’s going to have much more resistance than he ever did to beating CNN to 1 million Twitter followers, I applaud his bravado.

The ascot is like a rakish cross between a tie and a scarf and they can be terribly alluring. Whereas a tie looks constricting and corporate, an ascot looks cozy and little mischievous (if one can personify a garment).

According to Kutcher, the ascot is the perfect accessory for casual and formal occasions. He’s be photographed wearing them on the red carpet and with a cardigan and jeans. And it suits him.

He doesn’t look, nor act like the tie type. Although he does wear them.

Just in time for the cold season, a number of company’s are offering up silk ascot or cravat options. The Tie Bar, thetiebar.com, has a host of offerings and Forzieri, forzieri.com, has a great selection of classic, cultured looks.

Even the Gossip Girl’s Ed Westwick was recently been spotted sporting ascots. It’s old world fashion with a youthful twist. I know that this is a country club look that’s probably worn with elitist glee by those with a drawer full of these swatches of fabric. But pop culture has a way of shaking the cobweb off of old world fashion and making it playful, not stuffy.

Experiment a little. It doesn’t hurt (unless of course that stoning thing really did come back into acceptance, in which case, duck and cover).

By the way, above, Brad Pitt (top right) isn’t technically wearing an ascot, but he’s tied his scarf to resemble one and we here at Style File applaud that as well.

How to tie an ascot.

Also pictured (for those who live in caves and are having their first experience with technology): David and Victoria Beckham, Ashton Kutcher with wife Demi Moore and George Clooney with goofy mustache.