Abstract:
A collar bar that fits within the open collar of a shirt including a first elongated member sized in length to span and hold the open collar of the shirt. A first pair of clips, with one secured to each of the opposite ends of the elongated member, attaches the elongated member to the shirt to maintain the shirt in its open condition. A second pair of clips, each of which is secured to the elongated member near each of the clips of the first pair, secures the opposed lateral edges of the ascot to the collar bar to prevent the ascot from shifting as the knot loosens. The first and second pairs of clips may take various forms, or they may coincide, thereby serving both functions simultaneously, and the elongated member may be adjustable in length.

Description:
The present invention relates to a men&#39;s fashion accessory, and, more particularly, to a collar bar for holding an ascot in place around the neck of the wearer when wearing an open-collar shirt. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Clothing fashions constantly change. Yet, over the years, the ascot has remained a stylish accessory for well-groomed men. The ascot is worn on formal occasions with a closed neck shirt on the outside of the shirt collar band (typically in conjunction with a morning coat or cutaway) or, on less formal occasions, with an open collar shirt on the inside of the collar next to the neck, with the ascot being tucked under the shirt front and the neck of the shirt being left open. Formal ascots are usually pre-tied, and equipped with an adjustable clasp on the neck band. The informal ascot, or cravat, must be tied by hand. Henceforth, the term “ascot” will be understood to refer to this latter variety. 
     Unlike a necktie, which has a wide end and a narrow end, both ends of an ascot form are of the same width and form “bibs” of approximately seven to eight inches in width. The ends are joined together by a narrower waist portion, typically two and one-half to three inches in width, that encircles the wearer&#39;s neck when the ascot is tied. 
     An ascot is tied like a four-in-hand necktie knot, with the omission of the last step in which the wide end of the necktie is drawn through the loop created by wrapping the wide end around the narrow end, cinching down the wide end to form a knot, and drawing up the knot tight to the closed collar. Instead, with the ascot, the front bib rests on top of the loop created by wrapping the waist of the ascot around the rear bib, with the front bib adjusted at the throat to cover the knot. The points of the ascot are then tucked under the shirt front with the neck of the shirt open. 
     Because the ascot is worn with an open collar and uses a loose knot, several problems arise that present obstacles to the stylish wearing of the ascot. 
     First, the distance that the collar is open can vary. If the opening narrows, the ascot is obscured; if the opening widens, the ascot becomes visually unmoored and adrift around the neck of the wearer. 
     Additionally, because the tied ascot does not have a cinched knot, it has a tendency to loosen rather quickly about the wearer&#39;s neck, especially when engaged in active pursuits, such as dancing. As the ascot loosens, the bibs disappear from view into the open shirt, exposing the wearer&#39;s throat. 
     Additionally, the width of the ascot bib is such that, for small-necked wearers, it can be difficult to stylishly drape the front bib so that it is puffed-out and elegantly displayed over the throat, while still being comfortably loose around the neck. 
     Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a device to be used when wearing an ascot with an open-collared shirt that maintains the collar open a constant, predetermined distance. 
     It is an additional object of the present invention to provide such a device for use when wearing an ascot that helps to prevent the ascot from slipping down into the open shirt front as the knot loosens. 
     It is a still further object of the present invention to provide such a device that helps to secure the ascot in position around the wearer&#39;s neck and helps to prevent the knot from loosening. 
     A still further object is to provide such a device for wearing with an ascot that is unobtrusive and substantially hidden from view when in use. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     These objects, as well as others that will become apparent with reference to the accompanying drawings and following detailed description, are provided by a collar bar that fits within the open collar of the shirt that includes a first elongated member sized in length to span the open collar of the shirt. A first pair of clips, with one secured to each of the opposite ends of the elongated member, attaches the elongated member to the shirt to maintain the shirt in its open condition. A second pair of clips, each of which is secured to the elongated member near each of the clips of the first pair, secures the opposed lateral edges of the ascot to the collar bar to prevent the ascot from falling into the open shirt front as the knot loosens. In a particular embodiment, the two pairs of clips may coincide. The clips may comprise, variously, a friction post with a mating friction nut removably attached thereto, alligator clips having a spring-loaded jaw members, a resilient pin having a straight arm and a tension arm folded back thereon, or the like. Further, the first pair of clips may be attached to the elongated member by a chain, so as to permit the collar bar to be secured to the shirt at a location other than the top button/button hole of the shirt. In addition, the elongated member may be adjustable in length, so as to accommodate wearers having differently sized necks. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 illustrates the proper wearing of an ascot in an open collar shirt. 
     FIG. 2 is a plan view of an ascot bar according to the present invention in which the neck of the wearer, the shirt and shirt collar, and ascot are shown in dashed lines. 
     FIG. 3 shows another embodiment of the collar bar of FIG. 2 in which the collar bar is adjustable in length. 
     FIG. 4 is a still further embodiment of the collar bar of FIG. 2 in which alligator clips replace the friction post and friction nut used to attach the bar to the shirt collar. 
     FIG. 5 is a further embodiment of the collar bar in FIG. 2 in which the alligator clips used to secure the ascot to the collar bar are replaced with a second elongated member secured to the first member with elastic loops, and in which the ascot is shown in dashed lines. 
     FIG. 6 is a still further embodiment of the collar bar of FIG. 2 in which the friction post and nut are replaced by a resilient pin and the alligator clips are replaced by a slot and the elongated member, and in which the ascot is shown in dashed lines. 
     FIG. 7 shows an attachment for use with the collar bar of FIG. 1 that permits the collar bar to be attached to the shirt remote from the top button/button hole of the shirt. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Turning to FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings, there is seen a collar bar  10  (FIG. 2) in accordance with the present invention. The collar bar  10  is adapted to be attached to the collar band  12  of a shirt  14  adjacent to the top button/button hole of the shirt so that it is substantially hidden by the ascot  16  and the down-folded wings  18 ,  20  of the shirt collar  22 . 
     As shown in FIG. 2, the collar bar  10  comprises an elongated member  24  sized in length to span the open collar of the shirt  22 . The elongated member  24  may vary in length depending upon the neck size of the wearer and the style of shirt being worn. For example, for a wearer having a 15-inch neck with a roll-collar shirt (as illustrated in FIG.  1 ), a 5-inch length for the elongated member  24  has been found to be satisfactory. The elongated member may be of a variety of materials, such as metal, plastic, or wood and, as illustrated, comprises a cylindrical member. 
     In accordance with the invention, a first clip  26  is provided on each of the opposite ends of the elongated member  24  for securing the collar bar  10  to the shirt  14 , thus maintaining the shirt collar  22  open the distance defined by the elongated member  24 . As illustrated in FIG. 2, the first clips  26  each comprise a post  28  with a pointed end for piercing the fabric of the collar bar  12  near the top button/button hole of the shirt  14  and a friction nut  30  that fits over the post  28  to firmly secure the collar bar  10  to the shirt  14 . 
     In keeping with a further aspect of the invention, a second clip  32  is provided on the collar bar  10  adjacent to each of the first clips  26  for securing the ascot  16  to the collar bar  10 . With reference again to FIG. 2, the second clips  32  comprise alligator clips of the type commonly used for tie clips, and having spring-loaded jaw members  34  that grasp the opposed lateral edges of the ascot  16  which are rolled under when the ascot  16  is draped over the collar bar  10 . 
     Accordingly, in use, the ascot  16  is tied in the standard manner described above. The front bib of the ascot  16  is lifted up and the collar bar  10  placed underneath and attached to the shirt by means of the clips  26  so that the clips  32  face away from the wearer&#39;s neck  36 . The collar bar  10  then acts like a “curtain rod” over which the front bib of the ascot is redraped with the opposed lateral edges rolled under so as to be grasped by the clips  32 . Thus, the clips  26  of the collar bar  10  are substantially hidden by the wings  18 ,  20  of the shirt collar, while the remainder of the collar bar  10  is substantially hidden by the front bib of the ascot. Further, by means of the collar bar  10 , the ascot is maintained in its desired location despite any loosening of the knot. 
     Numerous variations of the inventive collar bar  10  are envisioned, some of which are disclosed in the remaining figures of the drawings. For example, the first and second pairs of clips  26 ,  32  may take any of a variety of forms such as those illustrated in FIGS. 3-6. With reference to FIG. 3, the second pair of clips  32  may also be of the post and friction nut-type described above in conjunction with the clips  26  shown in FIG.  2 . In this case, the clips  32  act as a pair of tie-tacs to secure the rolled-under lateral edges of the ascot  16  to the collar bar. Alternatively, the posts of the clips  32  may extend through the outside or visible portion of the ascot  16 , in which case the friction nuts  30  are preferably of an ornamental design. The two pairs of clips may also coincide (such as the collar bar illustrated in FIG. 3, except with the clips  32  removed), with the clips  26  serving to attach to both the collar and the ascot. 
     Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 4, the first pair of clips  26  can be of the alligator clip-type described above in conjunction with the clips  32  shown in FIG.  2 . In this embodiment, the collar bar  10  is pushed onto the shirt collar so that the jaws  34  of the alligator clips lie along the outside of the collar band  12  to secure the collar bar  10  to the shirt. 
     Turning to FIG. 5, there is seen a further alternative for the second pair of clips  32  shown in FIGS. 2-4. In this embodiment, the collar bar  10  differs from that in FIG. 2 in that it comprises a second elongated member  38  that is substantially similar to the first elongated member  24 . The second elongated member  38  is secured to the first elongated member  24  by means of a rigid, substantially U-shaped wire member  40  that is received through two pairs of aligned holes in the first and second elongated members  24 ,  38 . The wire member  40  permits limited relative parallel movement of the first and second elongated members so that the rolled-under lateral edges of the ascot  16  can be received between the two elongated members. The ends of the wire member  40  are bent  90  degrees so as to lie along the second elongated member and a pair of elastic bands  42  encircle the two elongated members to bias them towards one another, thus providing a clamping force to secure the ascot to the collar bar. While the first pair of clips  26  shown in the FIG. 5 embodiment are of the friction post and nut type, other types of clips such as those disclosed herein may also be used. 
     A further variation is illustrated in FIGS. 6, where the first clips are resilient pins, like hairpins, which have a straight arm  44  attached to the elongated member  24  and a tension arm  46  folded back thereon. Similar to the embodiment of FIG. 4, the collar bar  10  of FIG. 6 is pushed onto the shirt collar so that tension arms  46  lie on the outside of the collar band  12  and the straight arm  44  lies inside the collar band. 
     To secure the ascot  16  to the collar bar  10  of FIG. 6, the elongated member  24  has at each of its ends a longitudinally extending slot  48  sized in width to receive the rolled-under edge of the ascot  16 . As illustrated in FIG. 6, one side of each slot  48  is serrated to provide teeth for firmly gripping the ascot  16 . Alternatively, the slot  48  can be lined with a gripping material to achieve the same result. 
     In some situations, the wearer may desire to secure the collar bar  10  by attaching it to the shirt somewhere other than at the top button/button hole. To this end, the first clips  26  may take the form illustrated in FIG. 7, wherein each of the first clips comprises an alligator-type clip  50  suspended on a chain  52 , with the loose end of the chain having a spring-loaded circular clasp  54  for attaching the chain to the collar bar  10 . With reference to FIG. 2, the first and/or second clips  26 ,  32  may be provided with optional attachment loops  56  (shown attached to the friction nuts  30  and the jaw members  34 ) to permit attachment of the chain-suspended clips  50  by use of the clasp  54 . Consequently, the clips  50  can be attached to the collar of the shirt at the sides of the neck so that the elongated member  24  of the collar bar  10  is suspended between the forward edges of the collar crosswise underneath the front bib of the ascot  16 . The chain  52  can be provided with an additional clasp  56  on an intermediate portion that serves to gather-up the chain at an arbitrary point to allow adjustment of its length. 
     As noted above, the preferred length of the collar bar  10  may vary depending upon the size of the wearer&#39;s neck and the style of shirt being worn. Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a collar bar  16  according to the present invention that is adjustable in length to accommodate such variations. With reference again to FIG. 3, a variable-length collar bar  10  is illustrated in which the first elongated member  24  is tubular and includes a telescoping member  24   a  carrying one of each of the first and second clips  26 ,  32 . The telescoping member  24   a  slides in and out of the elongated member  24  to the desired length, with the relative positions of the tubular elongated member  24  and telescoping member  24   a  being maintained by friction between the two. Alternatively, other, more positive locking detents can be provided such as are well known in the art. 
     In practice, the collar bar may be constructed of brass tubing, with tie tacs and tie pins used for the first and second clips, and the assemblage being cold-soldered together. However, other materials and components may also be used without departing from the invention. 
     Thus, a collar bar for use with an ascot has been disclosed that makes the wearing of ascots easy, comfortable, and practical. Further, the disclosed collar bar improves the appearance of the ascot and substantially eliminates the need for constant retying and adjustment of the ascot due to the loosening of the knot, particularly when engaged in active pursuits, such as dancing. While the invention has been described in conjunction with certain preferred embodiments, there is no intent to limit the invention to the same. Instead, the invention is defined by the scope of the appended claims.