I know what it says in Lord of Madness and I really couldn't give less of a shit. If I have to do a setting with the Mind Flayers as just an archetype of the cthullu mythos, then I have no problem with throwing ceromorphosis out of the window into traffic. Asexual reproduction is fine for a lot of creatures, I'm just not about to throw that kind of fun away to keep up with Wizards of the Coast's interpretation. These are the same guys who gave us predator elves with deer legs and antlers, plus halflings with a psionic social link. Also, Dragonborn also kicked the asexual "Not really a race" kick as well in 4th Edition, so why not do that same for the Mind Flayers?

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As far as the headgear and stuff goes, I think I'll be going with the whole Victorian and medieval look for any Mind Flayers or Fae I draw in the setting. Those older eras were rife with a lot of stodgy social rules, etiquette, and cliques, so why not keep a few of the ideas and some of the wardrobe around for this imagining of the race.