Ultimate Guide How to Up Your Style with Scarves

Originally, scarves served for thermal comfort only. However, you can go far beyond this goal. This guide features 1) how to up your style with scarves in any season, 2) how to create and use a scarf collection and 3) how to tie scarves of various shapes and material to create effortlessly chic outfits.

 

 

Every Chic Scarf Can Up Your Look When Styled Correctly

Scarves come in a variety of colors, sizes, fabrics and shapes designed for different purposes. In addition, there are different ways to tie them. How to tie them again depends on the outfit that has to be styled.

Fact: Every beautiful scarf can up your style when you know how to tie it right.

 

 

 

What Are the Reasons Why to Accessorize with Scarves

Never underestimate the style factor of scarves for your outfit. They can serve as wardrobe horses. Like brooches change a good look to awesome and like you can add trends with hats, these square or rectangular pieces of luxury fabric or wool can turn a good outfit into great style.

Why these small pieces of fabric play such a powerful role for great style cannot be nailed down to one reason alone. It’s a combination of multiple aspects. Here is a list of the most important reasons for why you are missing out a great opportunity to look your best when you ignore this powerful accessory.

 

What Can Scarves Do for Your Wardrobe?

1. Add the perfect pop of color to an outfit
2. When printed, their colors can tie an outfit together.
3. They can be a signature style element of your personal style.
4. In summer, a thin cotton, silk or polyester scarf can up the style of a simple white T-shirt, jeans and sandals or pumps for the weekend, and Casual Friday outfits, respectively.
5. In summer, a colorful neckerchief, button-down white or chambray shirt and dark jeans with strappy sandals provide instant evergreen weekend style.
6. Placing neck-wear over the wide cleavage of a summer dress provides insulation to summer-to-fall transition looks and acknowledges the change in season.
7. In fall/winter, knitted infinity, long 4-5-in wide (10-12.5 cm) 70s-style, oblong, buttoned, and hooded scarves accessorize outerwear.
8. Russian shawls, poncho-, cape- and blanket-style types are add extra insulation around the neck and shoulders when you have to dress for cold wet weather.
9. They allow wearing a light fall coat longer into early winter.
10. Heavy silk or light wool shawls add interest and increase the winter office outfit options with crew-neck sweater, blouses or shirts.
11. A light-weight Russian shawl ups a simple jeans, sweater and booties weekend winter outfit.
12. They help to create season-transition looks.
13. You can vary your outfit with different tying techniques.
14. Styling your outerwear with poncho, blanket or large Russian wraps around the shoulder over a wool or shearling winter coat keeps you out of winter outerwear wardrobe boredom
15. Scarves can do double-duty as head covers.
16. They can substitute a belt.
17. You can fold a square thin silk or cotton piece into a stylish summer bag.
18. A neckerchief can be worn as a bracelet or bag decoration.

 

 

How to Curate a Scarf Collection

Let’s start with how to get a great scarf collection without breaking the bank.

 

 

Second Hand

When browsing a flea market, thrift- or consignment store, always go thru the scarves. Look for designer brands you like to have. Here is a list of brands to start with.

Also look out for scarves in the colors of your wardrobe and your favorite fabrics.

 

Tip: Silk, wool and cotton are easier to tie/style than polyester which is slippery.

 

Tip: Check a potential piece for problems like spots, wholes, or pulled yarn.

 

When the item is in great condition, has a shape and/or print/pattern that is not yet in you collection, works with your color palette, and the price is right, buy it.

 

 

 

Shop the Sales for Scarves

During sales, browse scarves when they are 20% or more off. When you see an affordable scarf that would work with your style and wardrobe without duplication, buy it.

 

 

 

How to Wear Scarves in Various Seasons

Which Fabrics Are Best for Which Season?

Cotton, linen and light-weight silk are best for summer.

With respect to the insulation, qiviut, the under-wool of musk-oxen is the best. Silk and wool are also great insulators. A tightly weave/knit is better than a loose one because less body heat can escape thru the former than the latter.

In humid regions like Southeast Alaska, West Europe, the Pacific Northwest, or the East Coast, for instance, sheep-wool may start smelling when humidity is high. Polyester clothes may get electrically charged in cold dry regions.

 

Which Scarf-Style Works Best When with What?

Silk and polyester square and oblong pieces work well with fall, winter, and spring work and weekend wear. Blanket or poncho styles are best for the cold season for thermal comfort. Russian wool floral print styles work both with outerwear as well as with indoor clothing in winter. Long 70-style versions are best for fall and winter with midi tailored coats like a pea- or fit-and-flare coat.

 

 

 

Use Scarves to Wear Summer Clothes in Spring or Fall

Think of it sort of as a Wear it Now – Wear it Later. In fall, scarves can help to transfer a summer dress into an fall outfit either by using the scarf strategically to cover wide cleavage to stay warm or by adding a matching fall color to the outfit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ways to Wear a Scarf in the Summer

In summer, thin cotton, silk or polyester scarves look great with a white T-shirt, jeans and sandals or pumps for the weekend, and Casual Friday outfits, respectively.

 

 

 

Why and How to Wear Two Scarves as One

Doing so can help to repeat the colors of the outfit for a pulled-together look. Search two scarves with similar design in the colors needed. The similar design ensures that they look like just one long scarf in the different colors of the outfit.

 

 

 

How to Up Your Style with Scarves in Heavy Outerwear

In fall and winter, knit scarves of any style (infinity, long 1970s-style, oblong, buttoned, hooded, poncho, blanket) add style to outerwear. A main advantage of poncho, blanket and Russian scarves is that they add extra insulation around the neck and shoulders. Consequently, you can don a light coat longer into the cold season.

 

How to Use Scarves to Increase the Outfit Options of Your Wardrobe

For winter indoor outfits, heavy silk or light wool scarves are great options because they match the heavy fabrics of winter items. A scarf over a sweater can substitute for a turtleneck sweater at the office. It can provide the extra insulation/coverage to wear a button-down shirt under a blazer. Furthermore, it can cover the cleavage of a fall or spring dress to be comfortable on warm winter days. On weekends, a light-weight Russian scarf may up a jeans-sweater-booties look. All these options permit wearing clothes beyond their original purpose to get more wear out of your wardrobe.

 

Which Scarf Works Best with Which Outfit?

In general, you can achieve the best look when the scarf has a similar vibe with respect to style as the dress and the colors pick up colors of the dress. Pieces that have the same color as the dress, blouse, sweater/T-shirt or top, but a different shade or saturation may work too. It is worth a try, but before leaving the door for work or play, take a selfie in good light conditions to judge whether the pairing works. Your outfit will look wrong when the shades of the outfit’s colors are just a notch lighter or darker than the color of a solid color dress.

 

Rule of thumb: When it looks like one of the items has been in the laundry a couple of times more, the combination isn’t right. Kiss it off.

 

In case of a printed/patterned clothing and solid scarf or vice versa, you may get away with slight color differences. Try mixing prints and patterns when they are in the same color family, and have distinctly different size. When you are daring, try the same print in different colors.

 

 

How to Tie Which Scarf

Obviously, the different purposes, types, shapes and materials require different techniques to tie them. Here are the general guidelines which techniques go with which types of shape/fabric.

 

How to Tie Light-Weight Oblong Scarves

• A cotton or silk scarf braided to a necklace ups a solid or color blocked dress.
• Tie a long oblong cotton or silk scarves around the neck towards the back and switch the ends in the front. Because there is no knot, secure the scarf with pins or brooches.
• Wear an oblong style the Indian way to cover your cleavage.
• Put the fabric with the tails to the back. Then cross them and bring them forward. Now pull the fabric from the front of the neck to breast height. Flip it over to a loop like in an eight. Then pull the ends thru the loop in a way that they look like being weaved. Decorate the knot  with brooches.
• Want short ends? Tied around the neck twice and knotted. Put the middle of an oblong scarf on the front of your neck, wrap the ends around the back of your neck and knot them in the front. Use your thumb to ensure the knot stays flat.

 

Tip: Wear an oblong style as a belt with a wide, shift or A-line summer dress.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How to Knot a Square Scarf

Fold the square to a triangle; continue folding over the short side several times to create an oblong neck-wide band. Wrap the resulting band around the neck with the ends hanging down or nicely knotted in the front. When wrapped around the neck twice and knotted on the side, it keeps your neck warm when you wear a crew-neck sweater in winter.

Tip: Go for a silk scarf. Cotton is meant for summer and would not feel/look right. Furthermore, cotton is a bad insulator.

Tip: When folded as a band you can style a large square scarf like the oblong ones.

A square-shaped piece folded into a triangle can be tied like a girl scout neckerchief. You can also knot the ends of the longest side of the triangle and wear it like a supersize necklace. This way is best in summer as it doesn’t add much fabric around the neck, but really ups the look of a simple pair of jeans with a plain T-shirt.

 

 

 

 

 

Neckerchiefs

Every couple of years, neckerchiefs have a moment. When in style, try the following:

• Silk neckerchiefs look great when folded to a triangle and then folded to a band and tied once around the neck.
• Use them to fill in the cleavage of a shirt-dress or button-down shirt when leaving the uppermost two buttons open.
• Pair them with a polo shirt and denim skirt on the weekend.

 

Tip: When knotting a neckerchief always make sure the knot looks flat.

 

 

Tip: Don a neckerchief as bag decoration or bracelet.

 

 

Try to Up Your Style with an Infinity Loop

Most infinity scarves look best when tied around the neck twice. Only light-weight fabrics look great with a jeans and T-shirt in summer. Heavy fabric or knit infinity pieces look best with a winter coat, down coat or shearling. When the size allows for it, try to do the second wrap over your head as a hood to skip the hat.

DIY tip: Make an infinity loop from an old silk shirt.

 

 

Tip: Infinity loops with secret pockets increase your travel safety while looking stylish.

 

 

Up Your Style with Heavy Blanket Scarves and Alike

A poncho, plaid blanket or large Russian scarf look stylish when wrapped around the shoulder over a wool or shearling winter coat and belted for shape.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tip: Accessorize with a belt to add shape when layering with a blanket.

 

 

 

 

How to Style Wide and Narrow Heavy Oblong Shaped Scarves

An oblong knitted 70s style piece looks great when paired with modern clothes and tied the 70s way, i.e. wrapped once or twice around the neck, then making a loose knot and having the ends hang down in the front. Be aware that this way of styling may become a safety issue. The long ends can be caught in the doors of public transportation and cars, by shopping charts, etc. and they also may cause injury in conjunction with car-seat belts.

Long small to medium wide knits or oblong wool or polyester pieces with tight weave look great when worn as the European Loop. The European Loop looks stylish both when worn under or over a winter coat as shown in the photos below. To get the look fold the fabric over the small side so that the long side gets half its length. Now  put the folded fabric behind your neck with the ends in the front. Next put your hand in the fold and pull the other end thru the loop. Done!

 

 

 

 

 

Use Scarves as Decoration or Jewelry

Up you style with scarves by repurposing them as belt, bracelet, necklace or decoration.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photos: G. Kramm

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