A silk scarf could be the key to good summer styling (part 1)

What does it do for your outfit?

A few things a silk scarf can do for your outfit, depending on how you wear it:

• Conceal a camel toe, FUPA, bad pant/skirt waist line, zippers that won’t close or which just should not be shown

• Break up the monotony of a one-and-done dress, or blouse it as a way to give it more character (imagine it as a more elegant alternative to the shirt-around-waist)

• Cup the bottom of your belly so whatever you’re wearing doesn’t flare out unintentionally (this one might be pregnancy-specific)

  • To this point, conceal the space between your top and bottom if for whatever the reason, you do not want it to show

• Add an element of whimsy to a simple, casual look (think terry cloth pants and a cotton t-shirt)

  

  The Row t-shirt, Suzie Kondi pants (currently sold out in beige but you can still find black/grey on Net). A comparable scarf alt is here, but I love the mushrooms too

• Add an element of color to an all-black/khaki/neutral ensemble (figure this guy, but with a scarf tied like a pareo around his waist):

  

• Moonlight as the skirt or pants you tuck a top into, without actually needing to execute a tuck

• There is more below, but at the end of last week Jenny Walton, who is ten months less pregnant than I am, published a series of 20 ways to do this. So maybe you’d prefer to scroll through that.

Turns out I was wrong: here is one more hurrah. I thought I was done getting dressed but sometime last week, the creative flood gates reopened. I think needing a belt to cup the bottom of my belly in a mini dress I put on, but not having one that fit put me me back in creative solutions mode —

Ieri reversible slip dress, Soeur striped bandana scarf (the dimensions are 25 by 25; you can find this one on eBay here), Valentino ballet flats (36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41), Savette bag (on sale in black here)

And thus a million ideas were born. Or really, 4 ideas were born that can be interpreted a million ways by both the pregnant and non-pregnant among us.

A screenshot from Lolita Jacobs’ Instagram stories

The Deep-V (or apron)

The most pervasive of the 4 tips, I’m going to call “the Deep-V” because the basic principle is that you tie a scarf folded once into a triangle over your waist.

Polo RL silk shirt, The Row comb necklace (which you can DIY with a Judith Lieber comb a la Jalil Johnson, or get in the shape of a shell from the Ukrainian vendor, Shtor), Dior blue silk scarf (the dimensions of this one are 34 by 34 inches — it’s like 90cm), Silk Laundry pants (they are the yellow ones I kept slipping into my letters earlier this summer), The Row black flip flops

Can be high on the waist or low depending on what flatters you better. In the example above, it’s high (helps fake a tuck in) and works as a great companion to a classic shirt/pants look, adding one more dynamic that doesn’t overwhelm the whole because the only fabric at play here is silk. Also why the leather cord necklace/big ass bracelets work — they’re the tough contrast to the rest of the delicateness.

Rabanne chain bracelet, malachite beads. I regret that we missed the boat on this scarf from a Madewell/Lisa Says Gah collab

But if you’d rather use the scarf to transform a look as opposed to just add to it, try something like:

The Row t-shirt and sunglasses (classic wayfarers are good), Hermes scarf (the dimensions are 34 by 34; also a good one), Suzie Kondi pants (there’s a good range of Kondi on TRR too), Khaite teva-style sandals

A cotton t-shirt, terry cloth pants and casual sandals. It’s like a skirt over pants, but less cumbersome and might do the good deed of hiding some drawstrings, concealing a boring or tight or half-zipped waist line, etc.

Venstore polo, (try this as an alt; I like this cotton classic too), Enza Costa pants (which I shortened. Recently received and also really like these from A. Emery; they’re a heavier weight so are a good transition pc), Soeur scarf (good alt, larger size, on sale), The Row lace up sandals (if you’re a 6, these on sale are good too) and satin pouch (here is where those Prada ones I keep linking you to come in. Split the cost of a 3-pack with 2 friends!)

Here’s an example of the same shirt/pant formula but combining different fabrics (lightweight cashmere/silk) in neutral shades of white/beige. In this instance the scarf is a jolt of life (color), endorsed by the green satin bag (I may regret dropping this in here, but). I wore this to the first night of a 3-day retreat recently where the dress code was “comfortable” and told my friend Tippi that the scarf helps keep my stomach up. She said, “Angel, you can tell yourself whatever you want.”

This scarf is about half the size as the two above it, which is why it looks more like it’s part of the pants than it is an addendum. The size of the scarf is ultimately up to you. But both sizes play their own roles: a smaller one and works well with a shirt that’s cropped or untucked/pants you’re not specifically trying to hide or when styled over a dress (it’s more belt-like), and the bigger ones are good when you’re thinking of the scarf as your outfit’s main event.

If you are pregnant, this “trick” is helpful when you want to wear an item that still looks okay on you but doesn’t actually fit.

Delarge x Cafe Leandra sunglasses, Bode t-shirt, A.P.C. scarf (the dimensions are 34 by 34 in., so again, 90cm), Alfie pink skirt (this one is flirty too, and I love this thing on sale from Maccapani), Tom Ford sandals (pretty on sale!)

This skirt, for example, is completely open at the zipper but you’d never know it thanks to my 90cm Deep-V.

What do you think are these shoes an ideal foil to red tights for a late Fall look? Also: have you ever seen a pair of fashion grippy socks? Like barre socks, but Comme Si style. Would make fall mule wearing much more palatable.

Another tip you can take with you: silk scarf as way to make an often-worn skirt feel different/new.

One more that occurred to me while we were shooting the others from the opposite end of the color spectrum:

Flore Flore black ‘Esme’ tank, Vince capri pants (these are a size 4 and very stretchy; the biggest range of sizes are still avail here), this scarf’s dimensions are 25 by 25 in, The Row sandals, Altuzarra tote, By Malene Birger sunglasses (try these from Cos)

If you’re inclined to wear all black because it’s the sleekest option but want for something a little (but not too) unhinged to break it up, the scarf’s great in that context too.

You know what I think it is about this shirt that makes it so good? The “J’Adior” vibes

Over a longer dress, you get something like this:

Maria McManus dress (limited sizes on sale here), Hermes scarf (the dimensions are 34 by 34), Pucci leggings, Delarge sunglasses

You absolutely do not have to style leggings under, you’d just wear your long dress (could be a silk slip, could be cotton) the way you would any other dress with the scarf covering the area around your waist (almost like it’s a shirt tied around your waist, which tends to flatter a woman’s torso), but per the leggings, it’s fun to look a little weird, so…

A di Gaeta wedge sandals, and a suede Khaite clutch (here’s a red one, an electric blue one, a light blue one and a green one)

One more from the Deep-V category and I’m done, but it’s double header —

Doen onesie (here’s one from Depop, or you can always go the Bode route — it snaps into a romper), Le Scarf scarf (the dimensions are 25 by 25 in., or 65 cm — I think this is the ideal size; Toteme makes a similar one), The Row sunglasses and shoes, Rue de Verneuil tote

The task order here is covering up the fact that you’re (I’m) wearing the cotton pointelle onesie you wore to sleep by physically covering a chunk of it with a silk scarf (and big tote). The lace-up sandals make it feel more appropriate to wear outside, ditto that the sunglasses (for this look, a pair with dark lenses adds an element of sleekness to the overall look). And the tote is more significant than it lets on because inside, you’ll find:

Vintage jacket (here are some good alternatives — most under $200), some pearls (I’d go with the 6mm, 20”; I also just encountered and really like this silver ball on red string) and black satin mary janes

The add of clothes (jacket) and accessories (necklace) and change of shoes (mary janes) to make it an adequate dinner outfit.

So that’s what I have for you as far as the first tip. Rest of the story (3 more tips) will publish later this week. In the mean time, I really cannot recommend this anti-aging scrunchie enough.

Signing off yours,

Leandra