How to make the most of your winter accessories, part 1

Scarves, hats, gloves and brooches that are part of the outfit

Getting dressed is not a spectator sport in the winter. There are just too many limitations and guardrails that consume it, with the first priority being your warmth and then maybe second or third how you’re serving your look.

But I’m having a bit of revelation this season as far as how much more enjoyable it is to spend time outside when you’ve got the right gear to compliment the weather — when your head and your neck and your feet and your hands are covered, you can basically do anything.

Which doesn’t mean throw your taste out the window (nothing means that, ever) but it does make the case to pay more attention (and perhaps budget-share) to the warm weather accessories you wear with your clothes. Below, tips on how to make the most of your scarves.

I decided to split this post into two parts and publish the rest later this week, where you’ll get the case for inconvenient (but still warm) hats, how to wear gloves like you’re cheeky and…the brooch of it all. You’ll have to let me know what you think of the format. Onwards now to the:

Scarves

Tip 1: Make it part of your outfit

Christopher Esber sunglasses, Khaite scarf (this one from Arch4 is good too, and I like this one from Vince or this from Johnston of Elgin), here is a good sweater to accomplish the look, Marlies Grace dress, Calzedonia tights, La Double J metallic leopard wedges

If your scarf ends are long enough, crossing a scarf over your look 1x so that one end meets the front of your outfit and the other hangs over the back is basically like wearing a necklace.

This tip works particularly well when you’re playing with different proportions and textures. Its styled here for example with a satin bubble hem tube dress (the tube of which is covered by the sweater; I recommend an open hem sweater to get this look, it leaves more room for low stakes error), and the knit plays off the silk bottom of the dress. Then the tights (also knit), are contrasted by the metallic sandals. I added the sunglasses as a sort of tie maker to the team of whimsy/skirt and shoes.

My eyes are not squarely focused on these shoes, also from LDJ and I’ve been thinking about bubble hem skirts a lot lately.

But how do you ensure the scarf stays on? When it’s styled over your clothes, it’s pretty easy. When you’re wearing a coat though, you

Tip 2: Add a belt

The Row’s Penelope hat, Ines Aquino scarf (also good), plain white tee styled under Ralph Lauren cable knit (again, just go with the J. Crew one — M or L), St. Agni pants (these from Leset for $210 are a good comp), The Row Tyler moccasins and a Dior lady bag

Looks like nothing from the front, but lo and behold:

This belt is from Saks Potts (the key for me is in the white stitching), alternatives that work with a similar style jacket could include Khaite’s benny and if you’re going black re jacket and rest of look, love the texture brown suede could bring to a look. This is flirty!

Safely affixed upon turn-around. This one is pretty self explanatory, but if you’re wondering about the best kind of belt, my rule of thumb usually follows weight of coat. The heavier the coat, the more durable the belt — so if I were wearing a black long overcoat for example, I’d probably use this belt, which is thicker in width and heavier in leather. Because this wool coat is more like a jacket, I went for something slight and narrow.

If belts are not your thing, btw, that is ok because…

Tip 3: You can pin your scarf with a brooch

Ana Khouri earring, vintage Jean Cocteau fish pin

Unbelievably, it works.

Ines Aquino scarf (this one’s a bit thicker), The Row shearling coat and white boots (I’m intrigued by these too, your best deal might be these), still on coat, I also love this —not shearling, but the color is right. The Garment knit dress (this is the longer version) and here are some good sunglasses for you

My prelim brooch notes are: go for something in silver or gold because it breaks up an outfit that otherwise consists of only dull woolen knits. The reason shiny jewelry rarely looks tacky in the winter the way somehow it can with a summer look is because of the contrast against so much wool. The same goes for a pin.

Actually-good looking brooches are kind of hard to find, but I assembled this small edit, including a fish pin like the vintage Cocteau (cock-toe?) one above, which was a birthday gift from my friend Claire, who, genuinely, has the best taste on earth.

From left: Undercover red rose pin, $135, Bevza golden egg, $160, 18k ruby and diamond fish brooch, $716, vintage Cocteau pin (there’s a cat too) $435, Tiffany & Co Amapola brooch, $395, sterling silver swirl brooch, $57 (but I think I like this one more)

Tip 4: Wear your scarf like its a shawl and you’re at a fancy wedding

Khaite scarf and jeans, Toteme coat (not collarless, but gets the job done and is on sale for $783), Prada boots that look like loafers (maybe you can makeshift them with a pair of shoes like these or these and very warm wool socks)

This one is for when you really want to fuck shit up a bit. Style notes are that you probably want to make sure you have on a turtleneck under (so that your neck actually stays warm), you really don’t have to wheel reinvent with your outfit either (I don’t think any of the components of my look are younger than 5 years, with the exception of the scarf) and many coat collar styles actually work with this.

The sunglasses are Oliver Peoples — like them a lot with a sheer lens like this too

My pref is almost always collarless or something car-style (that buttons all the way to the top) but a blazer-lapel (single or double breast) will get the job done here, no prob.

Some of the most interesting scarves you can find are lingering in the sale section of mens shops, here’s an edit from across the luxury web, with options ranging from $84 to $630. And here is the Khaite one I’m wearing.