Scarves and hats and gloves have entered the chat

Welcome to frivolous glove era

I realized last week (because of a conversation with a reader under Friday’s Letter of Rec) that feeling alive in your clothes is informed by how driven you are to appeal to your feelings when you’re getting dressed. The downfall is that you’re more than likely to look back when your feelings have changed and think, “Wtf?”

This is part of the reason why there’s something nice about having a fixed sense of style (meaning style that doesn’t change). But if it’s so consistent that there is no emotionality, it also encounters a downfall in that it can read a bit flat.

Then again though, the desire for unchanging style makes sense when you consider that the human experience is such that the only constant is inconsistency. Which depending on what kind of life cycle you’re in could be extremely unmooring. If you’re going through a big life change, for example, or just feel for whatever reason like the ground beneath you is breaking, clinging to what dependability you can is soothing.

I think this is partially why I’ve been drawn to such direct style expressions these last few months. The thing is, I come up against a frustrating feeling of redundancy that genuinely, actually, elicits some anger when I feel like I look like a past (dead, if I’m being dramatic) version of myself. So bridging the emotionality and the fixedness is a good pursuit that I think can be accomplished by sticking to a template with flexible borders.

One way you can do this reflects the growing trend of cold weather accessories as stylistically relevant to the sum of an outfit. We are entering a frivolous glove era. (Consider the glove a euphemism for the whole category.)

I’d trace the modern genesis of this one as far back as Raf Simons’ balaclavas for Calvin Klein (so, Fall 2018), but its really the more recent styling work of By Malene Birger (Resort 2023), The Row (Fall 2022, ‘23) — I’ll even throw in Schiaparelli to get a good range of commercial and high fashion, that have perked my ears up to it.

Simons’ era Calvin Klein, By Malene Birger, The Row

If you yearn less for new clothes but do crave new ways of looking like you, FGL (frivolous glove era) is a good start because it requires minimal wheel invention to feel alive in your clothes.

All you have to do is put on the stuff that you feel most secure/confident wearing (your fixed sense of style) and then let these accessories produce the quality of levity, elegance, depth, originality — whatever emotional accent you’re after when trying to self-express. A few (9) demonstrations below —

Scarves

First, there is the scarf-as-scarf. I recommend styling it one side over outfit, the other flipped over shoulder to add new color or texture or just something irrelevant that turns out to tie up the whole.

Eldon Portobello scarf, Weyhe navy blue collarless jacket (an unusual suggestion, but this could serve as the right alt; a more straightforward good navy one here, or sleek black one here or, uh, this one is technically a dress), Christopher Esber sequined dress (unrelated, but also not, here’s a Polo sequined polo), Jamie Haller horsebit loafers (sold out, but G.H. Bass makes these)

You’re nailing a bit of balancing work with the wool jacket and scarf on one team in this look and the sequined dress/gold-buckle loafers on the other. I’m gravitating towards shoe hardware a lot these days.

The other good scarf option to consider would be this one from NoName, or on the $$$ end, this is a tender and warm color combo.

Next up is the scarf as sache — to give your long coat a little something, something.

Marina Moscone trench coat, Khaite scarf (is gone, but she can get the job done, or better yet) and sunglasses, Toteme jeans, Renate Jacob jazz shoes. You can’t see what shirt I’m wearing but it’s two layered tees — this one under this one

I used a vintage brooch to pin the scarf sides together. The bag is Khaite too

When the scarf is wool and the coat is cotton, you get an interesting contrast but it’s not necessary to make this work. The only ingredient that I find essential is for the coat to be long enough that the scarf ends don’t exceed the total length of the coat. Would be nice with tights and heels too, an outfit in its own right.

Last scarf idea: wear it as a belt. Also possibly the easiest way to sustain your wearing the simplest outfits without feeling boring.

Heirlome coat (and a non-cashmere alt), Ines scarf (Johnston’s of Elgin has a good range too, under $200), then I’d recommend this white tank and a necklace like this one from Jujuvera, plus Kallmeyer’s khakis, and some Khaite tevas I got from The Real Real during foot-injury-gate last summer. Plain tevas are more than good enough; just make sure you are styling with stocking-socks to create the fancy/casual contrast

A white cotton tank top and khaki pants, plus a buttery soft overcoat that is additive within the broader whole, but also not essential to the integrity of the outfit —

So maybe I’d call this one, idk, a great thing to wear out to dinner on a weeknight? The only blaring recommendation I’d make is re: the scarf’s end tassels. It’s possible to achieve the same effect without them (see: here from this) but they do add something nice.

Gloves

With the exception of your wearing them (the gloves) in your pockets impressionistically or tucked into a belt the way By Malene Birger showed them way up above, there’s really only one way to do this and it’s to put them on your hands. What’s interesting to play around with here is mostly about texture. The contrast, for example, of leather and knit does something good with its balance of toughness and softness —

Aflalo sweater (if you got this Cos one, it accomplishes the same task, but is perhaps not as warm), Soeur gloves (these do the same thing @ $100 less)

The sweater is styled over a linen dress/nightgown from Doen, the sandals are Gucci, and curiously comfortable (relatively speaking) in spite of heel height, which is why I’ve had them so long (8 years). Here are a couple pair from consignment land, w these from The Real Real and these from Vestiaire. For whatever reason, I’m more drawn toward simple leather as my choice shoe fabric these days.

And you do always have the option of decorating the gloves with rings. In looking back, I kind of wish I’d have only used one ring (the green one, to catch the shoes), but then again, the great thing about trial and error and the fact that we have to get dressed every time we want to leave our homes is that there are infinite opportunities to iterate.

Another pair, with me more focused on using the gloves as an accent color within a sea of neutrals:

Massimo Dutti suede jacket (click that link, it’s a good one), Miu Miu sunglasses (but while we’re talking Massimo Dutti…), Splendid cotton turtleneck, Still Here capri jeans, I can’t recall where these tights are from, but this is a less effusive alt; Louboutin kitten heel pumps. If you are after a pair, Aeyde might make the platonic ideal.

The gloves are by Margaret, and one helluva steal compared to these or even these; this is the red satin Prada Raso clutch I bought in a 3-pack

I like how the red leather interacts with the suede and the satin clutch. These gloves are from a small brand called Margaret, by a woman called Margaret — a newsletter subscriber! She replied to an e-mail once. I clicked on the link in her signature. The dish washing vibe is what sold me.

Hats

Here we are at the end of the rope with:

• The wild and crazy fuzzy hat that gives you permission to stay in black pants and a sweater as soundly as possible.

By Malene Birger hat (isn’t she wild?), a good black sweater for you here, Aflalo pants, Polo Ralph Lauren sneakers

The sunglasses are Wayfarers, the white t-shirt peeking out from under the sweater collar is crucial and I think the tiny sliver of exposed red string that’s peeking out adds something dynamic too. These are the tiny minutiae moments I often describe that really do make a difference

• A classic beanie to keep on after the coat comes off