When (and how) to wear a neckscarf

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When (and how) to wear a neckscarf

Leandra Medine Cohen

Apr 13, 2022

There’s an art to how you tie a silk scarf around your neck. Broken down into steps, it goes like:

Fold it in half like a triangle then roll it in until its thin. This width is a good comp, but yours will be less flimsy, which is good!
Place it over your neck, as if you’re about to wrap it from front to back because…
You are. Wrap it front to back
Fold the sides over each other from the back and bring them forward
Tie it once
Tuck it into the crew of your shirt
Vwala.

But maybe you’re wondering, what does a neck scarf do?

It spruces up an outfit

Khaite sweater (the key here is a crew neck — here’s a good one from Alex Mill and another from & Other Stories), Live the Process jumpsuit, Callas Milano scarf, New Balance sneakers (the model is called x90)

By adding a dimension of regal fanciness to your otherwise casual outfit. This example in particular also shows how to play with color: if you’re wearing something bright (like my leggings) with an otherwise muted tone (ivory and black striped sweater), another scarf of a similar palette ties “the look” together.

And brings flair to a uniform

My Dear Tejas jacket (you can engender a similar vibe with something like this or this), Closed jeans, Converse sneakers

In this example in particular, I’m wearing denim, canvas and leather — three durable and utilitarian fabrics. The scarf and bag combo (silk on the scarf, satin on the bag) add a more delicate texture to soften the rest of it.

How should I wear one?

Tucked into something crew neck, be it a t-shirt, sweater, or collarless jacket. Even if you add something with a collar over.

Was going for deceased-princess-horseback-riding-to-a-music-festival as the aesthetic reference for this look, employing my most salient burgeoning theory on spring jackets, which is that two are better than one! More on that next week — here is a good collarless sweater to espouse the same spirit as the jacket I’m wearing. This is a good jacket. Good denim shorts here, this is the blazer I’m wearing and the boots are Toteme.

Make sure the crew is tight enough (so like, above collar bones) to hold together the single-knot on your scarf’s tie and so that it covers the circumference of whatever neck is exposed between your head and the crew shirt.

What should I look out for if I want to get my own?

Size. The one I’m wearing is 90 x 90cm. Figure you’ll just want it to be big enough that you can wrap it around your neck once and have long enough ends leftover post-wrap to tie and tuck into your shirt. This is what makes it look “intentional” as they say in the skateboarding business.
I wouldn’t exceed, like 130cm — that’s when you venture into sarong/scarf-as-dress territory. Good too, but for another use case.
Colors. Pick the ones that make you feel giddy. Like actually have the potential to bring a smile to your face. While technically three to four-tone is the most ideal — meaning three or four colors (black/white/grey withstanding) with the possibility of black/white/grey in addition, this is the FUN FLAIR on your outfit, so nothing else rly matters. I’d stay away from complete solids, and while two toners work too, it’s mostly as geometric shapes. If you’re going for one like this or that, I like a neutral palette.
Material. A silk or silk/cotton blend. The blends are actually sometimes better because the silk can get really slippery and the knot doesn’t hold as well, but it’s an easy solve (for the silk) if your crew neck is tight enough to hold the knot.