If you sit on the shore of the fashion process for a long time and watch the trends and expert advice, then from time to time you can see how the distorted corpses of recent fashion innovations sail passing by. Sometimes – along with the corpses of “experts”. For what they branded yesterday as hopelessly outdated and as something that would never become relevant, suddenly becomes a hot trend.
For years, stylists, bloggers, and other self-nominated fashion experts kept telling us that silk scarves are long dead and gone. The advice to “add a silk scarf” was a kind of meme that reflected the archaic approach to the outfit, provincial taste and complete ignorance of modern trends. There was no worse fashionable sin than trying to tie your hair with a folded silk scarf – it looked so artificial that it even smelled of mothballs. And a carré scarf on the neck was considered a typical sign of an elderly gray-haired lady, which uses all the fancy improvements and style views from the times when The Beatles were still a young and promising band.
How many times the world was told: look closely at what is considered the most old-fashioned, foolish, funny, peasant and backward. At what was officially proclaimed as tasteless and sent into oblivion. This should be the hottest trend right tomorrow.
That’s about what happened to those poor headscarves. The new generation of girls grew up, who didn’t manage to wear square shawls because they were absolutely out of trend. Everyone wore scarves and snoods on the neck, and only some old village lady could tie a headscarf on the head. The fashion world already misses headscarves and all the dizzying experiments that can be done with them every day. And that’s why their triumphant return happened!
A square silk scarf, triangle-folded and tied in a soft knot under the neck or even fastened with a brooch on the chest, has once again turned from naphthalene ugliness to a stylish thingy. And fashionistas of all age categories wear it this way – from the aforementioned gray-haired ladies to students.
This is the easiest and the most common way to wear a carré silk scarf, and its time is coming. Spring weather, playful and capricious, insists on adding bright colors closer to the face. And there is no need to wait for a special occasion. Maybe earlier a silk scarf on the neck was indeed a symptom of the elegant business style, demanded a classic coat, a business suit, heels, and other “serious and status” outfit. But now, in our times of eclecticism and mixed genres, no one bothers to wear a headscarf with a fashionable print with a denim jacket, with a simple sweater or t-shirt, with democratic casual wear. A small silk scarf around the neck under the collar of the unbuttoned shirt. A bigger silk scarf on top of a sweater or sweatshirt. A big shawl under or over the coat – there are a lot of options.
You can wear a silk scarf not only around your neck. You can laugh as long as you want, but tying a scarf on the head “like a granny on a bench” is a very relevant feature. In English, this way of wearing shawls is even called “babushka” or sometimes also “matryoshka”. But no matter what gave rise to these images, the fact is: that’s how fashion divas and guests of fashion weeks wear them, that’s what the leading brands offer in their look books. And it is worth noting: if you combine such a “babushka scarf” with fashionable contemporary things, bright glasses, stylish bag – you get an ironic and extraordinary image.
Another way to wear a silk scarf on the head, which is less associated with Slavic visual traditions, but rather with the Eastern and African ones is a turban. There is a huge number of turbans in the world, and there cannot be two similar ones, because it is impossible to tie a turban twice the same way. Making a turban is a bit more complicated than just tying a silk scarf around your neck, but there are a lot of manuals and video lessons for this art online. If this style inspires you, it is worth to practice – and you will certainly succeed!
If you do not have time to mess around with a turban, you do not like the “babushka scarf ”, but you want to add some bright note to the image – you can use a silk scarf instead of a hair ribbon. The style of decorating hair with colored ribbons exists, perhaps, since mankind came up with the technology of tapes production. That is, a long time ago. And it’s for good reason because ribbons in the girl’s hair give her more colors, playfulness, and dynamics. It’s unlikely that our ancestors formulated it this way, but in practice, they saw that ribbons in hair always adorn a girl.
Nothing could be easier than weaving a scarf into a braid or tie it on a ponytail or a bun. It only takes a second – and banal mundane hairstyle turns into a fashionable statement.
There is no inspiration to do styling or the wind on the street could spoil any hairstyle? Your hair is not so fresh and there is no time to wash it? It is necessary to add a color accent to the image, but a silk scarf on the neck is inappropriate? You are just tired of everything and want something new? Turn the scarf into a hair hoop – this old-new invention may be handy in the summer.
A silk scarf can also be used instead of the belt, for girding up a dress, jacket, jeans, and even a coat. A small scarf can be used as a bracelet for your hand or even your leg! There is no limit to human creativity!
All these were just ideas for adding a small colored accent with the help of a silk scarf. But in fact, a large bright scarf can be the main character of the image. Boring one-color dress? The suit is good, but you’re already a little annoyed by it? You want something incredible, the wow effect, and it is necessary to achieve it quickly, easily and not for all the money of the world? Here are some ideas where his Majesty silk scarf plays the main role.
How to choose a fashionable silk scarf? First of all, do not take this choice too seriously. There cannot be too many scarfs, they do not wear out and do not lose their vendibility for years. If you like it – buy it, even if you do not know what you will wear it with. Its time will surely come.
Undoubtedly, a scarf made of natural quality silk is something out of the competition. But the light industry does not stand still, the quality of artificial materials is growing every year. So, do not be horrified by the scarves of polyester or viscose. If they are pleasant to the touch, have an interesting and relevant print and qualitatively processed edges – feel safe to buy it.
Relevant prints for headscarves are: animalistic (leopard, zebra, reptile); traditional silk scarf motifs with stylized elements of horse harness, monograms, and ornaments; geometry, especially polka dot; and, of course, floral prints – they will not go out of women’s fashion until the gardens stop blooming every spring.
The main thing that you should pay attention to is rather the colors than the print. The silk scarf is a thing which by its purpose must be located in close proximity to you. Either on the neck or on the head – whatever, a scarf frames the face. Therefore, it should give it radiance, brighten the eye color, shade the hair – work as a portable individual photo filter in real time. Therefore, when you buy a headscarf, do not choose it to match your shoes or bag. Choose it to match your face, check how they look together in natural light and make sure that the headscarf adorns you rather than vice versa.
After all, silk scarves are not so practically useful, and you can easily do without them. But with them, it is more fun and interesting, and they can instantly improve your complexion and mood. So, is it worth giving up such a chance? Let’s use it to the full, while scarves are still in fashion!
Maya Tulchynska
