The Power of the Scarf

Are you ready? This is it, the post you've all waited patiently for. Sorry about the quality of the pictures. I was sick all day today (yes, including during the MPRE...I just hope I passed) and didn't have a chance to retake them during daylight hours.

I used to hate square scarves because they've always looked too old-ladyish to me. After seeing Agathe from Style Bytes and others on Style Diary work them, I became convinced that they can be made into modern and stylish accoutrements. As I mentioned before, I bought this for a dollar at a vintage textiles and costumes trade show. The cost was a buck, but admission was $4.50, so let's just say this is $5.50. Price is still not bad. Here it is, in all its glory:

It has a rope-and-tassle motif, and it's 2.5 feet long on each side. Yeah, it's that big. If it were a small square scarf, there's not much I would have been able to do with it.

The obvious way to jazz up an outfit is to tie it around your neck, bag, hair, or waist:

I like how the scarf adds instant class to a casual Forever 21 henley. I thought about tying my scarf on my head and having the ends hang on the side, kinda like Nicole Richie does sometimes. Maybe on another day.

But wait, you can get so much more out of this scarf. I have a long black skirt that I haven't worn for a while, but since I've been wearing skirts as tops lately, I decided to give it a try. Using a scarf, I turned a simple black "dress" into a really nice evening dress.

Here's the simplest configuration:

Tie together two adjacent corners just under the bust, but keep the knot off to the side if there's a big graphic in the middle of the scarf. Personally, I like having slits to the side rather than down the middle, but there's another reason. The next picture explains why.

There's something not right about blatantly directing attention to one's beehind. Moving it to the side makes it less apparent.

Next up: sprucing up a tube dress

Just tuck in one corner of the scarf into the top, pick up the two diagonal corners that hang down, lift them straight up to waist-level (don't fold over), and tie in the back. If you fold the corner like an accordian before tucking it in, it'll fan out nicely at the bust. I like how this turned out; it'll work for tube tops as well. I've seen people wear scarves as tube tops, but I'm afraid it's not very secure. With a tube top under, I feel more confident (plus people can't tell that it's really two pieces combined into one).

You can totally wear the scarf as a halter as well:

This one is very easy--tie two adjacent corners together at the neck, pick up the bottom half, fold over at the waist, and tie at the back. Not as cool as the tube style in this case, probably because of the print, but I can see it working out nicely with an ombre scarf.

Finally, my favorite style:

This one's a bit trickier to describe and execute, but you can see how it works in the picture. You have to tie a "short leash" around your neck, sort of like you're putting on a tie. Once you've done that, bring the long end of the scarf across your body and wrap around. Tie the corners together at the side.

While I was at it, I decided to play with a long silk scarf that I got at the Bebe outlet a few years ago. I used it in one of my first posts and well, that scarf is as well-liked and versatile as ever:

Tie under the bust once (don't tie a knot), twist, and tie around the neck. Would have worked even better if the scarf was longer. I could have wrapped it around me a few more times.

I had a lot of fun playing around, plus I found a new and unexpected use for a skirt that I once wanted to get rid of. The next time I go to see a musical, opera, or some other fancy production, I'll definitely try it out. Anyway, hope you enjoyed this feature and that it lived up to its hyped-up expectations. Have fun experimenting!