A while ago, I shared with you my passion for scarves and shawls on my social media platforms and showed you different ways to wear them. I received such a great feed back that I wanted to dig deeper into the history of scarves and the meaning behind them in different cultures through out the ages.
The scarf is the most simple form of adornment, but one of the most versatile clothing accessories, that has been used for centuries accrues a variety of cultures.
Today, it is not only some accessory we wear when we are cold but It can make or break an outfit.

We have to go back to Queen Nefertiti, in 1350 BC, to see the origin of the modern scarf .

Later in China and in Croatia ,the scarves were used to mark military rank.

For a long time, scarves were used as sweat cloth or to keep clean.

But we have to wait early 20th century to see scarves becoming a popular fashion accessory, when the French fashion empire Hermès designed the first ready-to-wear graphic silk scarf in 1937, a century after the brand was born.

The scarf, also named Carré which means "square" in French, was based on a woodblock print by Robert Dumas, the son-in-law of Emile Hermès.

Since then Hermès has produced more than 2000 different designs and they are still produced in France in the same manner: silkscreened by hand, and hems hand-rolled and hand-stitched.

Hermès had long been a favourite of queen Elizabeth and other royals, including the queen’s sister, Princess Margaret and Grace Kelly who mostly wore their scarves as head scarves but they are still a sought after fashion accessory.

Since a few years, The French Luxury brand Hermès has designed amazing prints together with Ardmore, the bespoke South African brand.

The beauty of silk scarves is that they last forever and most of them can be pass onto the next generation. My godmother gifted me an Hermès scarf for my 18th birthday. I have cherished this gift and it is still in immaculate condition more than 3 decades later.

Although scarves are great accessories, we tend to buy scarves just because we love the pattern or the colour, not really because it will suit our Wow colours or our body shape.

So here is a few mistakes to avoid when wearing scarves:

Tip 1: If your shoulders are wider than your hips, avoid wearing a bulky scarf around your neck , it will enhance the unbalance in your silhouette. Rather wear a small silk square around your neck or a long and thin scarf that hangs at your waist.

Tip 2 : A scarf doesn’t have to be highly contrasting to make a statement. Sometimes just embroideries, or contrasting tassels will do as long as it matches your outfit’s style.

Tip 3: Always make sure that the colours of the patterned scarf or plain scarf works with your skin tone and undertone. If you have yellow undertone in your skin, avoid all the cool colour, like blue greys, or cobalt blue or any colours with cool undertone.

Vice versa, if you have cool undertones, don’t wear scarves with warm orange or mustard yellow.

Not sure about your skin tone or undertone, just contact me for your full colour analysis.

Tip 4: Don’t throw a scarf on just because you have been told it lifts your outfit. It is part of your outfit so choose it carefully.

Your scarves are not just a simple piece of cloth!

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