Scarves & Wraps

Scarves for women in silk and cashmere: silk squares and skinny silk strips sized to knot at the neck, in the hair or around a bag handle, plus cashmere big enough to wear as a wrap and plaid cape ponchos with a toggle collar. The shape decides how many ways a scarf can be tied, so a square and a long strip are really different tools. Reach for a square for a neck knot or a headband, a long strip for a ponytail wrap, a narrow stripe for a knot at the collar, and cashmere or a cape when the evening turns cold.

What Is a Classy Way to Wear a Scarf?

Small, close to the face and tied with one knot, so the silk does the talking. Fold a silk square corner to corner, roll it into a band and knot it slightly off center at the side of the neck, with the tips resting just under the jaw. Skinny silks are made for smaller gestures: a short striped neck scarf ties once at the collar of a shirt, and a longer strip winds around a ponytail, dresses a bag handle or loops the neck once and still trails long ends, which keeps it working long after the season changes. A square turns into a headband in seconds, folded into a strip and tied at the nape. If a knot slips on silk, tie it twice and tuck the second knot under the fold, where nobody will see it.

How to Wear a Large Scarf as a Wrap

A cashmere scarf wide enough to open into a wrap works over a dress or under a coat. Drape it over your shoulders, bring the ends forward, cross them and tuck them under a belt or a coat lapel, and it stays put without a pin. On a cold platform or a long flight it unfolds into a light blanket, and folded lengthwise it narrows back into a neat scarf for the walk home. A plaid cape poncho does the same job without any draping: a toggle fastens at the fold-down collar, so it stays on the shoulders over a sweater on chilly days and nights. Worn long over a black coat, heather gray reads soft and espresso reads rich, which makes either as right for a weekday commute as for a slow Sunday walk with coffee in hand.

Keeping Silk and Cashmere Soft

Silk and cashmere last for years as long as they never meet heat or a wringer. Silk scarves are happiest hand washed in cold water without bleach and laid flat to dry. Press the water out between towels instead of twisting, because a wrung silk scarf creases in ways that take a long session with the iron to undo. Cashmere takes dry cleaning or a cold hand wash, then dries flat, and between wears it rests happily in a drawer with a cedar block to keep moths away. Treat them that gently and the silk keeps its sheen and the cashmere its softness, season after season, and they stay a pleasure to put on.

For the rest of a cold weather set, cashmere and alpaca beanies are in Hats & Caps, and cashmere and alpaca gloves to match are in Gloves.

Guides for Scarves & Wraps

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