When I was a teenager there were only three reasons why a woman would wear a silk scarf. The first would be knotting it under the chin in order to impersonate the Queen; the second - to cover up a love bite; and the third (probably a long crinkly number) was an acceptable stylistic import following a French exchange programme. Muriel, my exchange, insisted on wearing hers in a neat puffed up triangle with a pleated skirt and a prim little blouse. That was when myself, scarves and Muriel parted company proving how cruel and impulsive teenagers can be.

This season, there seems to be real promise in silk scarves again - sufficient even to overcome my teenage "block". At Gucci, Frida Giannini featured the house's famous print silks tightly tied under denim military jackets and kimono-shaped tops with ends flaring out at the sides. At Saint Laurent, Hedi Slimane accessorised each and every one of his Seventies era groupie looks with a long strip of printed chiffon; it was a similar affair over atTommy Hilfiger too, while Tom Ford employed black silk scarves as chokers. Scarf-wearing options abound, from neckerchiefs to long, thin Jimi Hendrix-like; you can sport them as a turban; wrapped around a bag handle; as a belt, gently draped across the shoulder line, or tied into an off-centre bow.

 

"My mum gave me an amazing collection of Sixties and Seventies silk scarves," says Kelly Wearstler, the LA-based interior and accessory designer. "I wear them and my own hand-painted versions tied around my neck as a neckerchief, or loop, or knotted in a bow, belted over jeans, or as cover-ups on the beach. I'm especially inspired by how women wore scarves in the Seventies; as hats and hair accessories."

 

Read more over at UK Vogue

 

 

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