FashBlog.com

Scarves are those unusual pieces of clothing - the type that is the easiest to make and sometimes the most difficult to wear. Scarves, though they are often a simple square piece of fabric or long knitted piece, can be surprisingly expensive. Perhaps there is a scarf conspiracy out there somewhere! For many of us, scarves conjure up images of 1940s flying aces in their biplanes with a long white scarf wrapped around their necks, whipping back in the wind. Scarves also are associated with old money, The Great Gatsby, and riding in convertibles with formal wear and a scarf blowing in the breeze. Scarves can be used for many different occasions and types of dress from formal to casual, and they have many different uses.

1. Scarves are often used for warmth. Skiers and other winter athletes commonly wrap knitted scarves, also called mufflers, around their necks and faces for added warmth. These cold weather scarves can be incredible long for multiple wraps, or just long enough for one wrap around. Plus, the cold weather scarves, if made of cashmere or some other fine fabric, can hang nicely around a formal coat lapel and add pizzazz to otherwise boring and plain formal winter wear.

2. Silk, satin and other thin fabrics have long been used to make women's scarves. These types of scarves were once worn over carefully coiffed hairstyles; the scarf kept the wind and rain from damaging the fancy do. Women today still wear scarves over their hair, but scarves are also used to spice up a dress or sweater by draping it over the shoulders or knotting it at the neck. Some women even wear these scarves tied around their hair in the form of a headband or ponytail holder.

3. Scarves can be quite useful as well as ornamental. In the old west, cowboys made handkerchiefs popular. Handkerchiefs were worn around the face to protect the horseman from blowing dust and sand, and the handkerchief could be used for a variety of other things: as a rag for cleaning, a napkin at meals, a washcloth for washing the face, a tourniquet in the event of an injury, or anything else the cowboys needed. Many practical people today carry a handkerchief with them in their pockets. While most wouldn't want to use a formal silk scarf as a napkin or tourniquet, if necessary, it could prove very useful.

4. Lastly, though scarves are often used to protect a hairstyle, with the advent of certain medical treatments, they are also used now to cover or protect the head when hair is lost. Many patients, who have undergone chemotherapy or another treatment which causes the hair to fall out, find solace in colorful scarves that will cover their balding heads, keep them warm, and make them feel better about themselves during a difficult time. Scarves can range from the fancy, multicolored silk and satin scarves to simple, solid colored polyester scarves. Thankfully they have a choice and can opt for different types of scarves depending on their mood, the weather, and the occasion.