Women's Scarves

Shape sets the limit on how a scarf can be tied. Squares fold on the diagonal and knot short at the throat or open wide over the shoulders, from bandana size at around 55cm through the middle-ground 70cm to the classic 90cm silk. Oblongs do the opposite, looping and hanging rather than folding, from skinny hair-and-handle bands to full-width stoles.

Weight then decides the season. Chiffon, modal and silk twill barely register under a collar, while wool, cashmere and mohair knits build into thick winter scarves, snoods and blanket-scale wraps that count as a layer in their own right. Prints are engineered to the square, with borders that frame the design when the scarf is open and become the visible edge once it is folded into a band, and edges are either hand-rolled and slightly raised or machine-stitched flat.