the secret life of scarves

Photo Credit : Emma McAlary

At DC Style Factory, when I shop for clients, I talk a lot about the “third piece”–the accessory or layering piece that turns a few items of clothing into an outfit. For fall, there’s no third piece more versatile than the scarf. To show off some ways to tie the wooly or just cool-looking numbers, I spent an afternoon with local illustrator/author Lauren Friedman of My Closet in Sketches, a self-confessed scarf hoarder and author of the top-selling book, “50 Ways to Wear a Scarf.” “A scarf is the exclamation point to an outfit,” she says. Here, she shows off three easy-to-do, easy-on-the-eyes looks.

Easy Drapes It
“This is what I call the Paris,” says Friedman. You simply wrap a square-ish scarf around your neck and let the ends fall casually. “It’s possibly the scarf tie I employ more than any other! It adds a casual but elegant insouciance to the sexy dress. It pretty much goes with everything.” Scarf and all clothing and accessories, Kiskadee.

Boyish Charm
Friedman also loves to borrow from the boys, which she does here via a simple knot she dubs “The Tie” “It’s just a traditional menswear knot on an oblong scarf,” she says. “It lays really beautifully next to a jacket. All clothing, Coco Blanca.

A Warm Upper
With a wooly square scarf, Friedman suggests a tie she calls “The Matron.” But clearly, the effect is the opposite of matronly. “I love this simple look for a scarf like the one we chose, a heavy, almost blanket-style shawl,” she says. “It feels really nice over the shoulders on one of those in-between fall days when you’re not quite ready for a coat. And so fetching with a baby corgi!” Scarf and bag, The Shoe Hive; clothing model’s own.