Neckwear: scarves and shawls

How do you stay snug and glam through the winter? Think scarves and shawls. Not only do they protect you from the cold; they also add style to your clothes. In step with your personality and the latest trends, find out how to cover up and look great.

 

Ethical and ethnic
How can you combine a good deed with fashion? Ethical fashion of course! And seeing as the ethnic look is in next season, go for fabrics from all over the world to keep the cold out.

• Boubou
  Authentic African fabric in colourful prints.
  Who wears it well? The models in the latest Benetton ads.
  How is it worn? Wind around your neck and over your shoulders as many times as you want. Note that the style is definitively relaxed but at the height of fashion.
  What is it worn with? Either create a chic, sober look, or go all-out with the ethnic look. In the latter case, wear boubou with whatever takes your fancy: earrings, long necklaces and bead bracelets. If it’s really cold, team with a soft woolly rasta hat.
• Keffiyeh
  It’s comeback time for the keffiyeh, a traditional Arab headress, worn in a rock rather than an Oriental style.
  Who wears it well? 80s rockers did!
  How is it worn? One way only: folded then wrapped round once, with the angle covering the neckline and the two ends hanging down.
  What is it worn with? Wear with slim jeans or high-waisted flared trousers. Wear with a leather aviator jacket or rocker jacket. Keep your accessories feminine but still very rock’n’roll: leather gloves, slightly bling bracelets, and a Borsalino hat positioned on loose hair.

• Silk headscarves
  Not just reserved for the aristocracy, the headscarf can be worn with a lot of colour and even comes in African patterns.
  Who wears it well? Grace Kelly did in To Catch a Thief (and Bridget Jones tried).
  How is it worn? Always worn in a classic way, tied and tightened around the neck with the little knot on the side.
  What is it worn with? Nothing too classic, otherwise 50s retro. Baby-doll dresses and boots, white shirts, pencil skirts and heels, jeans and oversized sweaters these are good combinations with a silk headscarf. And accessory-wise, go for retro earrings, tie another headscarf to the handle of a brightly coloured oversized bag, and don't forget your retro leather gloves.
• Pashminas
  Careful with your choice of pash - you don't want to look like your gran.
  Who wears it well?
  How is it worn? Thrown around your shoulders to cover your bust like a cape, one end hanging round the back and the other outside the front of your coat.
  What is it worn with? Anything as a general rule, but pashminas go particularly well with your most original items (black capes, little embroidered overcoats or even large parkas with a fur collar). Go for low-cut sweaters, straw-coloured dresses, high-waisted and narrow trousers. For accessories, think chic, shocking and girly, with vintage ankle boots or heels.

• Tagelmust
  A more detailed version of the traditional black and white keffiyeh. Go for an orange or navy one embroidered with bronze yarns.
  Who wears it well? All the top models from Balenciaga's latest catwalk show.
  How is it worn? In the same way as the keffiyeh, it should cover the chest and its sides should hang over your shoulders.
  What is it worn with? All next season's must-haves! Flesh-coloured outfits, long dresses, bright print T-shirts, vertical stripes… Choose a narrow-cut coat or a short jacket and accessorise with ethnic jewellery, ballet pumps or vintage boots.
• Big woolly scarves
  The bigger, thicker and longer the better!
  Who wears it well? Trendy Londoners.
  How is it worn? Throw around your neck and shoulders as many times as you want. It should be worn very high and cover your ears.
  What is it worn with? Basic but studied, so you don't look too casual. A long beige trench coat nipped in at the waist worn over a pencil skirt for work, or over a large wool sweater, a short jacket and black leggings. Add a feminine touch with big earrings and fantasy rings.

• Tye and dye shawls
  Get ahead with the tye and dye trend and get hold of a fringed silk shawl from a second-hand shop.
  Who wears it well? Half-British actress and singer Charlotte Gainsbourg in the new Gérard Darel campaign.
  How is it worn? Wrapped around the neck once, with both sides hanging low over your chest.
  What is it worn with? Wear casually thrown over a white or white/blue striped shirt, with dungarees or boot-cut high-waisted jeans. Go for minimalist accessories like a fine gold bracelet and a long bead necklace. Tall, flat boots in calf-skin suede and a simple brown saddle bag also work well.