How should men wear a scarf?

Submitted by Mimi on Monday, 27 October 200815 Comments

I recently got an e-mail from one of my readers and he asked me a question that is very common, so I have decided to post it here:

Hello Mimi,

I like your website and visit it very often. I wish you had more posts on men, especially like the one you had on 10 essentials for men wardrobe. I have a question for you today; In an attempt to add more interest to my wardrobe I’ve decided to start wearing scarves this fall ( which I’ve never done before), but I’m not sure as to how I should be wearing them. Are there any specific ways for men to wear scarves that I should know about?

Thanks,
Nickolas, 27, NY

Hello Nickolas,
That’s actually a very interesting question and in fact many men just like yourself are not sure of the right way to wear a scarf. Back in the day, the only proper way for a gentleman to wear a scarf would be to sadly drape it around his neck, barely visible beneath the buttoned-up coat. Thankfully to the metrosexual men those days are long gone. We are witnessing a major fashion revolution where men are knotting, wrapping, twisting and looping their scarves. Let’s face it, men don’t have many accessories to play with. So why not use scarves to add an instant interest and color to your outfit. I personally wish more men would wear scarves because they are just like a dress shirt, every man can look good in one and it also adds a definite charm and sex appeal. Read on to learn how to pick and wear the right scarf.

-    The first step is to make sure that the scarf is somewhat matching the rest of your outfit, otherwise it will just look wrong.
-    Buy colorful scarves to inject some color into your life. But if you are too scared of color begin with a good quality grey cashmere scarf. It is very stylish and will go with everything.
-    Long is good, because if it’s too short you want be able to wrap it

Here are some of the basic ways to wear a scarf. There are many other variations of wearing them, but it should all depend on your comfort level and creativity. Begin with the basics and see where that takes you:

Classic Flip

Wrap around your neck and then fling one end of the scarf over one shoulder and leave the other one hanging.

guy-scarf

The Parisian Knot

Fold the scarf lengthwise, then drape it around your neck and insert the loose end through the loop. Voila!

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Loose Double Flip

You can wrap the scarf around your neck once or twice and drape it loosely.

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Loose Once Around Knot

Drape the scarf around your neck and allow one end to be longer than the other. Take the long end and bring it around your neck and let it fall over your chest. Loosen the knot afterwards or if you have a shorter scarf you can keep it tight.
guy-scarf-3

Traditional way

Many men still wear the scarf in a traditional way by just draping it over the neck.

guy-scarf-2

Modern Knot
Just make a small knot at the back of your neck and let the scarf hang at your chest.
guy-scarf-6

15 Comments »

Amanda said:

Oh, I can never get my bf to wear scarves. I’m going to show him this post. He better listen this time! haha…Thanks Mimi!

- 28 October 2008 at 3:00 pm

Jay said:

I always wore my scarf the traditional way until my gf kept telling me that it’s boring. I think I might just start doing the Parisian style .. it doesn’t look to boring!

Great Post btw…

- 29 October 2008 at 2:03 pm

Andre Tehrani said:

Hey Mimi!

Thank you for the scarf you bought for my birthday! It’s totally stylish and goes with everything i have to wear… i didn’t know you had a whole article about how you can style your scarves… this article totally helped me out in completing my wardrobe =) your the best

- 22 November 2008 at 11:13 pm

Alex said:

I truly think this is one of the best posts on how to wear a scarf on the web. Love it! Good work Mimi… and you should definitely do more posts on guys.

- 30 December 2008 at 2:37 am

Keenan said:

Great article…I’ve always loved scarves and worn them Parisian style without knowing if I was “wearing them right”. You’ve given me some great options to consider when putting on a scarf in the morning.

- 11 July 2009 at 1:28 am

chechmonk said:

I am sad! there are no pictures to go with the different styles

- 3 August 2009 at 1:19 am

Mark said:

Thanks for re-adding the pictures! Very helpful article.

- 11 October 2009 at 2:45 pm

Terry said:

Hi there, is it ok to wear a scarf outside of a winter coat?

- 18 November 2009 at 3:20 am

rama said:

this is very good thread….
thanks for the description above…actually i have been looking for this topic since i thought to decide wearing scarf as one of my accessories on my wardrobe. But, in the first time i feel uncomfortable just because i don’t really confident with my way to wear it, and now i know how to make creative way for that…

HUGE THANKs BRo….

^^

- 28 November 2009 at 5:27 am

Claudio said:

hey there!!! i have being looking everywhere for a post like this one is far the best of all!!! great job!!! really helpful!!

- 29 November 2009 at 12:42 pm

namine said:

Okay, I just totally found this post! I am sooo excited to show Mr. it! He has been asking me about Scarfs recently and now i have an answer for him! I am totally going out and buying him some cashmere scarfs. Probably start off with simple grays, like you said until he gets use to it!!
I am so excited!

- 4 January 2010 at 11:59 am

bruno said:

Nice post…finally got to see the Parisian properly. Oddly, however, I’m starting to hum show tunes…oh my!! Help, Mimi!!

- 16 February 2010 at 12:31 pm

Kev said:

I had a modern knot on today on a black and grey scarf and overheard a few women a few feet away from me say it was too feminine… Geez give us a break ladies… we’ve been holding on to the slacks and dress shirt since the prehistoric ages, at least we’re trying right…?

- 22 February 2010 at 10:35 pm

Mike said:

Thanks for the different ways! I would assume it also depends on the type of scarf. Otherwise you will get a very bulky jumble or a very loose scarf wrapped just waiting to fall off.

I usually stick to the popped coat collar with wearing the scarf the traditional way but I might actually try out the Parisian knot. That makes me think of happy.

- 25 March 2010 at 6:39 pm

richy said:

i wanna know that how long ( cm ) scarf should man that very tall like 180 or 185 should wear? and about his weight mayb 80 – 90 kg.
thx 4 ya answer……

- 8 May 2010 at 12:08 pm