Because you can't have depths without surfaces.
Linda Grant, thinking about clothes, books and other matters.
Pure Collection Ltd.
Net-a-porter UK

Saturday 26 April 2008

Swing swing swing

Oh, and the pashmina is back, but tied a different way, apparently

Not to be confused with pashminas of yore, which were pretty and pastel and draped across shoulders, mark II is wound round the neck and dangles down the front, school-of-Burberry style, as a deliberate counterpoint to summer’s ultra-feminine ruffles fest. If you’re aiming for androgynous tailoring, the kinda-depressed pashmina will ensure you don’t look too severe. If you’re a celebrity, you could wear one with an evening dress to show you’re cool. Think of it as a new kind of necklace, but only if it helps.

Spurred on by the success of my personal pashmina odyssey these past few months, I’ve been tempted to progress onto other scarves, successful scarf-wearing being the PhD of clothes. Unless you’re Chloë Sevigny, the dowager Duchess of Devonshire, Inès de la Fressange or Marilyn Monroe prancing around nude behind a transparent scarf on a Bert Stern shoot, it’s hard to avoid looking like BA cabin crew. Still, Hermès didn’t get this far with four customers, so there must be a knack. Unfortunately, none of us in the fashion department can identify it. It would appear that on the whole, successful scarf-wearing is an innate talent, like having the ability to bite your toe nails or be French.

I was wearing my Etro scarf to tea with Joan Burstein on Tuesday in exactly this way, and she took it off me and re-tied it. I think it helps to have a long neck

The place Lisa is telling you to buy your pashmina isn't pure.co.uk, that doesn't work because it's wrong, but the link at the top of my very page! I'm going there straight away. So should you.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Please could you tell us HOW Ms Burstein retied your scarf? Preferably with pictures....thanks!

Anonymous said...

I didn't mean to be anonymous....sorry!

Susan B said...

Over the last year, I've been experimenting with scarves and disagree that it's an innate talent that can't be learned. At first it felt awkward. The trick is to just keep playing with different ways to tie them and find a few that feel right for you. Get one of the books from Hermès, or search online.

Kelly said...

Oh! I just bought my first spring/summer scarf this week. I wore it to work the next day. I was a bit uncomfortable with it at first (it felt a bit flashy; maybe my outfit wasn't the best to support it) but a friend (with much better aesthetic talents) re-draped it for me. Mine ended up close to the picture of whichever Olsen is illustrating this blog, but with more room at the neck (so it draped down and you could actually see my neck). I kept both tails in front, one a bit longer than the other so it looked more like, "oh, this old thing?" than "this is my new scarf!!!"

Gi said...

Hi Linda! I am sooooo happy to report i headed to the outlet you mentioned in Hong Kong! My jr took me there yesterday (he has to dress for a function he'll be going with me next Friday with bankers, my company is paying for the outfit and they want me to go with him). We went to the Horizon Plaza and Space (the Prada/Miu Miu outlet). I can't believe I can dress my jr. in a Hugo Boss suit, Armani dress shirt, tie and Prada shoes for under $6000 HKD!