Back to School Accessories

This week’s installment of what to wear fashion is about how to bridge the gap between summer and winter.  Your new school clothes are just waiting to be worn and you want to wear them but it’s still kind of warm in most parts of the country. 

So what to do?  I think you can wear a scarf with a mix of summer and fall clothes so you don’t look too much like you bought all new clothes.  Try to wear a scarf with your new jeans in the belt loops and a short sleeve shirt.  Or add your scarf to the outfit for Friday night’s game and wear it with shorts and a short sleeve cardigan.  Scarves come in a variety of prints and colors so you can get just about anything you need to make it work without spending a lot.  Scarves are a light weight accessory that you can take off or put on with little fuss instead of the sweaters.

For the Friday or Saturday fall sporting event, you can match your scarf to your school colors.  Look around for a floral that fits the colors of your school or a checkered print that will match up to what you need.  Plaids are out that will keep you in the right color family without looking like you tried too hard.  And as the evenings get cooler, you can use the scarf to keep you warm.  Fun and functional – what more do you need?

And as a busy professional, you can get a gorgeous scarf in a neutral without being boring.  Think brown and tan in a floral or cranberry leopard print scarves that flex for many other outfits.  Maybe you wear lots of black or brown (I do so I can make my outfits work) and you are in need of an accessory to bring out the fun.  If you wear lots of neutrals, try to add your favorite “other” color such as red, purple, green or pink.  Animal prints are still in demand, and plaids are going to make a bold statement this fall as well.  So get some plaids that are professional looking and soft to wear but flexible.  Stripes and checkered prints are making their way into the mainstream for the fall too. 

So whether you are a young or older woman looking for a new way to look updated, find a scarf!

The Shapes of Scarves – What’s your favorite way?

Since last week I gave you some information on what I saw at the retailer’s show, I thought I would do some more descriptive information about how scarves are available.  I find them to be very fun and interesting with the variety of colors, patterns and fabric.  Scarves make excellent gifts for family and friends because there is no size involved.  You do not have to know if they wear an XS or XL.  You can keep a few in your gift drawer.  I give them to the kids’ teachers every year, and they love them!!  Bonanzle or Ebay

Ok, basically scarves come in 3 styles – oblong, square or infinity. 

Oblong scarves are the most popular for people to wear.  Possibly because they are the easiest to find.  They come in a huge number of styles.  Scarves are made in both thin and thick fabrics – think summer vs. winter.  Scarves can be made of pashmina or cashmere fibers and mixed with silk or viscose.  Most of the lighter weight scarves are made with more viscose and silk.  The softness is similar with all of the scarves.  To find a pure pashmina scarf made from the special sheep you will pay a great deal more for.  This fall, oblong scarves continue to be popular in all kinds of magazines and fashion shows.

They are made with ruffles on the edges, ruffles down the middle and ruffles pressed into the fabric.  Scarves also come gathered or with ruching type ruffles.  I have to say the increased amount of ruffles and ruching is very complementary for the ladies who wear scarves.  You have the style of the ruffles but without having to buy a new shirt – and you can transfer to any other shirt or outfit with a lot of ease!  What more do you want?

Infinity or cowl neck scarves are very similar to the oblong scarves.  The difference being that they do not have a beginning and end, but rather are a continuous oblong material (whether knitted or cloth).  So, you can still wear them by folding in half and pulling through as the majority of oblongs are worn.  And you can wrap them around your neck and make a double loop but not have to worry that they are going to slip and slide off.  I am adding some cowl and infinity scarves to the fall line up in my stores so watch for the items as they arrive.

Square scarves 40x40 typical can be folded into a triangle and worn in a variety of ways.  The fabric for square scarves comes in cotton, viscose and silk.  I like viscose the best because it feels silky and soft and is very wearable without being hot.  I saw lots of these with print designs on them for the fall at the show in Las Vegas. 

Lots of the square scarves are styled to have tassels on the edges because of the way they are worn.  Square scarves are great neckwear accessories because they are easy to fold in half like a triangle and wear around your neck like an ascot.  School colors at a fall football game are easy to show off even under a jacket!

Scarves are available in several shapes and lots of fun to wear.  I will feature more ways to wear them in the near future.

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My 2 Days in Las Vegas at the ASD Show

On Sunday and Monday, I spent 2 days in the place where you go if you want to misbehave – Las Vegas. Maybe they don’t like me to put it that way but the tag line is “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas” so what do they expect. Except that I am going to tell you a little about what I saw there at the ASD show. The ASD show is a wholesaler to retailer show, basically where you go to find your suppliers if you sell retail or distribute. Because I have an online shop – both Ebay and Bonanzle – I went to find things for the holiday season. I was focused on looking for scarves and other related items because that’s what I love and I like learning more about.

I was amazed at the sheer number of booths and amounts of scarves. Scarves are everywhere and in all types of materials. I saw the plain oblong scarves made of various materials (commonly called a “Pashmina”) and a whole lot of print scarves. The suppliers are doing all kinds of things to the plain scarf to dress it up – they are using different sized threads, metallic threads, gathers and ruffles. Each of the ways provides a different look and I believe everyone can find a scarf that they could not live without this fall.

Some specific treatments that I liked for scarves:

1. Plaid print in various sizes. I saw Burberry plaid and houndstooth and mixed sized plaids like Tommy Hilfiger does. I found plaid to be a very popular theme throughout the show with enough variety to choose from. I bought several plaid styles in the scarves that I will be highlighting for you over the coming weeks.
2. Animal Prints were everywhere – leopard, zebra, giraffe were the most popular. I loved several that had a metallic thread running through them. The animal prints are available in so many colors and sizes to please all of us. I found some great ones with leopard print in beige with a metallic thread and zebra print in grey with a metallic thread. Love them!
3. Infinity Scarves are continuing to move up in the ranks of scarves. These scarves are created in a circular way – think of your oblong scarf sewed together at the end so it does not have an opening. Let me tell you why I love them – they are just as nice as the oblong scarves but don’t require as much fuss! Many times I saw the scarves done in both oblong and infinity. And the infinity can be worn the same as the oblong if you want. Shorter infinity scarves are coming out as well – sometimes called cowl neck scarves.

Overall, I was overwhelmed. Thanks to my husband for keeping us on track or I would have spent wayyyy too much. Watch over the coming weeks for my picks from what I got and more tips on how to wear all of the different kinds.