Ruff Riders

It's most unlikely that the lovely Jessica Alba was consciously channeling the Elizabethans when she wrapped her scarf around her neck like a ruff. But the visual and sartorial effects are so similar. The face is framed, the neck stays warm, and a ring of color or lace above the collarbones subliminally denotes nobility.


Silly Puritan Phillip Stubbes disagreed, writing in 1583: if Aeolus with his blasts, or Neptune with his stormes chaunce to hit uppon the crafie bark of their brused ruffes, then they goe flip flap in the winde, like rags flying abroad, and lye upon their shoulders like the dishcloute of a slut. [bad idea to diss the Red Queen, Phillip!]

Anyway, if you're interested in the historical precedents for this look, there is a great visual gallery of ruffs here.

If you're interested in actually recreating an Elizabethan ruff with a ring of linen, a starch water bath and a curling iron (!), instructions are here.

If you simply want to wear one of your scarves in a fetching way, wrap it around ruff-style. The best materials for this treatment are chiffon, gauze, and cotton web (seek out army-surplus scarves--also known as scrim scarves or shemaghs), which will provide volume without weight, which, as the days warm, is exactly what you want).



(photo below, German Elle, February 2008)

New Ways to Wear Scarves for Spring: Knotting Balenciaga-style

A few months ago I was fortunate enough to find this vintage Balenciaga scarf for a shockingly low price (given his preeminent stature in fashion history). So it goes with so many vintage accessories: scarves bearing the names of great fashion houses sit around gathering dust while the (frankly less wearable) suits and dresses by the very same masters are snapped up by museums and wealthy collectors.


I don't get it, but that doesn't mean I don't profit by it. This scarf is particularly emblematic because it bears one of the hallmarks of Balenciaga's designs round about 1960--a fuschia pink bow, which appeared again and again as a flourish on his dresses and ballgowns. The bow dominates the cream ground, surrounded by a border of broken pink brushstrokes. (The design itself looks as if it might be by the hand of fashion illustrator René Gruau, who frequently collaborated with Balenciaga). The edges of the scarf are raw, which is typical of those from this house. Another point to note: Balenciaga scarves were sold only in his shops in Madrid, Barcelona, and Paris, and it's nice to think that at some point his own eyes might have glanced at this object.

I became slightly obsessed by the idea of wearing this scarf in a way that would accord with the designer's stringent eye. This meant combing the internet for images of late 50s/early 60s Balenciaga ensembles that included a scarf--and guess what, none did. I believe this is because during that period, a scarf, even of gorgeous heavy silk, fell more into the category of sportswear than city dress: worn to mainstay the coiffure on the beach or while horseback riding or driving along the coast in a convertible.

But then Myra Walker's wonderful book Balenciaga and his Legacy came to the rescue, with this photo of what I originally took to be a hat. But it's not, or not entirely--it's a low pillbox, more like a skullcap, that has been artfully trussed with a scarf of approximately the same vintage as mine.

I could do this, and you can too, given just such a molded hat and a beautiful silk scarf. Here's how:

1) halve the scarf into a triangle and set the broad end at the front of the cap.
2) loop the ends in back and knot several times
3) if the scarf has a signature that you'd like to show, foof around with the ends until it's on display as desired.

Of course you could leave out the cap and simply tie the scarf on your head without it, but if you want the sculptural quality that marked Balenciaga's work, do go for some armature underneath.



Cristóbal Balenciaga cocktail dress at top, 1958 (Photo courtesy of the Museum at FIT). Balenciaga hat, c. 1960, in Balenciaga and His Legacy, Myra Walker, 2006.

How to Wear an Autumn Shawl

So must of us are not as genetically gifted as Eniko Mihalik, caught between runway stints at the Paris shows in recent weeks. (A few seconds of blatant self-pity allowed here).

OK, snap out of it! Because no matter what our own shape, size, age, belief systems and disposable income, any one of us could rock a shawl like the girl does here. It doesn't have to be Burberry, either. It does have to be fairly large (50"/127 cm square is a good starting point). The fabric ought to be light enough to twist and drape softly: wool challis is a good bet, but silk would also look lovely.

Once you've got it, simply fold it accordian style until it's about a handspan wide, loop once around the neck, and let the ends drape comme ça over the shoulders. Eniko's shawl looks especially pretty against her bare arms but practically speaking, it would work equally well against a simple lightweight knit or quiet jacket.

How easy is that? Very easy indeed.

photo from Altamira: Models Off Duty, gorgeously photographed © Altamiranyc

More Ways to Tie a Scarf, by Vera

Here's one I just love: an innovative scarf design in a striking Op print, plus detailed instructions on how to tie it.

The scarf is from Vera. Vera Neumann was a highly esteemed and collectable print specialist, whose signature motif was her name in cursive with a little ladybug nearby. (A great history here, thank you FuzzyLizzy Vintage!) Scarves are the vintagewear most easily found today by this designer, but she also licensed her fabric to garment manufacturers--I have a wonderful white maxi in polyester jersey strewn with a garden of her flowers.

But back to the scarf. Below are the instructions on how to tie it--don't you love the labels ("First Lady" !!). Click on the image to read it more clearly . . . .


I'm on the road today, but when I get home will try to replicate the styles with one of my more traditional squares; I'm sure with a bit of finagling it will come out just fine.