How to Style Your New Bag with Scarves
Add some style to your favorite companion
Your new bag now stands proudly among other wardrobe assets ready to be styled many imaginative ways, with casual and dressed-up versions of your very distinctive style. Each one of us has an individual stamp of originality placed on our daily and special-occasion looks. Fashionistas achieve uniqueness through unexpected combos and details. Pick a great scarf – that usually works as neckwear or headgear – and tie it on your bag, as your personal touch and way to stand out from the crowd. It all starts from the bandanas some girls use to tie around their carryon’s handle, making it more recognizable at the port or airport when traveling. These tiny accessories are like your identification card. They can reveal your mood, preferences, and attitude. Globetrotters are taking the concept to the next level, mixing scarves with their business trip weekenders and stylish all-purpose handbags.
One Bag, Many Styles
Scarves are currently trending because they update your purse in seconds and at a low cost. Increase your bag’s versatility by adding new purse scarves into the mix. With smart styling, you can make your bag work with more clothes and accessories in your wardrobe. A scarf can infuse your purse with the color that is missing so that it pairs well with your dress or shoes. It can also change it from an urban-chic accessory to a bohemian one. Tied into a knot, the scarf gives a sophisticated tone; while fastened like a bow, it captures your playfulness. Pick scarves in an array of motifs, colors, and effects that correspond to different occasions, settings, or hours of the day. Play with timeless prints such as polka dots or stripes, and incorporate highly convenient monochrome or bi-color ones such as the Reeve.
The Right Bag
Top-handle purses are ideal because you can secure your scarf on a fixed short handle easier than on a longer one. Having said that, street style stars love to tie a scarf on the base of shoulder straps too, which preferably applies to bucket bags like the Val and totes like the Elaine.
Opt for vegan leather handles, especially those crafted from suede-like material or textured leather, so that the scarf doesn’t slip from its original position. Weave it into a large-scale chain strap or loop it around hardware, including buckles, hoops, rings, and eyelets. You can even wrap it around the flap of a satchel, as many fashionistas do, or let it loose to create the so-called ‘waterfall’ effect. Be creative about anchoring it from different spots in the bag; be ready to break the rules.
Top-Handle Purse-Scarf Styling
As we already explained, handbags are on top of our list for this creative experiment. Beginners in the bag styling game can kick it off with our 4 leading suggestions. We picked as an example the Jolie bag because it has a structured envelope silhouette, a steady short handle, and a flap with a firm hasp closure. Our girly iteration involves a bow-tied scarf on the handle’s most visible end. Our virtuoso styling comes down to a scarf twisted and folded tight around the handle and secured with a small, sleek knot on its ‘feet.’ Variations to that include folding it more casually, or using a longer scarf and letting its ends hanging loose. Our fashionable way would entail wrapping the scarf around the flap and tying it on its exposed side like a turban. A braided scarf starting from the handle’s one buckle, tangling in-between like a necklace over the flap and secured with a perfect knot on the other, is a bonus idea.
Ideal Scarf Sizes
In our 4 styling recommendations, we used a relatively small scarf such as the square Tatiana, which is 27.5"x27.5"/70x70cm when stretched and 21.5"x21.5"/55x55cm when crinkled (its default state). We love the crimped effect of this scarf, combined with its subtle sheen. It comes in 5 charming pattern/color combos that increase your options. For a classic look, add to your collection the Leslie scarves featuring a timeless striped motif on a silky texture. Each scarf exudes a unique vibe. Be flirty with the Paola leopard-print scarf, which is also 27.5"x27.5"/ 70x70cm in dimensions and will generously be twisted around the handle. Twist or fold such ‘squares’ diagonally to get the maximum length. Create a triangular shape and fold its 90-degree tip into its base to produce a slim strip of fabric. Braid them together for a maximalist touch. For a bow and a feminine look, you can also use an elongated scarf like the Obi with a heart-shaped print and straight ends (38.5"x3.75"/ 98x9.5cm) or the Canto with a calligraphic print and notched ends (34"x4.3"/ 87x11cm).
Celebrities & Trends
A-listers such as Jennifer Anniston, Jessica Simpson, and Eva Longoria have done it in the 00s, yet it seems that scarves-on-bags are again trending since last summer. It might allude to the carefree spirit of a getaway or the idea that busy women need an extra day-to-evening accessory embedded in their bags, which doubles as headscarf or neck scarf or face mask depending on the weather and their on-the-go needs. A scarf can also be protective of the area it is covering. Handles and straps are subject to lots of wear & tear, and scarves can surely extend their lives. Fashion week attendees from all over the world are bringing this trend back, and undoubtedly celebrities will follow soon.
