The Skinny Scarf - how to wear

Guaranteed to SKINNIFY you, the skinny scarf is a MUST for winter 2016.

And on the runways: 

Chloe AW 2015/16

Chloe AW 2015/16

Prada AW 2014/15

Will you be trying this trend?

Scarf tying anyone can do. Easily.

Scarves are an easy accessory to wear. But many women find them intimidating. They don't need to be. Seriously. 

For beginners, rectangle shapes are easier to style than silk squares. Those silk squares can be very intimidating & I speak from personal experience. I was buying them in droves & it took me years to start wearing them. 

TIP: The easiest way to wear a rectangle is slung over your shoulders & hanging down on either side of your neck. 

Do it in cashmere, wool, linen, cotton but please try to stay away from viscose or polyester. 

Today I tried on a blue & yellow linen rectangle at a budget chain called W Lane. I had previously noticed linen scarves in their store, so I thought a proper investigation was warranted today. 

This baby was more vivid in colour than the photo implies.
She has animal print on the narrow ends.

She is 100% line, $35 and hand washable. 

I really liked this baby and blues like me. 
But her yellows are my worst shade. On the other hand, winner winner chicken dinner, most of the yellows were on the ends. The ends were an animal print. My complexion was reasonably safe. 

Happy happy. 

Then I looked in the mirror at the overall impression. I wore her the most basic way - over my shoulders & hanging down either side of my neck. Like this. 

She's an Oscar for the best east-west eye movement by a scarf in an Alexander McQueen chiffon. She is a square but will work just as well with a rectangle. 

This way of "tying" creates lots of vertical eye movement along the wearer's torso lengthwise. That's code for talling & slimming. Too easy. Great words, huh? 

But when I tried the W Lane, my eye continued downwards. Horror of horrors, she was the ideal length for the animal print section to sit just perfectly along my hips/tummy. That meant there was east-west eye movement - shorting & fattening. Plus the yellow was the brightest colour - even more shortening & fattening.

If I had a big bust & small hips, she would have been perfect. Alas. 

Now while I have your attention, every scarf even with the most basic "tie" creates eye movement. Whether this is good or bad depends on your height & body shape. 

This scarf brings the eye upward but also makes you look you are being eaten up. By something big & plaid. It's kind of like the plaid blob eye movement look.  

This next one tends to have more east-west eye movement but it also brings the eye upward. 

Here is the best north-south eye movement which a scarf can create. The even print makes it easy on the rest of the body too. Unlike my yellow/blue W lane number. 

Here's one which is tied in a mass of knots - it's not as fancy or hard as it looks. The wearer is clever enough to tie the knots in a vertical pattern. Best for medium weight scarves like cotton or linen. 

Here is the latest scarf trend thanks to Christopher Bailey at Burberry. This will work with a large square in a fine wool or linen or cotton or a rectangle. 

Note the belt though - that's east-west if ever I've seen it. 

Make sure you stand back & look at your overall image in a full length mirror to decide what works for you. 

Here is another contender for Best East-West eye movement. It didnt win though, because it's quite a large square and the fabric around the upper body creates a bit of horizontal tango.  

Scarves are so easy to wear. But step back & look in the mirror to make sure they are behaving the way you want them to. 

Meet Maureen - Lunching at Macquarie Centre

Style into Action met Maureen at Sydney's Macquarie Centre on the day when the fashion wing was opened.

SIA was checking out Uniqlo and Maureen was waiting for a girlfriend, to have lunch. 

You can't help but notice a lady with her sense of style. 
I knew if I didnt tap her on the shoulder for a photo, I'd regret it. 

What works about this look?  

1. The top & pants are basics in a neutral shade of black - no bells & whistles. They are your foundations.

2. The hero piece is the animal scarf. Nothing competes with this. It provides the joie de vivre. 

3. The bag is Kate Spade - a really sharp tote whose cream stitching nods to the animal print. It's grown up yet youthful. It's in immaculate condition. 

4. Cute patent black flats with a bow. 

5. Fine jewellery (rings, earrings) which complete the look. 

5. A candy pink mani & hair which sits just so. 

Maureen's look is quite easy to replicate at any price. 

If you don't suit black or warm tones, you can tweak it to another dark neutral base and a cool toned scarf. Too easy!  
  

Pilling - myths and truths

Generally, cheap stores tell customers that pilling is a 

normal characteristic of wool/cotton sweaters. 

This is incorrect. 

Pilling is a normal characteristic of CHEAP sweaters.

On the plus side, pilling can be removed quite easily although on a cheap sweater this may need to be done frequently. 

You get what you pay for strikes again. 

Pilling is when the sweater develops small fuzzy balls of its fibres, on its surface. 

Usually if a garment is susceptible to pilling this will occur relatively quickly once it is worn several times. Issues with the fibres of the yarn will usually become apparent quickly. Generally a garment that has not shown signs of pilling in the early stages will look good for years to come.

Why does pilling occur?

There are a number of variables which contribute to pilling. Being a natural fibre, every batch of wool is different and may attract varying reasons of why it may pill. 

Before we start, let's go back to basics.

1. The sheep is shorn.

2. The fibre that is shorn off the sheep is called the staple.

3. A spun fibre has the ends of the staples wrapped all around it all along its length. The ends of the staples are not restricted to the ends of the spun fibre.

The concept of the staple and the spun fibre applies also to cotton and other natural fibres even though they may derive from plants rather than animals. 

Pilling also occurs on acrylic sweaters, however I am not going to waste energy analysing the cheap of the cheap. 

But now that we know the basics, let's get to the nitty gritty. 

Why does pilling occur?

1. Friction with the ends of the staple. 

This is the main factor by far.

The better the ends are tucked into the spun fibre, the less pilling that will occur.  

Basically, pilling is caused when the ends of the staple are disturbed/bruised etc. So the more exposed the ends are, the more pilling that occurs. Pilling is not caused at the length of the staple. 

But the real kicker is the length of the staple. 

The longer the staple, the better it integrates/tucks into the yarn when spun, ensuring it is well meshed into the yarn and less likely for fibre ends to protrude. A long fibred clean yarn will perform well when worn and washed.

No surprises, the longer the staple, the more expensive the yarn & the more expensive the sweater. Short staples are cheaper than long staples. 

A high street brand will never tell you that they use cheap yarn with short staples. But they do. That's the main reason the sweater is affordable. 

2. The dying process 

Dying colours into yarns and fabrics is very stressful on the fibres and its structural properties. High temperatures are used to get the dyes to take and sometimes this can make the fibres brittle and to break into shorter fibres. Darker colours are often dyed at higher temperatures and can sometimes be more prone to pilling.

3. Knit structure 

The stitch used in creating a fabric is important in assisting the durability of the yarn. A tight flat fabric stitch has less surface area and results in less pills/snags and overall protects the yarn fibres. 

Conversely a loose and boldly textured fabric is more susceptible as it is more exposed with a larger surface area. This issue can be particularly frustrating for designers as looser textured fabrics are more fashionable and demanded by the consumers. This becomes a delicate balance of fashion over function.

4. Body placement

Depending on the area of the body, wear and tear of a garment can also encourage a garment to pill. Repetitively worn areas such as under the arms, over the breasts or on the sides and hips are high frequency pilling areas. Continual irritation slowly unseats the yarn structure and rubs the fibres out of the fabric.

5. Laundering

The use of unapproved detergents and harsh irritating wash cycles can be harmful to the woollen fibre. Detergents can break down the fibres and make them brittle resulting is long fibres breaking and becoming short. Short fibres tend to come loose of the yarn and migrate to the surface of the garment.

How to manage pilling?

Pilling looks unsightly. It kills a looks every time. Luckily there are ways to manage it.

1. Those battery operated gizmos at supermarkets

2. A pumice stone

3. Razor blades

I have seen people use naked razor blades run over 

the surface of the knit - I wouldn't recommend that due to

the danger of cutting the fibres (as well as the pills). Truly 

scary stuff.

4. Look after your clothes

The better you look after the garment, the less the fibres will

bruise and the less the pilling will occur.

In summary

* The main factor contributing to pilling is the length of the fibre when it is harvested from the animal/plant. 

* Longer lengths mean the ends are tucked in better and less friction occurs with those ends. 

* Less friction with the ends means less pilling. 

* Longer lengths means more expensive garments.

* You get what you pay for strikes again. 

A million ways to tie a Camilla kaftan

The scene is Chatswood Chase on a busy Saturday.
SIA visits her usual haunts (DJs, Entity, Witchery, the newsagent, Bijoux, Trenery, Country Road) then is looking around for a cafe to have a cuppa.

Then she notices an explosion of colour and print. 
Its a store almost tucked away in a corner near DJs.
Its a Camilla store.

We were talking about Camilla on the Style into Action Facebook page during the week, so it was mandatory to check it out in detail. For research purposes of course.

The store is a lifestyle store - all collections, accessories, the whole lot. It started life as a pop up store. The intention is to move to better digs asap. 

A lady was buying a zebra stripe Round Neck Kaftan with its colour & bling concentrated around the neckline. Here it is at the Aussie Mercedes Benz SS 2013/14 Fashion week in April 2013

Camilla Animalia Round Neck Kaftan

Style into Action tends to be a neutral girl & loves black/navy & not too much colour. If any kaftan is likely to appeal to her, this is it. 

In the mean time, SIA is browsing & keeping an ear on the conversation where the SA is talking to the client about ways to wear the kaftan. The good thing about this is that SIA doesnt miss a beat and can report everything back to her readers. The questionable thing is that SIA is incredibly nosy. No apologies. its all in the name of research. 

In the blink of an eye, the SA, Kristen (I hope I have their names the right way around) has popped the round neck kaftan on (from the rack, not the customer's one) & it wasnt a round neck anymore. It was strapless & tied at the back. Very cool trick. But it was real. Not a trick.

When the client left with her new kaftan, the SAs, Kristen & Charlotte (SATC parallel universe in a Camilla store) are happy to chat. 

About the versatility of Camilla Kaftans.

Here is the You Tube video with 12 ways to tie the Round Neck Kaftan.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLbv3CLWiFs

Next we talk about the Drawstring Kaftan. 

Speaking of the drawstring, both the SAs, Kirsten & Charlotte are wearing it. Different print but identical piece. 

Notice the knots close to the hem of Charlotte's Chuspa kaftan? SIA loves this detail.

Kristen (left) is wearing the Bamboo Avenue print. Its tucked into her knickers.
Charlotte is wearing her kaftan backwards. 

Then you ask them to change their ties & show me a different look....about 20 seconds later, here are the results:

Charlotte has her kaftan tied into her bra and she
is still wearing it backwards. Too funny!

Kristen's kaftan is knotted at the lower back. 

The girls are gorgeous - terrific brand ambassadors.

In case you're wondering, the tassel earrings worn by Kristen are $20.

Finally here is the video with about a million ways to tie the Drawstring Kaftan.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThFlzQh50yU

Camilla's kaftans are not cheap. But you get what you pay for. Silk, amazing prints & colours, Swarovski crystals and clever clever ways to tie. 

Of course, the store has more than just kaftans. A whole range of pieces including jumpsuits, jackets, tops, bottoms and many styles of the kaftans.

There is even a diffusion range, Beachhouse. It has a similar feel with less bling and its fabrics arent silk. So its more affordable and yet still Camilla-esque. SIA approves. 

SIA also approves of the carpets (with Designer Rugs - samples on the bottom right of the photos), the accessories. Heck, SIA approves of everything. This is one smart & beautiful brand.

FInally SIA approves of the fact that Camilla has carved out a niche for herself and is one of the few Australian designers who is original. 

You really have to go to a Camilla lifestyle store to appreciate the breadth of what she does. Really gorgeous stuff.  

A huge thank you to both Kristen and Charlotte for being terrific sports modelling their kaftans as well as being super helpful with all my questions. I hope I have your names the right way round. If not, I am so mesmerised by your product, that I got confused. Apologies lovelies. 

10 Ways to rock a head scarf

A head scarf is a strong statement.
It is a huge look at the moment.
If you try any of these looks, I guarantee you, that you will feel amazingly liberated & empowered.
I have made sure to include low-key looks for those of you who think I have lost my mind. 
After all, if its good enough for baby Disick, its good enough for you. 

1 (a). complete coverage - pattern

Kourtney's leggings look like pantihose, but
baby Penelope rocks the headscarf trend.

Add extra large hoop earrings for extra large attitude.

Hermes

Hermes

A very exotic look on J Lo & she could be having the
 worst bad hair day & we would never know. 

Get the colours right for your complexion & sit back & let the compliments roll in.

Ashley going for a tribal/Arab look

Khloe rocking McQueen's skull scarf - love the folding on this baby

Kourtney doing the turban look

On the runway, the turban style gets a lift with monochrome flowers

This one's cheeky, don't you think?

1 (b). complete coverage - solid

Complete coverage is a bold move. 

Make it a solid & it gets bolder. 

The only requirement is that the colour flatters you like there's no tomorrow.

Even a piece of fabric from Lincraft will do.
A jersey us best, so it will hug your head.

Working the large round earrings.

Simplicity on the head allows the neck to take centre stage.

2 (a). the babushka - front knot

This look demands a 50s car.

Good thinking Agent 99.

How much do we love every element of this?

in Hermes

Audrey

same scarf as below

same scarf as above

Tied ever so lightly 

Deliberate sloppy tie

Runway

2 (b). the babushka - back knot

Vegetables optional but preferable

Clipped at the back part way along the edge with the corners hanging loose

padded babooshka on QEII - not sure how she does this, but it looks great

The McQueen headscarf is a classic.

3. the headband 

Mixed prints

Simple sports luxe

Softened with a pastel sweater

Working the period look

A Missoni will always work beautifully

Plisse

Boho girl

Ikat prints also say boho girl

Beach babes- one knot is more than enough

4. the headband - bow/knot in front

Satin, velvet, lace. take your pick for evening.

The Olsens working an evening headscarf during the day.

Soft florals

I think John is trying to be relaxed & boho - but
all I see are two head scarves & a very confused look

If you are low key in your style, you cant go past Eva's look. Her subtle
animal headscarf finishes the look off stylishly. 

Another low maintenance head scarf look by Eva.
Everything except the glasses & scarf are very plain.
It works beautifully.

Another easy look from Eva with the tee & headscarf laying with similar colours. 

Super easy again- jeans, white tee, plain tote & a bright printed headscarf. 

Cute knot, yes?

Bad ass with polka dots

Add a brooch, but not on  your best scarf - you wont be able to remove
the holes & the scarf will most likely have some pulls.

Colour bomb

5. the multi knot head scarf

6. the animal ears head scarf

The Daschund

The rabbit

7. ribbon scarf

Get the colour right & it's a stunning look.

Very cute, yes?

You can work animal into any look

8. the transforming headscarf

Tarty to sweatheart

Daisy Duke to playful

Librarian ro Sweet

9. the bohemian silk head scarf

Large dangly earrings, messy hair, natural make up.

Festival scarves demand a very relaxed look - but deliberate relaxed,
not uncontrolled relaxed.
Although it can look uncontrolled, it mustn't actually be.

Eva mixes ikat & tribal -boho to the max.

Eva rocking boho mixed prints

Dolce & Gabbana - high end & clashing boho

10. the status head scarf

Hermes

Missoni

Pucci

Fit for a princess - Charlotte!

Chanel - this may be 4-5 scarves & may take some help to do!