A Long Scarf is the Insider-Favourite Styling Hack to Instantly Elevate Your Summer Event Looks

Generally it’s the easiest of styling tweaks that really maketh the look. Working example for summer season 2025 is the thin scarf, which road fashion stars and A-listers alike have been utilizing to raise their eveningwear. Whether or not it’s Leighton Meester pairing her strapless Elie Saab robe with a complementary black scarf on the Display screen Actors Guild Awards in April, or Rosie Huntington-Whiteley accessorising her white swimsuit with an identical scarf on the similar designer’s present in January, skinny scarves are all over the place.

It’s a glance that has its origins in Diana, Princess of Wales lore—as so many fashion myths do. Again in 1987, the princess attended the Cannes Movie Pageant sporting a pale blue Catherine Walker strapless costume, which she accessorised with an extended scarf from the identical cloth. Presumably an try to minimize the risqué-ness of a shoulder-baring look, it was reportedly impressed by one more well-known royal style second—when Grace Kelly, then nonetheless an actress, wore an identical fashion for To Catch A Thief.

(Picture credit score: Getty Photographs)

Quick-forward to 2023, and stars like Laura Harrier and Elle Fanning had been referencing the look throughout their very own La Croisette appearances, with the fashion slowly filtering right down to this yr’s Award Season crimson carpet, when Meester and Mikey Madison each accessorised with a thin scarf of their very own.

(Picture credit score: Getty Photographs)

For stylist Serena Crawley, it’s simple to see why the lengthy scarf is so standard proper now. “Lengthy silk scarves provide actual versatility and class,” she says. “They’re additionally extremely sensible. For instance, in case you’re attending a proper occasion like a church wedding ceremony and wish to add a contact of modesty with out resorting to a jacket or cardigan within the warmth, an extended silk scarf is a trendy resolution. Then, when the occasion begins, whip it off and tie it in your hair or round your wrist.”

One model which has turn out to be a go-to for skinny scarves is Rixo, that first began making its vintage-inspired variations just a few seasons in the past following buyer demand. “We first began utilizing previous cuttings and tying them across the neck on shoots to create our blended print appears,” explains co-founder Orlagh McCloskey.

(Picture credit score: Rixo)

“We had so many purchasers asking for scarves that we determined to launch our first one, Alexa. From there now we have constructed out completely different styles and sizes to put on a number of methods—as a high, in our hair and round our luggage. They actually assist create a glance and might make your outfit really feel fairly completely different with a straightforward accent. We now have our Nara, Julien and Yelina kinds in a variety of various prints.”

Scarves are additionally a serious bridal pattern this yr. As wedding ceremony attire turn out to be extra minimalist and streamlined, fashionable brides are selecting to raise their look by including a timeless accent that gives just a little little bit of drama.

“Bridal scarves are having a serious renaissance,” shares Ally Voss, founding father of bridalwear model Clover London. “They’re the proper accent to throw on over a naked décolletage that may fully remodel a bridal look. Our Aster fashion is in a light-weight crinkle chiffon, which provides a contact of texture that I like towards the stable silk of coarse robes.”

So, learn how to put on one your self? “Probably the most easy technique to look stylish is to completely match the color of your scarf to your outfit,” says Crawley. “This monochromatic strategy feels timeless and polished. For a barely extra elevated look, select a shawl in the identical color household however a special shade—assume a tonal ombré of blues or oranges. It will add depth and curiosity to your outfit whereas nonetheless wanting cohesive. Feeling daring? Combine and match prints. The bottom line is to echo a minimum of one color out of your outfit within the scarf. This tiny element helps pull the entire look collectively, creating intentionality and connection.”

When it comes to the way you tie it, there are countless choices. “For a basic eveningwear look, drape your scarf throughout your collarbone and let it fall dramatically down your again,” suggests Crawley. “This creates an open house in your décolletage that feels surprisingly recent and fashionable—particularly when worn with a strapless costume. When sporting a halter-neck costume, strive tying the headscarf in a small knot or bow behind your neck, letting the size of the headscarf path down your again. By doing this, you received’t disrupt the form of the halter, which might look messy in case you put on the headscarf within the extra conventional approach.”

What’s extra, it’s also possible to use your scarf as a intelligent styling hack in case you’re self-conscious about your tummy. “Merely wrap the headscarf round your neck with one finish hanging down the again and the opposite down the entrance,” shares Crawley. “The gentle, vertical line visually breaks up the torso and provides a delicate layer of protection.”

And also you don’t even want to purchase a shawl to do it. As style hybrids turn out to be ever extra standard (hey, cape trenches) the headscarf costume has turn out to be one of many best methods to undertake the pattern this yr— whether or not they’re in-built or separates which you can fashion as you want, with designers together with Khaite, Me+Em and Esse Studios all providing their very own take. That’s a wrap.

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