February 07th, 2020

This is the bag in the closet that I keep my scarves in. Yes it's true, I do not neatly fold my scarves when I put them away.  I just gob them up and shove them into this bag.  And also yes I said scarves, plural.  I have more than one.  In fact, I have quite a few.  I really like scarves.  I wear them often.  And in all sorts of different ways.

When we travel, especially by plane, I make darned sure that I have one in my giant travel purse.  Not as a fashion statement (me?  Fashion?  As if!)  But as an extra layer of warmth. I am always freezing cold on an airplane!   Some of my scarves are large enough (or perhaps I am small enough) to be used as a blanket.   Just that one little extra layer of warm is perfect.  And for something that is not at all bulky or fuzzy, they are surprisingly warm.

If I'm all gussied up to go out some place fancy schmancy,  a scarf can be used as a shawl.    Just that nice little cover up for over my shoulders.  And, bonus points, it has a bit of an elegant look to it.  If I'm wearing a dress and I slap on a pair of heels and a shawl and I'm ready for almost anything.

The reason this whole "scarf" thing comes up at all today, is that I've recently noticed, that when I do wear one of my scarves - which again is fairly often - people notice.  Some of them remark on the scarf. Some just......notice in a rather obvious sort of way. Which in turn makes me notice that other people kind of...don't.  Wear Scarves I mean.

Have they fallen out of favour and I just wasn't paying attention?  Not that it matters.  I do what I like regardless.  If I have ever been in style, I promise you, it was an accident.

Now I'm not talking about winter scarves.  Those are practically universal.  When I lived in cold places I had lots of those.  Fuzzy ones, furry ones, flannel ones, chunky woven ones, all sorts of colours and they were just essential to winter survival in a cold place.  Every man, woman and child that I knew in those states owned at least one.

This is different.  These scarves are lightweight, floaty, almost ephemeral.  While they can and do provide that nice little ward against an air conditioned chill in the summer and a buffer from a brisk wind in winter, we no longer have the extreme cold temperatures that we did in Colorado or New England.  Mostly, I wear them, just because.

When I was a kid, every female owned a scarf or two that weren't created for winter warmth.    Mostly they were silky squares as opposed to the giant scarves I own now. Girl-people of all ages would wear them tied around our necks in a jaunty sort of way,  or instead of a ribbon on our pony tails.  We wore them to keep our hair from getting messy on a windy day and to respectfully cover our heads before going into a church.  It was just a normal part our wardrobes.  

Of course, as a kid, I didn't own any actual silk scarves.  But the ones I had (and most of the women and girls that I knew) were made of some fabric that had that slippyslidey feel.     Way back then scarves were sold in the same section as purses (but near perfumes) in the big department stores.  A quality scarf was the  sort of thing a person might receive as a very nice gift.   When did that all stop?  And why wasn't I paying attention?

Last Sunday, when Tim and I did our big walk, I took advantage of there being a public restroom at the pier.  As I was going in, another lady was coming out.  She held the door for me automatically  without looking my way, I said thank you.  She swung around with a smile to say, (I think) "no problem"  but all that came out was, "No.....' and then she stopped and just starred at me in a very peculiar way.  

Now I suppose there could be any number of reasons for that.  Perhaps she swallowed wrong and was doing that choking on your own spit thing where you can't talk for a moment.  Maybe she forgot what she was trying to say part way through her sentence.  Maybe I looked like someone she knows (that happens to me with ridiculous regularity - apparently I look like every 3rd women in America).  Perhaps she thought I was Mayim Bialik - because that too has happened before. (or Barbra Streisand)  Multiple times!!!  Or maybe she was just weirded out by someone wearing a scarf,  Someone who was NOT the Queen of England I mean. (She wears scarves frequently and nobody is freaked out by it so what the actual heck?)   

Why was I wearing a scarf?  Well it was a breezy day and while I grabbed just a denim jacket before walking out the door, I knew it wouldn't be quite enough.  Initially it was just that little extra layer of cozy.  But after awhile, the chilly wind was starting to make my ears hurt.  I took my scarf, which initially was just looped around my neck and pulled part of  it up over my head, just enough to protect my ears a little bit.   It looked a little like this:

Ok not a great photo, but you get the idea.  Whatever the reason, her reaction didn't stop me from wearing my scarf.  Of course not.  I be me.  But it was an unexpected response to something as simple and normal and ordinary as a scarf. 

Here's some of the other ways I wear my scarves.  Just a sampling by the way.​

So tell me folks, is it just Florida where people don't wear scarves?  Or is it everywhere?  Are scarves now a big fashion "don't" and I didn't get the memo? (which would never stop me anyway).  I'm just curious.

Tell me what you think.

Oh!  And Happy Weekend