The complete guide
Buying Guide
The problem with most accessories
Plain clothes are easy to buy and easy to wear. The trouble is they stay plain. You end up with a wardrobe of white shirts, navy tops and grey knits that work with everything and say nothing. Jewellery is one answer, but it is expensive, it needs matching, and in warm weather a chain round the neck is not always welcome.
A small square silk scarf solves that problem in a way almost nothing else does. It is one piece of fabric, it costs less than most necklaces, it weighs nothing, and it can be worn five different ways depending on your mood. Tie it at the neck and you look put together. Knot it on a bag and the bag looks newer. Push it through a ponytail and your hair is finished.
This one is 21 x 21 inches (53 x 53 cm) of 100% mulberry silk, printed with a lotus pond scene in orange and blue. It arrives in a gift box, which matters if you are buying it for someone else.
Why the size matters more than people expect
Scarf sizing confuses a lot of first-time buyers, so it is worth being clear about what 21 inches actually does.
Large squares, around 35 inches and up, are shawl territory. They drape over shoulders, cover heads and look wonderful photographed, but they are a commitment. You have to manage the fabric. They are also warm, which rules them out for a lot of the year in a hot climate.
Thin ribbon scarves and skinny ties go the other way. They look sharp in pictures, then slide loose by lunchtime because there is not enough fabric to hold a knot under tension.
At 21 inches you get the sweet spot. Fold it corner to corner and you have a triangle long enough to reach round an adult neck with a good few inches to tie. Roll it into a band and it makes a neat choker or hair wrap. It is also small enough to live in a bag or a jacket pocket without becoming a nuisance. If you are only going to own one silk square, this is the size to own.
What mulberry silk actually gives you
Silk is not one material. The grade depends on the worm, its diet and how the thread is reeled. Mulberry silk comes from silkworms fed only on mulberry leaves, and it produces long, uniform fibres rather than short broken ones. Long fibres mean a smoother surface and fewer slubs.
In practice, that shows up in three ways you will notice.
The first is drape. Mulberry silk falls rather than stands. When you knot it, the knot settles into a soft shape and the tails hang down the front of a shirt instead of sticking out at an angle. A stiffer fabric at this size just looks like a folded handkerchief.
The second is the face of the fabric. Silk has a quiet shine that shifts as the light moves across it. It is not the hard glare of polyester satin. Printed colours sit on that surface and look deeper than the same print would on cotton.
The third is weight. There is almost nothing to it. Around the neck in warm, humid air, that is the whole argument. A cotton bandana of the same dimensions feels like a layer. A silk square feels like a detail.
Reading the print before you buy
The design here is a lotus pond in orange and blue. Two things are worth thinking about before you order a printed scarf of any kind.
First, how much of the print you actually see at a time. A square this size is almost always folded, rolled or knotted, so you are looking at a fraction of the design at once. Busy prints often read as a pleasing colour blur when worn, with the detail only visible up close. That is usually a good thing. It means a bold print behaves itself in an office.
Second, how the colours sit against your existing clothes. Orange and blue are complementary colours, which is why the combination feels balanced rather than clashing. Against navy, the blue in the print links up and the orange pops. Against white or cream, the whole thing reads bright and clean. Against grey or denim, it warms the outfit up. The combination to be careful with is another strong pattern. Stripes plus a lotus pond is a lot of information for one torso.
Five ways to wear it
Start with the classic neckerchief. Fold corner to corner into a triangle. Roll the long straight edge down towards the point in loose turns until you have a band with a small triangle hanging beneath it. Put the band round your neck, cross the ends behind, bring them back to the front and tie a single knot off to one side. Adjust the triangle so it sits flat.
Next, the thin band. Skip the triangle and roll the whole square into a narrow strip from one edge to the other. Wrap it round your neck and knot it at the front, or at the back for a cleaner look under a collar. This is the version most men prefer.
For hair, use the same rolled band. Tie it over the top of your head with the knot hidden underneath, or wrap it round a ponytail and finish with a small bow. Because silk is smooth, hair slides over it with less friction than it does over cotton or elastic.
On a bag, fold it thin, loop it once round the base of the handle and tie a loose double knot so the ends trail. Do not pull it tight. A bag scarf should look casual.
On the wrist, roll it narrow, wrap twice and knot on the outside of the arm. It lies flatter than a bracelet and will not catch on a sleeve.
Who it suits
This is a good buy if you dress simply and want one item that does the heavy lifting. It suits people who find jewellery fussy in warm weather. It suits anyone who travels light, because it folds to nothing and changes the look of the same two shirts. It suits men looking for a neckerchief that is not a tie.
It is less suitable if you want something to cover your shoulders or your head, where you need a larger square. It is also not the choice if you want something you can throw in the washing machine without thinking, because the care here is hand wash only and that is not negotiable with silk of this kind.
Caring for it properly
Hand wash in cool water with a mild detergent made for silk or delicates. Move it gently through the water rather than rubbing it, and rinse until the water is clear. Do not soak it for long stretches and never use bleach or a chlorine-based stain remover.
Do not wring it out. Lay it flat on a dry towel, roll the towel up with the scarf inside and press along the length to push the water out. Then dry it flat, in the shade. Direct sun is the main enemy of printed colour.
If it needs pressing, iron on the lowest setting while the fabric is still a little damp, working on the reverse side with a thin cloth between the iron and the silk. Keep perfume and hairspray away from it, since alcohol marks silk.
Store it folded or rolled in the gift box, or flat in a drawer. Avoid hanging it on a hook for long periods, which pulls the corners out of shape.
The short version
A 21 x 21 inch (53 x 53 cm) square of 100% mulberry silk, printed with an orange and blue lotus pond scene, in a gift box. The size is the practical one for necks, hair, wrists and bag handles. The silk is light enough for warm weather and drapes the way a knot needs it to. Care is hand wash only, cool water, dry flat out of the sun.
If you want one accessory that makes plain clothes look deliberate, this is a sensible place to spend the money.