Welcome back to the Gentleman's Gazette!
In today's video, I will discuss quality men's scarves, what you have to pay attention to
and what you look for when you buy one.
Scarves keep you stylish and warm and every man should have at least one, however, once
you get a taste of them, it's very easy to .. If you're a history buff, check out our
full scarf guide on our website, Gentleman's Gazette for more detailed info.
So, how to spot a quality men's scarf?
First of all, size matters.
Scarves can be very expensive but the problem is, sometimes, they're too short, sometimes
they're too long, too wide or too slim and basically it limits you in the way you can
tie the scarf.
If you want to tie your scarf in all possible ways appropriate for men, please check out
this video where I show you exactly how to do that.
The ideal length for a man's scarf is about 72 inches or a 108 cm, everything shorter
than that will be problematic and longer too.
In terms of width, go for about 12inches or 30 cm, a little more or less works too, but
that's the golden middle.
So what happens when a scarf is too short?
Let me show you my scarf from Burberry here, it was very expensive and it's simply too
short.
So for example, when I want to get it around my neck, I can't, it goes up and that's it!
So, really pay attention to the length of your scarf.
The second thing to look for is fringes.
You can have a long scarf with fringes such as here, where you can see them and it's perfectly
appropriate.
If you don't like that, just go with a different scarf where it's just basically little fringes
and sometimes you can find them when they're completely sewn shut, this is actually a better
way because it gives a flattering clean line.
The third thing to consider when buying a scarf is the material.
Go with natural fibers, there are many scarf materials out there and it's important to
get the right one.
One of the most popular materials is fleece or polyester scarves.
While they're great for outdoor wear, skiing and performance stuff, they're not appropriate
for overcoats and topcoats and town wear.
So for those purposes, skip them.
Women often favor jersey scarves, they're soft, sometimes they're knitted, sometimes
they're hand-knitted, they're good for embellishments such as sequins but for men, that's really
not what you want so go with a woven scarf.
A very popular scarf material is merino wool, which is very nice because it's insulating,
and it's affordable.
It usually comes in plain solid, sometimes with checks and other patterns but it's not
the softest cashmere.
It's really great on reversible scarves when you have one side in silk and one side wool
because you get the luster of the silk paired with the warmth of the wool.
It's also popular in blended scarves, for example, with cashmere or with silk and it's
a stable choice you can go with, just make sure it's not blended with polyester.
One of the most popular materials in scarves is cashmere.
Cashmere is great because it is soft and warm.
One cashmere goat produces about a 150 grams of cashmere per year which is enough for about
a scarf.
The problem is, they're different qualities.
There are short cashmere hairs and long staples.
If you get the short staples, the scarf will peel very easily and quickly, that's a quality
you want to avoid at all cost.
You want a long staple that lasts for a long time, looks good, and doesn't peel.
Because of it's popularity, it's offered all over the place and it's often mislabeled so
when you buy a cashmere scarf, buy it from a trusted source so you can enjoy it for years
to come.
We offer a number of great cashmere scarves in high quality that are made in Germany from
very high quality cashmere and they should last you, well, maybe a lifetime.
Check out our cashmere scarves selection here.
If quality cashmere is a little too expensive for you, consider Alpaca.
This is what I'm wearing right here.
It is a little softer than wool, about the softest cashmere but it is much warmer, the
reason is, the fibers have hollow air chambers which act as an insulator, therefore Alpaca
is much warmer than wool and cashmere.
At Fort Belvedere, we offer the best quality of Peruvian, royal baby alpaca which is soft
and warm.
Alpaca is great if you're allergic to wool because it doesn't have these properties.
Check out our Alpaca scarves selection here.
At just 95 bucks, it's really affordable and lasts you for a long time.
Silk scarves are great for formal outfits or eveningwear.
Silk has this wonderful sheen and luster, has a wonderful touch but it's not super insulating
because most of the time, silk scarves are thin and for that reason, we offer our silk
scarves as reversible scarves with one side in silk and one side with wool, our 100% silk
scarves are made in black satin silk which is very heavy and drapes really nicely which
is perfect for your tuxedo or black tie outfits or white, tail coat ensembles.
A solid silk scarf like this one is great for spring and in between seasons but not
suited for fall and winter.
Silk is also great when it's blended in the yarn like here, you get the soft touch, you
get the nicer look and with just wool and it's also a little softer, at the same time,
it doesn't have the shine of silk like here.
Compare these two and you can really see what I'm talking about.
You can find all of our silk and silk blended scarves in the shop.
Most scarves come with a pattern that you see on both sides like here, it's the same
on both sides.
Now, if you have a scarf that has a different pattern on two sides, it's actually much more
versatile because on the one hand, you can wear it like this and show one color but next
time.
you can show maybe a different color or just mix the two and it just creates a great versatility
to your outfits.
It also looks great against solid overcoats and rather than investing in ten different
scarves, you may be ending up just buying two or three scarves that work with everything
you have in your wardrobe.
These reversible scarves come in two versions: one, you have something called a tubular scarf,
what that means is that you have actually, two layers of fabric that are basically sewn
together and attached.
It allows you to have entirely two different materials such as silk wool or cashmere and
it makes an interesting look and feel in your skin.The second version of the reversible
scarf is this one, where you have basically, a fabric that is double faced, there is no
air in the middle, that's really nice and it feels like a single layer of a scarf but
you have these two colors which adds versatility.
At Fort Belvedere, we're big fans of double sided scarves that's why we have a large range
of them If you prefer the standard, solid scarf in an unusual color, or a classic herringbone
pattern, we cover that too.
Now, when it comes to summer scarves, cotton and linen can be good materials, however,
because they wrinkle, they're usually blended either with silk or polyester.
If you like summer scarves, you can look into that, just make sure they don't wrinkle because
the look is not advantageous.
Now that you know how to find a quality men's scarf, make sure to subscribe to our YouTube
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Thank you!