How to Wear a Vintage Scarf

19 February 2025

Choosing a Vintage Scarf:

A vintage scarf is much more than just a fashion accessory—it elevates your look with a touch of history. It can add elegance or a more casual vibe to your outfit. When choosing a vintage scarf, consider the fabric, pattern, and color schemes that appeal to you and will easily complement your wardrobe. Pay attention to quality criteria such as the fabric composition—scarves made of silk, wool, or cashmere are indicators of quality. A vintage scarf made of natural materials is a guarantee of durability and longevity.

Also, examine the scarf’s finishing details. Hemming, borders, rolled edges, and fringes should be neat, regular, and well-crafted to ensure a high-quality scarf.

Vintage patterns are those that evoke the past. Key vintage styles include:

Victorian Style: Inspired by the era of Queen Victoria in England in the late 19th century, featuring intricate floral patterns with fine details and ornate designs. French scarf offers the Victoria scarf in this style.

Art Deco Style: The 1930s, with the elegance and glamour of the interwar period, are characterized by geometric lines and symmetrical shapes in vibrant, contrasting hues. Check out the Spire scarf from La Fabrique d’Écharpe.

Pop Seventies Style: Influenced by the joyful, unconventional spirit of the 1960s, with pop art-inspired psychedelic patterns. Repetitive designs create a dynamic, energetic aesthetic, featuring iconic colors such as orange, avocado green, and mustard. Check out the Pois silk scarf.

Hippie Style: Shaped by the hippie movement and counterculture of the 1970s, this style embraces a relaxed, bohemian approach, featuring earthy tones, natural materials, and ethnic, floral, and geometric patterns. La Fabrique d’Écharpe offers the Jeannette model in caramel, khaki, and ochre tones to perfectly illustrate this vintage style.

Folding a Square Scarf:

For a small square scarf, the simplest method is to fold it into a triangle. Then, roll it up and tie it around your neck. A tip for achieving a neat and elegant fold is to tuck the point of the triangle inside the folds.

Another option is the cowboy style: fold the scarf into a triangle, but tie a small knot at the back of your neck, leaving the triangular point at the front. With all these variations, this little accessory is sure to enhance your look effortlessly!

If you’ve chosen a large scarf, you can also fold it into a triangle, position the point at the front, cross the two ends at the nape of your neck, and bring them back around to the front.

Tying a scarf around the neck:

Check out our blog: The Different Styles of Silk Scarves and How to Wear Them or our blog How to Wear Scarves in Original and Elegant Ways. You’ll discover numerous techniques for tying and wearing your scarf or vintage foulard. However, below are the most common and simplest tying methods:

The simple knot to assert a casual style, the simple loop to add a sporty touch, the tied simple loop for a bit more sophistication, the Parisian knot—classic and perfect for everyday wear all season long, the pretzel knot for chilly days, and the tucked simple loop for a chic and elegant touch.

Or, let your imagination run wild and create new, original ways to tie your vintage scarf and showcase your personality!

Wearing a scarf in a ponytail:

Start by making a high ponytail with a hair tie. Place the scarf under the ponytail and wrap it around twice, ensuring the final knot is on top of the ponytail. You can leave the ends of the scarf hanging freely around your hair or shape them into one or two loops. It’s a much more elegant alternative to a plain hair tie, and you can play with colors to brighten up your outfit.

Another option for accessorizing your hair is wrapping the scarf around a bun. Simply tie a knot with the two small ends of the scarf for a soft, ultra-feminine look!

You can also wear your scarf as a ribbon in your hair. The advantage of using a large scarf is that it allows you to wrap it multiple times, ensuring your turban stays securely in place all day long. This is a very practical way to hold your hair in place while adding a splash of color to your hairstyle.

Additionally, you can pair the scarf with other accessories for a pin-up look. For example, wear it as a belt or tie it around the handle of your handbag. It’s the little details that make all the difference!

The Vintage Style: Scarf at the Nape of the Neck:

If you prefer the classic way of wearing a scarf as a band tied around the neck, you might be tempted by another vintage style: the headscarf. This style, popularized by actresses like Brigitte Bardot in the 1950s, has made a major comeback today. Simply fold your square scarf in half diagonally and tie it under your chin. A second option is to tie it behind your neck, wearing it “pirate-style,” as many influencers do nowadays. It adds a sophisticated touch to your outfit in an instant. You can choose a scarf of varying sizes depending on the effect you want to achieve. To keep the scarf in place all day, we recommend using a hair clip on each side of the headscarf.