“I’m A Fashion Editor & I Style 99% Of My Looks With This 1 Accessory”
When it comes to perfecting an outfit, the devil is always in the details. For The Handbook’s Contributing Fashion & Lifestyle Editor, Astrid Carter, that detail is the humble neckerchief. She sees it as the ultimate affordable accessory that will instantly elevate any look: Here’s why she thinks it’s the fast-track ticket to any style update, and why she has made it a core part of her everyday uniform.
Small but mighty, for such an understated accessory, the neckerchief covers a lot of sartorial ground. Pair it with the classic combo of white tee and jeans, and it instantly adds a vintage flair; layer it into a double denim look, and you’ve got a Western feel; or style it up with more feminine pieces for a romantic, French girl feel.
While neck scarves are everywhere right now – you only have to look at the coverage from recent Copenhagen Fashion Week to see them wrapped around the waist as belts, tied onto the handles of this season’s It bowling bag, over the hair – ’70s style – and, of course, the classic way, around the neck.
Small but mighty, for such an understated accessory the neckerchief covers a lot of sartorial ground.
But, and I’m about to exercise some sartorial flex here, I’ve been wearing them for decades. I don’t know what it is about finishing off (almost) every look with a silk or cotton wrap around my neck, but it just makes me feel like me. The finishing touch. The thing that turns a look into my uniform. I guess it’s the connotations one of them brings. A little bit rock ‘n’ roll, a little bit Parisian chic, and neither masculine nor feminine. All things that I look for in an outfit.
I’m embarrassed to say how many I might own, but favourites include everything from a Sézane brown polka dot number that goes with everything, to a vintage classic red Paisley print bandana I picked up in Chicago, a silk burgundy gentleman’s cravat that I love to wear in the evening with a low-buttoned silk shirt, to a graffiti print vintage Vivienne Westwood piece that I’ve had some my teenage years.
There are tonnes to choose from at the moment, from high-end investments which offer a more polished feel – I’ve got my eye on Saint Laurent’s ’70s-feel Paisley print dream, but affordable options from M&S and H&M have a great selection right now that will offer just as many outfit options. The latter of which, I just picked up a classic Western-inspired bandana print from.
I also love checking out the menswear departments – Zara for colour-pop and fun styles, and AllSaints for a rockier edge. And it goes without saying that vintage stores always produce the goods for a sustainable, lived-in second-hand gem.
It goes without saying, that vintage stores always produce the goods for a sustainable, lived-in second-hand gem.
I have been spotting an array of them lined up near the tills in multiple high street stores (the bit where you usually buy six packs of socks and lint brushes you don’t need), which probably means the trend is over. Do I care? Absolutely not. Will I still be finishing off 90% of my looks with a neckerchief? I can guarantee it.
Shop the neckerchief edit…
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