A nice scarf, aside from being unquestionably a helpful item in the cooler months, surprisingly enough can also flatter your figure in multiple ways, making you look slimmer and adding a few inches to your height.
If you would like to look taller and/or more slender, a well-chosen scarf which has the same color of your pants (or shoes) may elongate your figure, creating a long, vertical line that slims your silhouette while adding a polished touch to your outfit, as you can see from the comparison between the images below.
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A scarf can have a visual effect quite similar to a low neckline, working double to stretch your figure:
(1) It’s very suitable to elongate your silhouette because it visually reduces the length of your bust making your legs look comparatively longer;
(2) A scarf adds verticality to your figure, visually extending the legs.
As you can see in the pictures below, adding a scarf in a color that contrasts with that of your outerwear allows to achieve a faultless result even with a not-so-easy-to-wear garment as a short duvet jacket, which otherwise would add volume to your figure making your whole body appear bulkier.
Be aware, though, that for an impeccable outcome you should pair this ensemble with close-fitting pants, avoiding any pairings with skirts or dresses and with wide trousers. Furthermore, the shade of the scarf must be similar to that of your pants.
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Alternatively, if your outerwear has a dark hue, you can wear pants in a similar color to that of your coat, matching the color of the scarf to your shoes (or boots).
Choosing a scarf in a proper tonality allows to play around with proportions reducing the widening effect of some outerwear, thus being incredibly helpful when wearing wide garments which – if worn without any “slimming trick” – would easily wind up looking quite unflattering.
A scarf may also reveal incredibly helpful to enhance your complexion. Take a look at this photo of my co-author (and cousin) Benedetta: the dark-blue scarf allows her to wear with outstanding results a leather jacket whose shade would not be particularly suited to her skin tone.
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Scarf by Zara, Jeans by Guess
Scarves and pashminas may be magnificent and boost your chic style even when you take your coat off. As you can see from the comparison between the pictures below, a scarf allows to wear a sweater in a color contrasting to that of the pants (an ensemble which usually widens the figure).
Similarly to what happens when wearing a scarf with your outerwear, layering a nice, light-weighted scarf to a sweater gives the appearance of a long, vertical line, and if chosen in a nice color (or prints) it focuses attention, drawing it away from your hips while lengthening the silhouette.
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You may achieve an interesting and sophisticated result also when picking out fancy prints, as long as their colors are not too bright or vivid (choosing neutral tones is always a lovely way to play it safe), and match some other accessory (shoes, bag).
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Trench coat bt Allegri, sneakers by H&M
A plain-colored scarf though is the easiest solution if you want to keep on a budget. Gorgeous prints have their price: you may achieve outstanding results with a Hermes or Pucci silky scarf, but this may not be the cheapest solution, whereas if you keep it on plain, neutral-colored items, you can easily look stylish and put-together even with scarves whose price is lower than your lunch money. A coat in some lively color may become flawlessly wearable with a scarf in a dark-neutral hue.
Here some creative and interesting pairings: mustard works well with dark-grey. Orange is lovely with dark blue (orange and blue are complementary colors) as well as with grey. Also, you may achieve a chic and very stylish outcome pairing warm-neutral shades with cool-neutral ones, as well as the countless hues of the same (neutral) color.
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A neutral-colored scarf it is fundamental for whimsy styles, or for those who frequently wear bright-colored garments, because it allows to play around with fancy outfits (or colors) balancing out any excessive eccentricity.
A scarf is also a key accessory for any capsule wardrobe: it can make your baseline staples look different every time, as if instead of having one dark gray pullover in your closet, you had five; and besides it’s also a nice way to express your inner style and the mood of the day, while boosting your personality and lighting you up in the most fashionable way.
