A Madness of Scarves @Mishaherin @BarryLillie1 @CorrineLeith #scarves

My name is Jan and I am addicted to scarves.

There does not appear to be collective noun for scarves. A comfort perhaps? Or a wrap? Though in my case a madness does seem apt.

I am not, and have never been, a fashion icon, but these are  items in my wardrobe that seem to take up far more space than they might, or perhaps even should.

In my defence these have accumulated over many years. Pride of place and worn most often is a black and white keffiyeh, for example, made of Egyptian cotton, which I bought in a street market at least 25 years ago – possibly longer. It is starting to wear thin but I hang on to it. Why? Because frankly  of all the scarves I have owned it is the most comfortable against the skin, warmer or with most versatile. I have worn it around my neck; around my shoulders; over my head; as a sling; a baby shawl; a make-shift table cloth? a picnic square: emergency dog collar/lead. Similar scarves bought since have not been of the same quality, nor as large and have made their way into various charity shop bags.

Yes I do discard the odd one or two:

• Knitted neck scarves made of nylon yarn, for example (they itch).
• Scarves that are so annoyingly short that they can’t be fastened or tucked in and constantly slide earthwards every few hundred steps.
• Those knitted in open stiches that catch on buttons and zips (and on occasion door handles resulting in a few near strangulations!)

Do I have other favourites? Yes, though that does change.

My sugar skull scarf is always in vogue, and the silk/cotton hand-painted with outstretched wings is beautiful. But the truth is I have far too many. Many are silk and so beautiful, some are plain cotton and soft to the touch. Others snuggly warm for winter.
They come in as many colours as you can imagine (though I note that blue and red do predominate).

Recently I was packing away the winter wear and fetching out the lighter decorative selection and was determined to slim down the pile… I will not disgrace myself and own up to how many I actively own… but suffice to say they all went back onto hangers or into boxes.

I should also look at the teetering stack of boxes containing various boots (one pair date back to 1972) but maybe another time.

*Sigh*

My names is Jan and I am addicted to scarves.