How to pick a scarf to instantly uplift your look

A scarf in one of your wow colours is the easiest way to uplift your look and is a key accessory to pair with a coat or jacket. With so many scarf colours available, how do you pick the right scarf to make your look feel polished and put together?

• Know your colours

The first step to selecting a scarf is knowing which colours suit your skin tone. Wearing a scarf in the wrong colour is the fastest 

way to make yourself look drained and tired.   Once you’ve had your House of Colour colour consultation you’ll know exactly which colours make you look fresh and make your eyes pop and which colours to avoid.

• Use contrast

​This works particularly well on people who have high contrast in their own colouring with a big difference between hair and skin colour.  When wearing a neutral coat pair it with a bright contrasting colour to take your look from blah! to bright and avoid the neutral coat from washing out your skin tone.

Try out the following contrasting combinations:

Navy coat with a raspberry pink scarf
Grey coat with a cobalt blue scarf
Brown coat with an apricot scarf
Tan coat with a true red scarf

• Go tonal

​Tonal dressing is where you combine different colours from the same shade. When done well it creates a luxurious look, think Loro Piana or Massimo Dutti combining different shades of camel or tan.

To use a tonal approach to accessorising, pair your non-neutral coats with a scarf in a different shade from the same colour. Here are some suggestions:

Khaki coat with an apple green scarf
Royal blue coat with a baby blue scarf
Wine red coat with a raspberry pink scarf
Chestnut coat with an amber scarf

• Match your patterns

If your coat has a pattern then wear a scarf in one of the pattern colours to make your outfit look effortlessly pulled together. The same goes with a patterned scarf, ideally wear it with a jacket, coat or jumper that matches one of the colours in the pattern.

• Mix up your knots

​Whilst it’s easy to loop a scarf casually around your neck, you can get so much more out of your scarves when you know how to tie them. Different knot types will suit different styles so experiment with how you style your scarves to see what looks best. Not great at styling your scarves? Contact your local House of Colour consultant to a scarf tying consultation.

What next?

Review your existing coats and jackets and consider which colour scarves would work well with them. Try new combinations with your existing scarves and make a wish-list for scarves in your wow colours and any colours that you could contrast or tone with your existing coats.  You can shop for colours by season at www.supersoftstyle.co.uk.

Above all have fun! Accessorising with scarves is one of the easiest ways to change up your look and brighten up your face without breaking the bank.

Blog written by Emilie West 

Greenwich, Blackheath, Canary Wharf

emilie.west@houseofcolour.co.uk
07535666971