When I was wee (let’s say between the ages of 6-10) I had a fanatical obsession with frilly dresses. Shirley Temple dresses, to paint a clear picture for you. Puffiest sleeves, ruffliest skirts, petticoats built in, lace up the wazoo, etc. etc.
I’m assuming my love for frills and fluff came out of an innocent case of fomo; my best friend in elementary school had a seemingly infinite collection of such dresses (and cable knit tights, and patent leather Mary Janes, and matching plastic hair clips, and tiny purses) and I just wanted to match her in style and grace. One thing would lead to another and soon I was going home from school wearing her Mary Janes and she was going home wearing whatever shoes I started off the day with. As far as I can recall, the swaps, on our kindergarten level comprehension, were totally ordinary and normal. Besties trade all the time, no? Whether our mothers agreed was inconsequential, but I vaguely remember some exasperated sighs/wry chuckles from mine when she’d see what I’d come home wearing at the end of the day. Needless to say, there were regular phone calls (on landlines! Curly phone cords!) between my mom and hers, commiserating over our school-time barters and promises of returns packed in our L.L. bean backpacks, to be dutifully switched by our teacher the next day (in hindsight, the amusement she must’ve gotten out of these near daily escapades, and also, the espionage!).
I have since grown out of my frills phase (but only recently, and I still cherish my vintage Gunne Sax dresses that may or may not fit me at present) because I prefer pragmatism over embellishment in my daily dress mainly due to the fact that pockets are vital HOWEVER… I have held onto one vestige of frivolous adornment and co-opted it to serve my pragmatic needs. Herein I present to you: the neckerchief.
In case the pragmatism-frivolity mashup behind neckerchiefs isn’t immediately clear, here is my breakdown in a single sentence: a silk or cotton neckerchief (the thinner the better) serves you well in trifold (pun intended) because it acts as a classy accessory, regulates your body temp without overheating, and in the event of that most modern conundrum, serves as a makeshift mask.
Without further ado, here is a list of links to some delightful neckerchiefs.
The Printed Image has a gorgeous collection of cotton bandanas with the most whimsical screen prints like this, this, and this. I already own 1, 2, and 3, and am ready to expand my collection with clouds, first aid, and 💩.
If art-adjacent neck scarves are more your thing, then check out Air Mail Weekly’s new collaboration with Chez Dede and Andrea Ferolla (I wasted no time snapping up Jean-Michel Basquiat)
I would be remiss not to include designer secondhand options that are worth every penny when you think about the handiwork that goes into them (most notably: hand stitched hemmed edges)
Lastly, go to your trusty local resale shop! I have found Fendi and Salvatore Ferragamo silk neckerchiefs buried deep in bins full of polyester scarves. It’s the thrill of the hunt, y’all!
This is literally too luxe to be part of a lineup, so it’s gonna be my one-good-thing this week:
A set of tenets for me, you, and likely everyone we know.
see ya next week. -Kai
P.S. I admit I was not following the Brittney Griner case too closely until I read this. Now I am following it like a hawk.