A matter of styles
In the imagination of many, this is the headscarf. Try to think of a woman wearing a headscarf, chances are the first thing you will have thought of is a classic tie.
This tie is also known as the "traditional tie" or the "front tie", since the knot is on the front rather than the back or the side like with the Kelly or most rear ties.
Unlike the elegant sophistication of the Kelly wrap and the elaborate variations of the rear tie, the classic tie is simplicity itself, just put the folded over the head and tie it under the chin. The wrap protects the hair, ears and cheeks, gently framing the face, with the ends left free to fall on the breast or flutter in the breeze. Some women like to play with the loose ends, too.
The Classic makes for a timeless look, being one of the most used and known. The Kelly wrap was made popular during the 1950s and the 1970s and the rear ties became a fashion item later, but the classic tie seems to have always been around.
Like the Kelly, the Classic is often used as a glamorous disguise, with or without sunglasses. To the right, actress Hayley Mills wears a classic tie with sunglasses in the 1965 movie That Darn Cat to go about unrecognized.
The movie is a family comedy, and the scene is played mostly for comedic effect even if in 1965 a young girl wearing a headscarf would have been a reasonably common sight.
Variants
The Classic allows for some variation on its basic tie. The wrap can be worn pulled back or forward, like the Kelly, and even folded in such a way as to cover the forehead too, but the majority of the variants involve the knot.
In the classic tie the knot is under the chin, fully visible instead of being hidden behind the head, so it's an important part of the overall look and any fashion-conscious woman will take some care into tying her scarf. Learning how to make a good-looking knot is the key to wearing a beautiful wrap.
The simplest way to tie a classic is to put the scarf over the head, pull down the ends, cross them under the chin and tightening without securing them with a knot. This is a quick and easy way to wear it, but the resulting wrap is not very secure and will tend to loosen with the movements of the head, and eventually slide down if not re-tightened periodically.
As you can see from the pictures below it's quite nice-looking.
To the left and right, two beautiful models wear their headscarves in the loose-tied, unknotted fashion.
The simple, almost casual look is still elegant and charming, and a perfect choice for any woman who wants to try the Classic look but doesn't feel like learning how to tie a proper knot. It also makes wearing it a little more spontaneous and playful.
The girls will have to tighten their wraps every now and then, but the act of adjusting their scarves can be a fashion statement in itself.
In these two pictures, actress Joan Allen (from the movie Pleasantville) wears her own Classic wrap in the loose style.
The way she wears it, casual and elegant at the same time, with the ends well adjusted and slightly overlapped, is simply stunning.
Although the loose, unknotted style is a great sight, it's not very practical if the scarf has to stay on for some time, and here is where some tying techniques are needed.
The
easiest way to secure a Classic would be to simply tie a knot after tightening
the wrap, but it's not that simple. As you can see in the picture to the right,
the knot ends up being quite large. Sharon Stone still looks great in her
headscarf, but the knot could definitely be better.
Same here in the picture to the left. A simple knot, or a double knot, make the scarf more secure and are easier to tie, but they're too visible and spoil the look a bit. Moreover, they're more difficult to untie and make it harder to re-tie the scarf.
So, how to tie a nice knot for your Classic? Fortunately women
have been wearing neckscarves for ages, too, and have learned some ways to tie
them in such ways as to make the knot look good.
Here
to the right you see the "square" knot, a simple one which results
in a nice and well-shaped tie. Another style is the "slip" knot
in which one end of the scarf has a knot tied in it, and the other end is passed
through. Another great look.
The square knot is small, elegant and is easily untied but won't loose up too much on its own. The slip knot is also elegant, and makes tightening the wrap easy, just take the unknotted end of the scarf and pull the knot up. Down you can see the styles worn by the gorgeous Scarf Fashion Site models.
I'm personally a great fan of
those girls, and I have been
looking for an excuse to feature those two lovely young ladies on my site for a
long time. They are not only strikingly beautiful, they have a girl-next-door
quality and wear their headscarves with a joyful playfulness that makes them
even cuter. If only I had permission from the pictures' owners and the whole
collection, I would open a section just for them!
This little tribute to headscarf wearing is just perfect. for them to appear on. It's too bad the Scarf Fashion Site (SFS) has been offline for a while now, it was one of the greatest resources for scarf enthusiast not only with its picture collection, but also with its products like the Scarf Encyclopedia and its own Onlywhite silk twill scarf. I keep hoping it will resurface one day.
Back to the Classic style! The girls above wear their headscarves tied under the chin, but it's also possible to have the knot to one side, for looks or practicality. Unlike with the Kelly wrap which takes some little planning to have it side-tied, the Classic is easier: just pull the knot left or right, and it's done! However, this also makes the tail end shift as well, but some woman may like it too.
The beauty here to the left and below wears her Classic with the knot slightly to one side.
The side knot breaks symmetry, a nice effect usually used with neckscarves, but it works great with the headscarf too.
And what about the lovely girl to the right? If Sleeping Beauty were to wear a headscarf, this is how she would look! Below, a side-tied Classic as worn by Geena Davis in Stuart Little 2.
To the left, another unusual Classic, with the scarf tied to the side with a bow-like knot. A little more challenging to wear and to keep from sliding off or loosening, but the look may be worth it!
Another variation yet has the scarf folded once again upon itself, from the side which will wrap around the face, before putting it on the head.
The extra layers of fabric form a kind of headband which helps make the scarf more secure, keeping it from sliding backwards as silk scarves tend to do.
This also shortens the rear end, and if the scarf is not too large or the "headband" part is wide enough it will "hang" instead of falling smoothly on the back, and will be caught by the wind like the ends on the front.
The
result is a casual, modern-looking headscarf with a cute, almost girlish quality
to it. Ideal for young women (and even teenage girls) for whom the full Classic
may be too much of a fashion statement.
The Classic has made a bit of a comeback with stylists everywhere in the latest years. Kelly wraps and rear ties have been around forever, but the classic headscarf has regained some of its popularity in the fashion scene only recently. Will the sight of popular fashion models in classic ties encourage girls to dare and try this ageless look? We'll see...
Charming, practical, modest yet alluring, an elegant look for women of all ages. This is the Classic, and here is how you tie it so get your scarf, put yourself in front of a mirror and try it out, along with its variations, to find "your" own ideal Classic.