History of Scarves

History of Scarves

Scarves go way back, before Christ was even here, about 1000 years ago. Sudarium is a Latin word for scarf, or “sweat cloth” used during the ancient European dresses. Before it was used for accessories or to keep warm, people used scarves to wipe off their sweat and keep clean. Surprisingly, scarves were worn by men first as an accessory, worn as a belt or around the neck. After a little, the style was later adopted by the ladies, wearing the item like the men was.

            Besides being worn as a fashion statement, soldiers also wore them to show their ranks in Croatia around the 17th Century. The only difference between their scarves and scarves people wore for fashion was that their scarves were silk. The fabric and material used for the women were only made out of cloth; they didn’t use wool, pashimina, or silk. After the 17^th century and onward to the 19^th and 20^th century, scarves became a huge fashion accessory for both men and women. Not only were they wore to improve their outfits, but they were worn for sports, military purposes, uniforms, to keep clean, and many more. Necktie or a more formal way to say it is cravat became the main focus for every men’s wardrobe. A cravat was similar to a scarf, but more masculine that way the men could wear them as well. Then, the cravat was available in different designs and fabric as they are today. As proven, after the 17^th century, wool was used for scarves and was and still is by far the warmest scarves.

            In recent years the scarf has made a big comeback, becoming a must have fashion item. Head scarves and wraps grow popular with celebrities leading the way to introducing new ways to accessorize. Therefore, the celebrities advertise fashion without knowing they are making a purpose in people’s lives. There are different ways to wear scarves, not only is it worn around the neck but it can be worn as a head band, a belt, a bow tie on your purse, anything that you think is possible.