SmallWorld India (www.smallworldindia.com) has been successfully sourcing scarves and other fashion accessories for labels all across the globe including to some of the biggest names in fashion and retail— for almost three decades now, thus serving as a most trusted source of scarves and accessories from India.
he humble scarf has been around for longer than you can imagine. Before it became the popular fashion accessory as we now know it to be, served a variety of different purposes. From being used as a “sweat cloth” in Ancient Rome to keep one’s neck and face clean in the sweltering heat, to symbolizing rankings of military personnel in China and Croatia, a scarf is today a simple but immensely elegant holy-grail item for one’s closet.
Statue of Ashurnasirpal II -9th BC Emperor wearing a shawl
What makes a scarf so essential? We have compiled a list of some reasons why you must get your hands-on scarves in every colour and fabric!
1. Round-The-Year Use
Be it a printed cotton scarf to jazz up an otherwise subdued summer outfit, or a wooly muffler to cozy up in during colder months, scarves have use all year long. They are the perfect fashion accessory regardless of the weather.
2. Endlessly Versatile
When it comes to scarves, the options are innumerable! Hugely versatile, they can be used in a variety of different ways. From letting it dangle on either side of your neck, to wrapping it up in the ever popular ‘infinity’ style, they can be folded, manipulated, and styled in many ways. More so, they are available in an array of colours, materials, patterns, and shapes.
3. Instant Outfit Changer
The perfect pop of colour, a glamorous symbol of status, or a ‘I-mean-business’ mark, a scarf can do it all depending on your intention. Something as basic as a black dress can give off a different vibe if it’s styled with a knitted infinity scarf versus with a delicate silk one. You see what we mean about it being an outfit changer?
4. Travel Friendly
A scarf is one of the most travel friendly items you can invest in. Not only does it take up a fraction of the space of other items, but also allows the implementation of numerous permutations and combinations to help you mix-and-match away to glory. What is more, it can be used as a bathing suit cover-up or sarong, and to help cover your heads or shoulders when visiting more conventional places of worship. Who knew a mere piece of fabric can lend itself to unlimited possibilities!
Scarves are made from different materials such as silk, cotton, polyester, wool, viscose. They can be knitted or woven and can be printed by machine or hand; they can also be solid dyed, or yarn dyed woven, embellished by hand or machine— be it embroidery or bead work. These scarves can have lovely edging in the forms of tassels and pompoms to make it a true fashion accessory.
With growing worldwide focus on sustainability and environment, scarves are now also produced organically, as well as from recyclable materials. These entire processes across the chain are also audited and certified by 3rd party companies.
Scarves produced from recyclable materials area becoming an area of growing interest. Commercially, recycled scarves are made from polyester, as well as from a blend of polyester and cotton. In the times to come, we will see companies use other fibers for commercial production of scarves.
One of the commonly used recycled fibers is polyester, which is obtained from used PET bottles. Some of these fibers obtained from recycling are certified for Oekotex- Class-1. This certification also fulfils several of the requirements of REACH (Europe) as well as CPSIA (USA).
With a plethora of options and uses, this is one accessory that must find its rightful place in your wardrobe. A range of materials, colours, sizes and shapes to choose from makes the process a delightful one. With a rightful current day focus on sustainability and environmental conservation, manufacturers have upped their game to produce scarves that match global requirements.
