Opt for fine wovens
Maria has left a new comment on your post “13 Ways to Wear a Pashmina or Long Rectangular Scarf“:
I LOVE scarves and know dozens of ways to tie them, but I believe they’re a little too much for my petite frame. Is there any way to wear one without looking neckless, bulky, and even shorter than normal?
Chunky scarves overwhelm petite figures
Thanks Maria for this question. So how not to be overwhelmed by your scarf? It’s all about applying the rules of scale. Make sure that your scarf is not too big or bulky or long as this will make it look too large for your small frame.
A lightweight rather than heavy weight scarf
Opt for scarves that are lighter in fabrication (rather than heavy or bulky knits, fine knits and wovens, or chiffons and light summer weight fabrics).
Be careful of the length, long tails will draw the eye down
Also make sure that scarves are not too long on your body, otherwise they’ll drag the eye downwards and you’ll look shorter, so loop them around a couple of times if they’re on the longer side.
If you don’t want to look shorten your neck, try looping loosely rather than tightly round your neck, or even knotting your scarf lower.
Interesting! I am thin and tall, with a long neck. I like having the scarf ends dangle fairly low – now I realize it's because it makes me look shorter! And having a scarf or necklace (I rarely go without) makes my neck look shorter, I guess. On the other hand as a relaxed/casual, I don't like airy chiffon/polyester scarves and prefer knit cotton, rayon … but not chunky.
– tall & slim anon
Great Tips! Thanks for sharing!
You have a lovely blog!
AllGlamThings
I am average height, but have a small frame and I too have a difficult time feeling comfortable in the scarf look. I only buy very light chiffon type scarves. I am excited to try tying the knots that leave less bulk and see it it works on me.
Sherilyn, I love that you can adapt these scarf knots to any weight of scarf so that you will look lovely in a light and delicate scarf rather than something thick and bulky.
Thank you for the tips! I love the look of scarves but being only 5’3″ I find they can easily make me look like I’m drowning in them!
Agree. I have always opted out of wearing scarves because they drowned me and my short neck, but I might try this lightweight idea and simply done.
I am very slight but love the slightly boho scarf look. My secret is to cut your scarf down to a scale that suits your size. Most people can hem a scarf by machine or hand as it is only 1 or 2 straight lines to contend with. 90% of scarves I see are too big for me, but it only takes about 10 minutes to scale them down to suit.
… When you get really confident you can go to Spotlight and grab any fabric you love. 10 minutes at the machine and you will have yourself a scarf.
I wish the photo links weren’t broken, I’d like to see the illustrations. 🙂
I’ve fixed the links Pamela
I’ve always found scarfs overwhelm me, now I know why.
I love wearing scarf because I am top heavy and it helps to cover the girls up in a casual manner. But I notice they are too long for me. I was thinking about cutting my normal scarf and infinity scarf shorter. what is the rule of thumb in terms of length? IF I let normal scarf hang from my neck, where should it end? in hip? If I wear infinity scarf without a loop, where should it stop at my bellybutton?
Where a scarf should end is about your proportions. I wouldn’t have a scarf longer than belly button when it’s looped and any tails end.