Pomp & Circumstance

I've been dying to try out this new scarf that my mom got me for a while now, and today I finally mustered up the courage to go for it. Due to poor planning, though, I ended up having to google "how do i tie a scarf wtf" at 6 AM. Not fun. Thank goodness for Google. And thank goodness for the lovely people at Brooks Brothers, who posted not one but SEVEN (7) elegant, timeless, classic options for tying scarves! Too bad my scarf was one of the smaller square kinds, not that large ones that they were using in their demonstrations (sorry my scarf is so inferior, people!) .... so that failed pretty quickly.

Nonetheless, their professionally photographed step-by-step directions on how to tie their ginormouse head-scarf-things (for real? I want one of those!) gave me faith that I would be able to make something happen with my training wheels version. So, I continued googling, and I came upon this site, which was equally as helpful (though less well-photographed) and featured scarves that normal plebs like myself can afford. I went with the #7, the Butterfly Knot, because it looked relatively easy, and I like bows and miniature things like that. I had to try it a couple of times because the tag on my scarf kept sticking out (am I supposed to cut that off?), but it ultimately came out quite nicely! Here's a closeup:
I like the Butterfly Knot because (a) it was already 6:37 AM and I needed to catch a 7 AM train, and it only had three steps FTW and (b) it has a little twist from the regular "tie-and-go" kind of a style that seems to be most frequent with these kinds of scarves. When trying out these small, square scarves, you want to avoid looking too flight-attendant-y, and the way to do this is by picking unique colors and/or prints and going for a slightly different tie style. So google around (because google is awesome, like, a google times over), try out some different styles, and let me know if you find some that you like and that I should try out! I would have loved to fan out the scarf a little more and show off the print of this scarf (it's light pink with pale seagreen lining and white bicycles printed all over it! So fun!), but it looks so very bib-ish on me, and knowing my hand-eye coordination, it would probably eventually serve that very function at lunchtime, as well. But I've seen many a stylish lady rock that trend, so try it out for yourself and see if you like it!

I went with a lacy shift with a tan/neutral underlay and then a pale, baby blue cardigan and pale pink pointy-toe pumps. I was a little nervous to rock the scarf because it's pretty different, and I did end up taking it off halfway through the day - not because the scarf itself was a problem, but rather on further reflection, the scarf + lacy dress combo was just a bit too frou frou for my taste/for the workplace. I think if I had worn a plain black shift, the scarf would have worked out quite well - so, for now, scarves are still definitely a GO!

The pale blue cardigan still ended up working out quite well with just the lace shift sans scarf (the shift in itself is overpoweringly girly, so in retrospect it really didn't need dainty little scarf with it). Nonetheless, the dress is a bit short, and shift dresses have more give when you sit down, so unfortunately I will not be wearing this dress to the office again, but I'll save it for a day out with the girls!

Lacy Shift Dress: AnnTaylor Loft | Bicycle Print Scarf: Talbots | Silk Blend Cardigan: The Limited | Pale pink pointy-toed pumps: Cole Haan | Bag: Coach