How Not to Look Like a Human Marshmallow In the Winter: Scarves

February 1, 2014 JessicaGimeno

I have a long, puffy winter coat. It’s not the prettiest winter coat but it’s the one that keeps me warmest in this Polar Vortex Winter. The bulky silhouette of my coat is not flattering. Without proper accessories, my winter coat makes me feel like Stay Puft Marshmallow Man from Ghostbusters. (Indeed, it’s much easier to find a fall coat with a flattering shape than it is a winter one. ) But the reality is: We’re going to be featured in our winter coats in most pictures taken during the winter. Thankfully, I’ve found a way to not look monotonous and marshmallow-y despite the limitations of winter coats. Solution: Scarves!

2 Ways Scarves Work:

Color: Most people’s winter coats are black. Most winter gloves are black as anyone who’s ever left lost a pair of gloves knows. Finally, most winter boots are black. So when I’m wearing a black coat, a nice wool red scarf injects some life into my outfit. A colorful scarf also adds some warmth to the face in close-up pictures. By picking a color different from my coat, I draw attention away from the unflattering silhouette and bring attention to my face.
Prints: Another way to inject life into an outfit is a patterned scarf. As far as dresses, shirts, and pants go, I stay away from prints because they can be unflattering on Prednisone. However, if the print is in an accessory like my scarf, I don’t have to worry about “The Prednisone Effect.” (Real quick explanation of the Prednisone effect: What you wear on a medium/high dosage of Prednisone–steroids used by millions of people for cancer, autoimmune, and other diseases–doesn’t always look the same in real life as it does in photographs. So I once wore a lovely brown and white floral dress to a wedding. But when I saw myself in pictures, I looked like a human Tootsie Roll! I learned my lesson about prints from experiences like that.)