FASHION PARADISE BLOG

The history of the scarf dates back at least as far as ancient Rome. A linen kerchief known as a sudarium (Latin term for "sweat cloth") was used by the Romans to wipe their necks and faces. The ancient Romans developed the scarf into a diverse men's fashion accessory, whether knotted to a belt or worn around the neck. Of course this style was quickly adopted by women also, and the scarf has since become synonymous with women's fashion.

Experts say that the scarf was historically made of cloth rather than wool and a mark of rank for the warriors of the Chinese Emperor Cheng (Shih Huang Ti). Around the 17th Century however scarves were worn on a wider scale by Croatian Mercenaries - again these were not wool scarves, but ordinary cotton if you were a soldier and the officers wore silk.

It was the French who were so enamoured with these unusual and colourful scarves, that they began to wear them too, calling them cravats, from the Croatian word kravata. It became popular to demonstrate political inclination by the colour of a man's scarf.

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