Real Wisconsin Men Wear Cashmere Scarves

Cashmere is the fabric of the winter season, and ergo, a cashmere scarf is the accessory. A cashmere scarf will keep you warm on a frigid Wisconsin morning, and toasty on an evening stroll through Shorewood’s shops and restaurants. But many men fear the scarf. They are intimidated by how to wear it, and worse: they believe that a scarf is effeminate.

Let Harleys allay your neck accessory fears.

First, how to wear a scarf is not rocket science.

Most men’s scarves are approximately 10 inches wide, 70 inches long, and made from either a solid or patterned cut of cloth designed to wrap around the neck. In other words, it is a really long rectangle of fabric. By this measure, a tie is far more intimidating. There are many ways to wear a scarf but generally, wrapping it any which way around the neck will do. Much easier than a tie, yes?

Second, the scarf is far from effeminate.

Rather, it is a 2,000-year-old manly tradition. Here is a very abbreviated history lesson: as early as 300 BC in China, soldiers wore scarves to denote military rank, and in Rome around 100 BC, a scarf was a gentleman’s standard accessory.

By the First World War, scarves were essential flight equipment for military aviators because it kept them warm at high altitudes and prevented the chaffing that occurred when craning their necks while scanning for other planes. (So, if Maverick, Iceman and Goose would approve, you can put your girly man fears to rest, yes?)

So this winter, be a man and wear a cashmere scarf. It will keep you warm and looking dapper, and according to legend, wearing one makes you better at chopping wood, building a fire, and carrying heavy things.