I'm trying to find out more about a loosely fitting neck scarf, sometimes with fringe, but not a heavy fabric or a knit. I've seen them being worn by young men and women alike in my travels to various countries around the world. It appears to be something that doesn't wrap around the neck but slips over the head. The fabric resembles a keffiyeh, the headdress worn by men in the Middle-East, but isn't worn on the head itself. I've looked up cowl, pashmina, halswarmer, snood, poncho and kroma, but so far no luck with a positive I.D.

Any other suggestions?

If it isn't worn over the head, how does it slip over the head?

I think you might be looking for whats called a neck warmer, I know exactly what you mean when you describe how they are worn in the middle east.

écharpe? cachecol?

PatrickLondon, it's not a headress, but is some sort of neck warmer that is tubular in its general construction so it can slip over the head and drape loosely around the neck and upper chest area.

Lobo-mau, no it's not either of those words, those appear to be woven, long rectangular scarves that just wrap around the neck.

It looks something like this: http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y13...store/neck.jpg but as previously stated I'm of the impression that it slips over the head.

If you are talking about the white ones with black pattern and white tassles, those are called Pro-Palestine scarves in Spain and they are worn to show solidarity with Palestinians.

I would call what you are describing a pashmina, which in my experience is a long, wide thin piece of fabric with fringe or very fine tassles at the end.

Are you sure it slips over the head? Have you seen someone put it on? I used to think that about scarves until I learned the truth about how to put one on correctly.

The scarf that slips over the head is called a cowl scarf. Mostly they are knitted but I've seen silk ones.

I bought 2 in the leather market in Florence for my nieces. They were knitted very loosely with fuzzy, soft yarn.

i cant believe i just happened on this thread....i have a bunch of them...they call em Magic Scarfs....i live and florida and found a bunch of em here!....walgreens even had em! they are soooooo indespensable esp. iin the cold weather they are soft, pack like silk and keep you warm. Good luck finding them.

I can't tell you the name of the "scarf," but it is the same fabric that was worn as a headscarf by Yasir Arafat. Those scarves were very popular during 1985-1989 in NYC. I used to wear mine (I am almost positive I bought it at Pearl River Mart) with a blouson-style leather jacket.

You are mistaken, however, that the scarf just slips over the head. It is indeed tied around the neck or draped. It is about the size of a small tablecloth. You fold it into the shape of a triangle, then tie it like a bib around your neck. By tucking in the ends, it looks like a cowl. I still have mine in a box in my garage.

I haven't seen anyone wear one in eons.

Balenciaga baby

Yes, they make interesting coverings, too, for small tables! I think the red/white are worn in the Gulf States and the black/white in Middle East apart from the Gulf. Used to be quite trendy, as our style guru above has mentioned.

Oh yes, I had a few of those in the mid-late 80s too when I was in high school and I tied mine sort of like Polly Magoo describes. But it didn't really have a name. Ahhhh, 80s fashion!

Brotherlee : I recognised what you were talking about as I read your post, saw the pic you posted and then read Polly Magoo's post.

I think it is a 'kaffiya' type of scarf just wound and worn loosly around the neck. The fabric isn't always a thick weave. I bought a red and white one in Jordan last year (from a Bedouin) and used it here during the winter that way.

However, while I was in Kenya some years ago, I was given a gift of another square scarf. It was made of very thin cotton (like voile), dark blue with dark red stripes of different widths, and had it had long, knotted-thread tassels every inch or so along the edges, also supposedly to be worn loosly around the neck (I never did). The striped print was similar to the traditional 'kikoi/kitenge' African print. I've seen some that have small paisleys in the print as well.

Thanks, everyone. Guess I was mistaken about it being tubular and slipping over the head, they just look that way.

the ones I'm referring to are tubular