Ethnic pattern scarf in blue shades

Two patterns on one 90 x 180 cm scarf

This is a long rectangle rather than a square, and at 90 x 180 cm it wraps twice round the neck and still hangs loose. The top half carries rows of stylised palmettes, outlined in deep cobalt and filled with a lighter blue. The bottom half drops that rhythm entirely for a tight mosaic of white rosettes on cobalt squares. A narrow band of diamonds and dotted lines runs between the two, and that is where the eye tends to stop.

Why the white ground does the work

Printed scarves often fill every inch, and the pattern ends up competing with itself. Here the ground stays plain white from end to end, so each motif keeps its outline and the blues read clearly from across a room. It also means the piece sits quietly next to a plain shirt instead of shouting over it. Having two separate patterns on a single length is unusual among our printed scarves for women, where most keep one design from corner to corner.

Gold stripes and two-tone tassels

Fine gold stripes follow both long edges and frame the print without cutting into it. At the corners hang navy and pale blue tassels, left to swing freely. They are the detail you notice first when the scarf is worn open, and the reason it reads as rather more than a plain wrap.

Summer cover-up, autumn layer

In warm weather the width is enough to throw over bare shoulders at the end of the day, on a terrace or walking back from the beach. Once the temperature drops it goes under a coat collar instead, where only the palmette half shows and the mosaic stays tucked out of sight. Office, weekend, holiday: the scarf does not change, but the part of the print on display does. Worn open down the back, both halves show at once, palmettes on the upper length and mosaic below.

Colours it sits beside

Indigo denim, natural linen and navy are the obvious companions, and none of them fight the print. Camel and beige are the more interesting choice: against them the gold edging comes forward and the blues look deeper. White works too, though the scarf then carries the whole contrast on its own and the effect is calmer than you might expect. If you want something heavier once winter sets in, look instead at our reversible squares, triangles and snoods.