by Maria Bellotto @thecashmerediaries

Few things embody the quintessence of elegance, chicness, and good taste like… well yes, dear Gou Gous, the foulard.

Worn around the neck, braided in the hair, draped on the shoulders, beloved by men and women alike, a patterned carré can bring redemption to the most reckless Gou Gou’s fashion experiments, and is the ultimate summer accessory. And if you haven’t yet ventured into the wonderful world of foulards and bandanas, for fear of not knowing how to wear them in style, here’s how to add a touch of class to your next villeggiatura outfits.

Foulard: the name immediately evokes grandmother’s cologne-perfumed drawers, which enshrine perfectly folded scarves in bright colors, bright orange boxes, and movie divas fleeing in a convertible… but the history of the foulard begins much earlier, perhaps as far back as 1000 B.C. China, continuing into the Middle Ages as a symbol of class status.

In the 1930s maisons like Hermes, Dior, Chanel, YSL and Givenchy brought the foulard back into vogue, partly with the help of style icons like Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly or Catherine Deneuve. I can already imagine you this summer, à la plage, protecting your hair from the sun with a scarf, or living your bandana-donning pirate fantasy on a sailboat, or in the countryside having a très chic picnic.

Now that we have aroused in you the desire to pull a silk carré out of the closet, let’s see how to wear it for the season.

Who said that the foulard is a purely feminine accessory? Nothing could be more wrong; in fact, it is well known that Gou Gous of all identities gain in style and class with a foulard knotted around the neck, as long as they are familiar with the noble art of knotting.

Whether you’re carefully folding a linen shirt for a seaside vacation, anticipating boat rides and aperitivi on terraces in the golden hour light, or getting ready for a trip on the road to discover the great unknown – this knot gives a perfect effortlessly chic touch. And yes, it also prevents you from catching cold. For him, but also for her.

Whether you’re wearing flowing skirts or Saharan gowns à la YSL for your very own personal safari this summer – are you hunting butterflies, charming two-legged creatures, or dreamy boulangeries? – a foulard worn on the head has two basic functions, taught by the Gou Gous across generations.

Not only does it protect hair from the sun, but it also gives a touch of style that hardly goes unnoticed. Super easy to wear, a foulard worn like a bandana really looks good on everyone, whether you have Rapunzel’s long hair, or Twiggy’s iconic boyish cut.

Who said summer is all about countryside, sea and mountains? We know that among you Gou Gous are urban explorers: fans of museums, hidden nooks and crannies and jealously guarded secret addresses. And if the villeggiatura outfit has its rules, the city outfit should not be underestimated either.

And for a day of scrabbling on pavements and cobblestones, a headband-like knotted foulard is perfect to give a little style to an otherwise somewhat anonymous ponytail, n’est pas? Bonus points if the headscarf is paired with another accessory, such as a handbag or les escarpins – which we know will be très jolie but hopelessly uncomfortable for all the miles you’ll be walking on your exploration!

If you pawed in pink tights on a polished parquet floor as a child (or as an adult), you surely remember the customary combed chignon, a style icon and synonymous with elegance, ça va sans dire. 

And if strolling with a straw bonnet up and down the narrow streets of Portofino or a remote Greek islet is perhaps too formal, an artfully knotted foulard helps us make the impeccable chignon a real Gou Gou hairstyle. 

Just make a low bun at the nape and wrap it in a foulard, making a nice knot; not only does it give a touch of color, but the silk helps protect the hair and helps it retain moisture. 

For long-haired Gou Gous, a foulard knotted in a braid immediately gives us images of sunny countryside, picnics in meadows and, why not, boat rides on a mountain lake (or Villa Borghese, if that’s more your style).

But wherever you’re destined to spend the summer, a foulard braided into your hair adds brightness to your face and color to your hair, also helps give volume and mass to your braid – yes, we are talking to you, dear fine and straight-haired friends, we understand.

Well, yes, we saved our favorite for last. Audrey wore it in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Grace choosing Gucci‘s iconic Flora with the red trim… and we can see you, in a convertible, sunglasses on, leaving behind rows of trees on the side of a country road with your scarf knotted on your head so your hair doesn’t get messed up.

This way of wearing the foulard is perhaps the most classic, yet at the same time the most timeless, and it also protects us from a sudden downpour – as long as we don’t tell our grandmother that the 1960s silk foulard she lent us had to survive a summer storm.

In short, les Gou Gous, if you haven’t yet rushed to get yourself a foulard, a twilly, a silk scarf for next summer’s vacation, it’s really time to rummage through drawers, trunks or vintage stores. The scarf is definitely the accessory of the summer, and whatever your style, we are sure you will wear it impeccably (or impeccably messily) and with boungusto!