Scarves, This Years Must-Have Accessory

As Christmas is getting closer and closer and the temperature is getting cooler and cooler, the time to pull out your winter gear is starting to arise. 

You've got your jacket, your hat, your mittens, and boots, but what about the scarf? 

For most people, scarves are somewhat of an optional inclusion. While certainly, your mother told you to always wear one when you were a kid, in today's day and age, scarves can often feel like little more than an unnecessary addition to the winter wardrobe. 

That, my friend, is where you are wrong. 

While most scarves are largely good for little more than looking "hip", when it comes to alpaca scarves, nothing could be further from the truth. 

Now don't get me wrong, alpaca produces some seriously stylish scarves that you'd want to wear even if they didn't serve any real function. However, when you factor in the fact that they are made from alpaca wool fiber, these stylish scarves go from being simply a fashion choice to something that you are going to want to wear all the time even if it's entirely covered. 

Read on as we go over some of the main reasons why getting an Alpaca Scarf is a must-have for this year. 

Warmth & Comfortability

Just starting with the most important reason why an alpaca scarf is a must-have from this year on. It is fine to wear one of the many stylish scarves out there or something that merely is "soft" when touched. That is all fine, and, quite frankly, alpaca scarves perfectly hit all those marks as well. 

What I am talking about is the more important aspect that is its functional warmth and overall comfortability. After all, if it looks great or is very soft and silky, but otherwise isn't super comfortable to wear or (more importantly) isn't all that warm, then what's the point of wearing it for anything outside of an indoor party? 

Alpaca scarves are made from the wool fibers from an alpaca. These fibers are incredibly durable as well as able to insulate warmth better than any other type of wool. 

While scarves made from sheep's wool may be quite warm, this is because their wool does not insulate, thus meaning the warmth is essentially being trapped around your neck. And while that may be fine for very cold weather environments (credit where it's due) for anything over freezing temperatures, this can become very uncomfortable very fast. 

In those instances, people are often seen "loosening" their scarves up to let their neck breathe. This defeats the entire purpose of a scarf as it's supposed to keep it warm! 

Cotton and other scarves are the exact opposite. While they aren't nearly as hot around the neck as sheep's wool, that isn't because they are better insulated. Far from it. In reality, these scarves are essentially working in the opposite manner and actually releasing virtually all of your body's warmth while allowing the majority of cold air to pass through. 

Again, you see this clearly whenever a person has to "tighten up" their scarf by wrapping it around their neck several times or ultimately tuck it under their jacket. These scarves are little more than showy accessories that don't provide any actual relief against the colder elements. 

Alpaca Scarves resolve this situation entirely by both resisting much of the cold air to keep you warm, as well as allow your neck to "breathe" by insulating your body's inherent warmth. This results in you ultimately having a more comfortable experience in literally all but the most extreme of weathers (ie. Subsaharan Africa in the summer or Antarctica during a winter snowstorm). 

Summary

All in all, while there are a litany of different reasons why alpaca scarves are superior to standard scarves -from the sustainable methods in which the wool is acquired, to their innate "soft" feel similar to cashmere, to their water-resistance and lightweight body, to even the fact that they are hypoallergenic and wearable by pretty much anyone no matter their potential skin sensitivities- those don't matter nearly as much as the most salient and imposing question of all: 

Are they comfortable? And, if so, will they keep me warm? 

When you are getting a scarf, or a pair of gloves, or a jacket, or really any piece of clothing, it is so important to ask that question first before anything else. 

I hope that I've done just that.