The Grace Kelly Scarf

The Kelly head wrap is probably the one most associated with glamor and elegance.

It certainly looks great, and curiously is the easiest to tie: just put it over the head, cross the ends under the chin, wrap around the throat and tie at the nape of the neck. It's also one of the scarf accessories that less likely to need adjusting and retying, since it's securing both by the knot and the loop around the neck.

Apart from the elegant look, the Kelly headwrap nicely protects the hair, the ears, the cheeks and the throat. The tail and the ends fluttering in the wind behind the head are quite a sight!

But why is it named the "Kelly"? Wikipedia tells us that "The classic head cover of a silk scarf crossed under the chin and knotted at the side or nape of the neck is universally known as the 'Grace Kelly'" and that the look is "...still copied by many female Hollywood stars when they wish to retain a degree of anonymity in the public eye. Famous users include: Sharon Stone, Madonna, and Annette Bening."

Well, Sharon, Maddy and Annette are known headscarf wearers (and all three are Scarf Ladies on this site, each one of them with at least one Kelly wrap fashion scarf under their belts - or over their hair more appropriately)

Named for the famous American actress-turned-Princess of Monaco, Grace Kelly, this method of wearing a scarf was used to protect the hair-style and still look glamorous while traveling.

Grace Kelly was one elegant and classy lady other than a beautiful actress, and naming this glamorous style after her is only fitting. However, it's safe to say that she didn't invent it.

The head wrap was already in use in the 1950s, and even before. In some instances it has been referred to as the "O" wrap. Audrey Hepburn made the look even more popular, wearing it both on screen and in life. Audrey is one of the greatest Scarf Ladies of all times, and this style is closely associated to her in the public's imagination.

So, why isn't the style named an "Audrey Hepburn"? Actually, it's sometimes referred to as an "Audrey style", but rarely. Probably it's because of Grace Kelly already being a well-known diva at the time, and because of her being royalty. And since Audrey Hepburn is in the hearts and minds of many women for her allure and modest elegance, it's only fair to credit Grace Kelly with this beautiful head wrap.

The Kelly wrap is synonymous with "classy disguise", along with sunglasses. It's a common movie and TV practice, whenever the heroine needs to go unrecognized, to have her wear this headscarf style. This may have worked in the '50s and '60s when every girl, her sister and her mother would wear a scarf over her hair, but today a Kelly is sure to get a woman noticed! In a contemporary movie, having the actress wear a Kelly wrap to disguise herself is played either as a cliché or for comedic effect.

Here to the right you can see beautiful Glenne Headley from the movie Getting even with Dad. She wears a Kelly headscarf and sunglasses, in a funny (but elegant) attempt to walk around unrecognized as she spies about. She looks way too good not to be noticed! 

Head Scarf Variations

The Kelly headscarf can be worn with some little variations. Usually they entail pulling the head scarf more forward or backward, or having the knot tight or loose, but there are more.  

Here is the typical Kelly headwrap

, as worn by supermodel Claudia Schiffer. It's just perfect, snug and tight, neatly covering the neck, and it's tied with a double knot leaving the ends short.

One of the most popular variants is to have the knot at the side of the neck instead of behind, like in the picture to the right.

This head wrap is also looser and pulled forward. The side-tied knot makes the ends fall over the shoulder instead of on the back, which results in a nice look, even if a little less practical than the regular Kelly scarf : one of the reasons the Kelly is practical when traveling, especially riding in a convertible, is that the ends are out of the way and fluttering behind the head.

With the knot at the side, the scarf's ends are free to fly around near the face. It's a great sight, but a little less practical! Of course, if it's looks you're after...

Yet another scarf tying variation, though rarer, has the scarf wrap pulled back to leave the ears uncovered. There would seem to be not much point in this scarf wear, because it leaves the ears, the cheeks and much of the hair uncovered, and it tends to slide a lot, but it allows a woman to wear her earrings! So, if you own both a Hermès scarf and a pair of Cartier earrings, that's a nice way to show off bo

th!

And here is an interesting Kelly variant, as worn by Sarah Strange in the Sliders episode Greatfellas. This is one of those "headscarf and sunglasses" scene where our heroine tries to sneak without being recognized, but with a head wrap like that she's bound to get noticed!

At first sight it looks like a loose classic, but look closely and you'll see the ends are crossed at her throat and tied behind the head, with the tail falling over the knot instead of being caught under it as in a regular Kelly. The image to the right shows it more clearly...

... And as Sarah takes the scarf off, it's easy to see how it's wrapped, and tied loose. She unwraps herself without undoing the knot.

This type of Kelly headwrap is a bit of a rarity but it makes for a nice and unusual look. Out in the open, the wind would make the tail end fly about unrestrained by the knot.

Of course, it would need to be tied a little bit tighter around the head, and secured with a proper knot.

The Kelly style is also a favorite among modern Muslim women who want to follow their modest dress code while still looking beautiful and fashionable. The use of large scarves and shawls has also led to more interesting and great-looking variations.

  Classy, elegant, glamorous, simply great  looking: this is the Kelly-style headscarf, in all its diva-like glory.

 

The Kelly head wrap works best with the square scarf, but can also be performed using the oblong scarf (or rectangular scarf) for those times when you want to add more flair to the look.

 

Check out an irressistable array of Italian scarves, shawls and wraps from L'accento and learn numerous ways how to wear a scarf

 

 

          Have fun!