Are you getting tired of your old purse(s)? We all know these moments… Time to make a decision!
Here are several options. You can:
- Keep your bag as it is … and save money. Not very exciting
- Get a new bag and forget money saving. Not money wise
- Find an exciting + money wise option
Let’s talk about option #3 which obviously sounds like the best one to many of us: what if you could re vamp, zest up and at the same time customize your purse without spending a dime?
To start with, grab your favorite scarf/scarves and your favorite purse. Then think about your day: will you hold your purse all day long? Will you have to put it on the ground? Do you intend to go shopping with elegance? Will you attend an event? In any case, time has come to dress up your bag. Below are a few ideas.
On all these photos, I am using silk scarves 36″x36″ or 30″x30″ which I fold either in a short band or a long ribbon before tying them with a large square knot or a bow. Remember that straps, buckles, zips (viva Longchamp and Lancel) are perfect places to tie a scarf !
Short band around one handle
30″x30″ scarf pulled through the front buckle and tied with a bow
Windy day, flowing scarf
Flowing trails
Wrap around style
One short scarf
Two short scarves for more colors
This one will not drag on the ground!
One thing you want to remember: if you like a long flowing scarf, make sure it never trails on the ground. Before setting your bag down, just make a large bow with your scarf and it will be safe.
If you are looking for a bold look, you also have the option to totally wrap your purse in a scarf. This style will turn any old handbag into a stunning accessory: place your handbag at the center of your scarf. Grab the first two tips and tie them at the bottom of the handles. Do the same with the two other tips. No worries: you will still be able to access the (probably numerous) things which are inside your bag and that – like many other women – you need several times a day.
Total wrap. New look purse!
If you like the total scarf-bag look, you may also want to try to turn a scarf into a bag. This old tradition is an art in Japan. It is called “Furoshiki”. The video below will show you how to easily do it. All you need is a pretty large scarf … and a little training…
How do you customize your purses? Are you ready for the Furoshiki art? I’d love to hear from you.
Silky hugs
Anne Touraine
http://pinterest.com/atouraine/scarves-women-s-best-friends/
So beautiful post! I like especially the furoshiki scarf bags! They are great for summer time.
Can’t wait to see photos of you with your furoshiki bags, dear Tereza! You are absolutely right: because they are so light and so fluid, these bags are more appropriate for the summer time…
xoxo
Some of my furoshiki bags photos are posted here: http://www.hratkyssatky.blogspot.cz/search/label/furoshiki
Tereza, you are such a scarf expert… And you wear furoshiki bags with such style. Thank you for sharing all these great photos. You are the best!
xoxo
I started doing this years ago…it is such a great subtle way to pop a fun print into an outfit!
A scarf on a purse is certainly not something new. At the same time not so many women would do it in the past. My feeling is that today this combination is really back in trend. Not one fashion magazine, one fashion show, one advertizing campaign which doesn’t show scarves on purses! Rather than a scarf with long trails the trend seems to be a short scarf tied with a bow.
Thank you for your comment dear Pamela
xoxo
Great video! I need to pick up a few smaller silk scarves to dress up my handbags
Hi Monica, Thank you for your visit:-) I went on your blog quickly and will certainly come back for a longer visit. You obviously belong to the great and friendly family of scarf lovers.
You mentioned grosgrain ribbon in one of your recent posts. If you don’t have small scarves to dress up your handbags, large grosgrain ribbon can also be a fun option…
All the best!
Such great ways to glam up a tired purse & what a great idea making the scarf bag in the furoshiki style.
The art of furoshiki bags requires practice + the appropriate scarf size. I am still at level 1, Barbara – like for preparing home made sushi!!!! Which furoshiki level are you at? Maybe we could practice together!
xoxo
Fabulous ideas – great photographs. Thank you very much!
Thank you for your visit and your comment, Ladi!Hope to see you again
All the best
Thank you – I now subscribe to your blog
I have been collecting scarves for years and I absolutely adore them. My problem, I wasn’t wearing them for “fear of ruining them”. I know it ‘s silly, but I have recently thrown caution to the wind and thanks to you, have now some wonderful inspirations on how to wear them.
So, again, thank you!
Ladi
Thank you for your kind words and thank you for subscribing to my blog, Ladi. Some years ago, I used to feel the same as you: being very much afraid of ruining my silk scarves. I finally came to the conclusion that scarves – like any good thing in this world – are made to be fully enjoyed everyday. Carpe Diem is a great philosophy
Enjoy your beautiful scarves!
Cheers
Thanks for the link to the furoshiki video. I fell in love with them in Japan, and now that I live in Belgium I use them often. A common gift in Belgium (as you can imagine) is chocolates, and I often use a cloth napkin to over-wrap them, with the form he used with the pink furoshiki. The ends are shorter and make a tidy and pretty package.
I never thought of using my scarves as furoshiki, though. Thanks!
Hi Kate, thank you for your comment!
You sound like an expert in the Furoshiki art. I would need your help. May I visit you in Belgium for a furoshiki- CHOCOLATE worshop?????
Cheers
I especially love the silk scarves loosely tied around the handle blowing in the wind!
Annette
Lady of Style
Thank you for your visit and your comment, dear Annette! The weather is an important element to consider when wearing a scarf. Actually, wind and scarves are very good friends
Cheers
Just curious – who made the scarves you used in this post? I recognize some of them might be Hermes, but completely incapable to recognize others…thanks for beautiful post and hope to receive a reply. Hugs, D.
Hi Lilian,
These are scarves my Mom gave me a long time ago. There is no brand name on them..
Glad you enjoyed the post!
Hugs back
Very nice scarves, bright colours, truly beautiful – and I really believed they are some Hermes ones which I never saw or recognized. The bags fits in your outfit just fabulously (I am a proud owner of two Longchamp bags too). Best, Lil
Thanks Lilian. Longchamp and Lancel bags are wonderful for scarf lovers. So many ways to tie scarves around / through the buckles…
I love the idea of it. In Asia, we used to give gifts wrapped in the special silks…I would love it to catch on in the west as well…
Thanks for your comment Naomi!
I discovered the art of furoshiki recently. It’s a lovely tradition and, just like you, I hope it will come to Western countries soon:-)
Cheers!
Shamefully, I haven’t done this for a long time and I love the look of it! I have a couple little scarves that I like to use on my handbags…speaking of the handbags you have pictured, I really like the style of them and the scarves show them off so nicely. Or are the bags showing off the scarves? A win, win I guess. : )
No shame, Heather, no shame! This post is just a reminder of other scarf stylings. There are so many ways to play with bags and scarves. With the total wrap, the scarf is definitely the winner whereas on ost other styles it’s more a win win game, as you rightly said!
xoxo
Dear Anne, a question which I have not managed to resolve by today. When buying your CD in a country outside US, which shipping costs are to apply. Shame if there is a note which I have not located on your website. Thanks, Lil
Dear Lilian,
The cost for international shipping is $8. It will appear at the end of the registration process when you order the CD.
Thank you for your faithfulness and have a great day:-) Best ~Anne
For the furoshiki bags lovers: six instructions how to tie them
http://myfuroshiki.blogspot.com/2010/05/my-flexible-furoshiki-summer-bag.html
Precious information. Thanks a lot Tereza for sharing this. You are a gem!
Hugs
Great ideas! I have many scarves that could accessorize my bags now that you’ve provided inspiration.
Always honored and glad to inspire you, Judith though you have such a great imagination and such a creative mind that I doubt you need help to style your bags, scarves and… hats of course! ~xoxo
I like to tie a scarf around a handle to add interest and colour to an outfit but I hadn’t thought about being more creative – thank you for these suggestions. You have a lovely selection here and the green and blue combination in the first photo is so pretty.
http://missbbobochic.blogspot.co.uk/
Thanks Miss bbobochic:-)
Isn’t it amazing all the combinations with can create just with a scarf and a bag? And there are many more… It depends very much on our mood and on the bag we use. The more little buckles, little zippers, or other little tiny things we can tie a scarf around, the better. Let’s all revamp our dear handbags… without overspending!
xoxo
I often tie a scarf around my purse’s handle, but I’ve never seen one tied in a bow on the front. Love it! I’m going to have to try.
A little bow on a bag seems to be the latest trend. I have seen lots of these bag/scarf styles recently in Paris. Fun!
xoxo
You have such a high-quality website, Anne. I love the brilliant colors and the elegance of your site. Scarves are so feminine and you think of the most fascinating ways to use them. Thank you!
Thank you dearest Susan! Wearing scarves is fun. Sharing styles with other scarf lovers brings even more fun:-)
Have a lovely day~ Hugs.
Absolutely brilliant ideas…love scarves and love bags…
Thank you Shilpa
and welcome to this blog dedicated to scarf lovers…
Bonjour Anne,
j’adore le Furoshiki Art (Kyoto, quel bonheur et quels souvenirs!), plus pour l’effet cadeau que pour relooker entièrement un sac car il faut avouer que pour le côté pratique… sympa lorsqu’il fait beau et que l’on ne doit pas poser son sac….toutes les excuses sont bonnes pour justifier l’achat d’un nouveau sac et d’un nouveau foulard pour l’accessoiriser comme vous le faites si bien!
Je vous envoie des salutations soyeuses mais gelées!
Bonjour Catherine,
Ainsi donc vous avez eu l’occasion “d’étudier le Furoshiki” directement sur place?! Tout à fait d’accord avec vous: raffiné, délicat mais pas vraiment pratique. A l’image peut-être de beaucoup de choses au Japon… Pour ce qui est d’acheter un nouveau foulard ou un nouveau sac, je vous suis tout à fait: notre imagination féminine est sans limite s’il faut trouver des excuses
Amicales et chaleureuses pensées de Floride. Bonne chance pour affronter le froid glacial qui règne en France. Stay warm!
Wonderful blog! I found it while browsing on Yahoo News.
Do you have any tips on how to get listed in Yahoo News?
I’ve been trying for a while but I never seem to get there! Thank you
Hello Beauty Expert,
Thanks for your kind words.
About Yahoo: my feeling is that I am listed on Yahoo News because several press articles (about my scarf presentations) were published in the Herald Tribune – which is linked to Yahoo news.
I can share tips about scarves more but I am not really a Yahoo expert
Good luck !