Yee-haw! ...huh?

Way back when before dust masks men would tie hanker chiefs around their nose to protect themselves from breathing in dust, or if you're into the occasional cowboy flick, to keep their identity hidden while robbing banks. While taking those much needed breaks from herding animals (or robbing banks) they would pull the hanker chief down and let it hang around their necks, creating a cowboy-cool look repeated in every Western movie ever made. This is a great look for the wild, wild west, or those occasional horse back riding excursions - after all, you have to have the right look at all times for all occasions. But lately I've been wandering, what is it doing on the streets of New York?

I've been seeing girls sporting scarves styled as cowboy kerchiefs all over the City lately - during brunch in the East Village, on the subway after work, around the West Village and Meat Packing while out at night. I know New York can be wild and dusty and in the heat of summer rather smelly, but turning a gorgeous Hermes or de la Renta scarf into a cowboy kerchief is unacceptable. After all, no matter how many different kinds of 'animals' we have here, you're not about to go herding them. Or start robbing banks, I hope. Bottom line is that the cowboy boot style was bad enough, let's leave the scarves alone!

Here are some images of how scarves should be worn from BergdorfGoodman.com: