Tuesday
Jun082010
Neck scarf ("Halstuch"): Fashion or Function?
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Germans love their neck scarves. They are worn by women and men, young and old, conservatives and alternatives, and everyone in between. These range from a small triangular piece of cloth that is tied behind the neck to longer pieces of cloth that are wrapped around several times. They are worn year-round by some, but are certainly mandatory attire for the majority in any season but summer. So when a child is born, the German Halstuch becomes a part of its wardrobe.
Dreieckstuch @ neckermann.de
ESPRIT Baby Tuch @ mytoys.de
Baby-Halstuch "Flame"
These neck scarves range from cute little triangles with various baby prints on them and velcro in the back to rocker preschooler fashion statements to designer brand name pieces.
Dreieckstuch @ neckermann.de ESPRIT Baby Tuch @ mytoys.de Baby-Halstuch "Flame"These neck scarves range from cute little triangles with various baby prints on them and velcro in the back to rocker preschooler fashion statements to designer brand name pieces.
In Canada, our children wear scarves or neckwarmers in the Winter. They are generally worn only when the temperature falls below the freezing point and the other parts of the child's attire are a snow suit and snow boots. The rest of the time, our children roam the great outdoors with free necks, except for the occaisional request to "zip up your jacket, or you'll catch a cold."
Are we Canadians, for much of the calendar year, recklessly exposing our children to all sorts of illness that could easily be prevented with a triangular piece of cloth? Or do we just have different fashion trends than the Germans?
Reader Comments (22)
they're pretty popular in the UK at the moment too. At least, among fashion-forward quirky types. I like the look of them on babies.
OK, this brings back memories of my youth in Switzerland, Germany, and Austria. It's truly cultural; neck scarves are simply part of the wardrobe and have been ever since I can remember--30+years. While here in the great American West, we have free necks.
Much cuter than the drool bibs I kept on my babies to catch the never ending waterfall of saliva they seemed to produce! I wish I would have thought of that then.
I am willing to take the risk. I honestly can't figure out how to make a scarf look good on me, much less a baby. It's the hazard of living in a place where the temperature rarely drops below freezing, I guess.
This reminds me of the summer I spent in Germany in college. I had a summer cold and my host mother suggested I wear a scarf to protect my neck. No joke, true story.
Hmm. I have always believed that it was viruses that caused colds, not lack of appropriate neckwear. I am a 50-something mom of adult children and I have walked an average of five miles a day for many years in temps ranging from about 90 down to -10 Fahrenheit (Michigan). I wear appropriate layers of clothing for the weather (scarf or no scarf as needed) and I very rarely get colds. I would guess these scarves represent a fashion trend.
As for babies, I remember regularly bundling up my younger one within an inch of her life when it was maybe 10 (F) with blowing snow. No sooner did we get outside when she would rip her hat and just about everything else off. My kids were also not often sick.
I am convinced Germans have a neck obsession. It's true that Germans will suggest you wear a scarf in summer if you have a cold, and nothing sends my mom into a tizzy more than when I walk outside in the winter with my jacket unzipped and a vneck sweater underneath, exposing my neck to the elements, even if it's only a few feet to the car. Every year my mom brings back long-sleeved undershirts from Germany. And you know what, after years of resisting, I've succumbed to the scarf! Not only do I have a collection of Hermes scarves for day (a remnant of the pre-family bull-market, haha) but I have been even known to wear a silk or cotton scarf to bed I am getting sick. I do think keeping the neck warm may help your body fight off a virus ... Matter-of-fact, I'm going to go get one now!
I think too that it's a German fashion thing. I don't know if other countries have equivalent accessories: the type that mean that you can work out what nationality they are within seconds when you see them at some international airport (sorry all Germans! - probably I'm often wrong!). I'm from the UK and I'd be interested in knowing if there was some garment which always gives me away!
As for neckscarves with babies, I must say that I thought they were just silly when my daughter was little, but now with my son I do really need something to catch the dribble. Maybe it's something in the German genes that means German children are more predisposed to dribble (and my daughter inherited my English, non-dribble genes, whilst my son got his father's dribble genes)!
kayak woman:
Of course it is viruses that cause a cold, but I think the argument with regards to appropriate neckwear (or appropriate clothing in general) is that if you are not dressed properly your immune response is decreased and you are less likely to be able to ward off a cold.
Bettina:
I also have a closet full of scarves that are appropriate to wear with a business suit, but I would wear them entirely for fashion purposes and not to keep my neck warm.
I totally agree with that but I wanted to try to keep my comment short :-)
I'll also venture to guess that there are a lot of people who are more susceptible to cold viruses and things than my family seems to be. If wearing a scarf seems to help, why argue with success.
I think it's a drool thing. My Scottish in-laws sent two and because our babe is wee, they were as good as a bib for her and because of the triangle wouldn't get in the way of a crawling baby. (My kids loathe bibs, so we didn't really use them anyway.)
A German friend here has a drooler and she wore a red muslin around her neck for months as a toddler
I can see it as a drool thing for babies, but people don't stop wearing them when they outgrow drooling.
Dude, their national costume involves leather shorts (lederhosen!), I'm not sure Germans are the ppl you want to watch in terms of fashion sense. Maybe watch what they do, then do the opposite.
susie ;)
That's Bavaria, not Germany. ;-)
Lovely post. Made me laugh. :-)
Karin (German with Halstuch-free kids)
They look like the bandanas people put on their dogs.
It was 30 degrees celcius today and we were at the splash pool with the kids. There was a woman sitting on a towel in the grass, wearing a bikini, with her neck all wrapped up in a scarf. She kept adjusting the scarf to ensure that all of her neck was covered.
Maybe she has a funny-looking scar under the scarf??
Being from Germany originally, I am very familiar with the Halstuch! I don't know that my mom ever put them on us much, but I inherited a few from my German girlfriends from their kids and I've put them on my little son to wear. I think it looks cute! And it's different.
It's more a fashion statement than for prevention of colds, I think. Although I must confess that I never saw my baby's cute little feet because I always had socks on them. And we lived in California! Hardly anyone in Germany runs around without socks or has their baby's feet exposed :)
Will post a picture of L with a neck scarf right now for you :)
Liebe Grusse nach Berlin aus New York!
Dagmar
Dagmar's momsense
@DagmarBleasdale
[...] And if so, why? I was querying the first bit about mufflers and the closest I got to that was this, but it turned out to be a query [...]
This is cracking me up! I currently live in Germany and about to have a baby. I've received some baby clothes from an in-law, including those dog-like bandannas for infants. I can't bring myself to keep them. They just don't look right to my American eyes. Having said that, I do wear a scarf almost every day up until about April - but only because it's cold here. Tip: If you're trying to get a job in Germany, wear a scarf to your interview.