In Paris, the scarf is a fashion accessory not just for the fashion élite. Chic professional women wear scarves but so do teens in track suits as they slouch and smoke. Men in expensive-looking suits wear scarves. So do construction workers on their lunch breaks.

Scarves are rarely just draped around necks. People wrap them, they tie them, they loop them. Sometimes they create such bulk that the head appears only barely and almost as an afterthought.