Wrapping a scarf from L.A.-based brand Donni around your neck makes you *feel* something. When I tell that to founder Alyssa Wasko, she laughs...and agrees. “It adds that missing something to an outfit,” she says. “Actually, it’s almost like you just look cooler, quite bluntly!”
She’s right. When I put her Trio blanket scarf over a sweater or jacket, I feel as cool as an Olsen twin wearing layers of The Row. But Wasko’s pieces symbolize much more than great style. “I made the first scarf in 2008 when I was a sophomore in college, and it was very shortly after my dad passed away,” she says. “Everyone copes very differently, and I was the kind of person that wanted to be both distracted and have [a lot] on my plate and not really feel.”
Scarves made Wasko feel cool and comforted, but they also made her feel seen. “I worked at CHANEL for six years, and the first summer I worked there, the last day I wasn’t wearing a scarf, and someone was like, ‘I didn’t even recognize you without a scarf on.’” The accessory was part of her look—one she argues can work long past the winter months. Case in point: When she started making her scarves out of her dorm room, everyone on her campus in Arizona was wearing them, too. “Keep in mind it was like, 100 degrees!”
Since we are all waiting (desperately) for spring to arrive, I asked Wasko about three of her favorite pieces—The Trio, a three-toned blanket scarf; The Velvet Lady, a skinny velvet rectangle scarf; and The Velvet Poppy, a solid velvet neck or hair tie—and how to style them year-round. Next time you’re thinking of packing away your scarves, consider these styling tricks first.
The Trio
“I think the Trio is definitely one of my favorites... My best friend’s little sister is wearing it, my grandma has it chicly draped over her shoulders and she’s playing maj with the ladies—it just works for everyone. My brother rocks it like no other. I think it’s a cool classic scarf for everyone.”
Velvet Lady
“That one—I guess you could make it super ladylike or very rocker-chic, like Kate Moss. You can tie it in with your braid, you can wear [it] as a wrap-up, you can wear it as a belt, you can tie it around your neck in literally ten different ways!”
Velvet Poppy
“The Poppy is amazing. I’m not super girly. I think I have a little bit more of like, a baggy, boy kind of style, and I think that wearing that piece in my hair makes me feel like I’m a girl. It’s just so fun. The wire lets you do whatever you want... You can do a bow, you can do bunny ears, you can do a rosebud... I went to a wedding, and I wore a backless dress and tied it around my neck and let [the] back kind of like, hang out, and it was so chic.”
Photo and videos: Courtesy of Donni
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