the best accessories to warm your winter wardrobe

There’s nothing like a good cold snap to remind everyone that it’s time to buy a new scarf. In London last week, icy winds all but gusted people through the doors of West End shops. Within the relative comfort of stores from Oxford Circus to Mount Street, shoppers shivered past piles of folded T-shirts and rails of party dresses in search of one quality: warmth.

Small touches like the right gloves or hat can add warmth and personality to a look. These functional finishing touches have grown into more important components of fashion ranges as designers seek to add more affordable entry points into their brands. Options abound this season, whether it’s cashmere neckerchiefs, knitted opera gloves or scarves.

If these oversized scarves seem bound to swamp the wearer — well, that’s the point

Last winter, Acne Studios’ checked, mohair-blend scarf (£270, acnestudios.com) spawned a thousand imitations. They’re still going strong, with 14 new colourways this season (typically seen with the tag facing out when they’re the real deal). On the whole, shoppers appear to be gravitating towards less instantly recognisable styles, but large chunky versions remain a customer favourite.

At the recently opened Jacquemus store on New Bond Street, a sales associate showed one way to style the brand’s oversized cream Carro scarf (£240, selfridges.com) beyond standard looping methods. (To wit: cinching it under the brand’s double-buckle Regalo belt “gives it a neater silhouette”.)

Across town, at Navygrey’s pop-up shop in Notting Hill, more than one customer came in asking for “that scarf,” by which they meant the brand’s amply proportioned Border Cable design (£165, navygrey.co). Like the Acne scarf, the Carro measures around 250cm in length — longer than many dining tables. At 240cm, the Border Cable scarf comes in a smidgen shorter. The average height of women in the UK is 162.4cm. If these oversized scarves seem bound to swamp the wearer — well, that’s the point.

“Big, generous scarves feel so very right at the moment. They give that real level of comfort and genuine warmth,” says Navygrey founder Rachel Carvell-Spedding. “It’s about the sensation you get when you wrap up in them. The warmth, the comfort — like you’ve come back home, even when you’re heading out the door.”

Amid so many enveloping scarves, there are neater options, too. In Uniqlo’s Oxford Street stores, shoppers clustered around displays of thermal socks, Heattech base layers and other products that promised toastiness. A display of padded scarves (£19.90, uniqlo.com) drew particular attention. The short scarves feature pillowy quilting, one looped end (the better to pull the tail of the scarf through) and a pocket to pack the whole thing down into.

The look is functional and minimal. It also comes with fashion pedigree. Uniqlo introduced the style as an online exclusive in autumn-winter 2022, after Prada debuted a padded Re-Nylon scarf adorned with a logo triangle bag in August 2022 (£720, selfridges.com). There are variations by Toteme (which did a padded version of its hit scarf jacket — no longer available, though its shawl-collared satin puffer is close), Jil Sander (£360, jilsander.com) and Canada Goose (£250, canadagoose.com). Strong sales led Uniqlo to bring the style into all physical stores last winter, where they’re still finding fans. Elsewhere on the high street, Marks and Spencer does a puffer scarf, while Cos’s version features an attached hood (£65, cos.com).

Speaking of hoods: knitted hoods — balaclavas’ friendlier cousins — are the new hats. Designer Simone Rocha pioneered these when she showed crystal-embellished balaclavas on her AW22 runway and again for AW24. A knitted hood makes for a strong look: part winter warrior, part . . . small child? When Donegal-based knitwear brand Moss + Cable introduced its unisex balaclava (£47, mossandcable.com) a few winters ago, “we were a little surprised” that it became an instant hit, says founder Siobhan McKenna. “The style has a Marmite quality to it. [But] many customers mentioned wearing similar knitted hoods as children and were thrilled to see them make a comeback.”

They’re bound for even wider adoption this season. Right now, balaclavas are the accessory with the highest sell-through at Artknit Studios (£85, artknit-studios.com), and sales of Guest in Residence’s cable-knit balaclava (£180, net-a-porter.com) are on the rise at Net-a-Porter. Norwegian brand Holzweiler has noticed a trend of customers buying matching sets — balaclava, cardigan and scarf — for a seamless, tonal look where the accessories are as much a part of the outfit as the clothing. In the UK, Rise & Fall’s merino-cashmere knitted hoods (£95, riseandfall.co) sold out last year; the brand replenished the style in 10 colourways and expects to log 40 per cent year-on-year sales growth. The appeal is clear, says head of design Lauren Knowlson. “It’s designed to keep you cosy without the need to carry both a scarf and a hat.”

If you aren’t keen to pull on a hood, perhaps you’d prefer a bonnet that ties in a bow under the chin — see styles from Straw London’s collaboration with Herd (£145, herdwear.co); Paloma Wool (£110, libertylondon.com); Damson Madder (£38, damsonmadder.com); Ganni (£145, ganni.com); and Second Stories (£48, secondstories.co.uk), which offers zero-waste striped bonnets handmade by members of a women’s knitting circle in Scotland. Or a cashmere kerchief, designed to tie around hair or in a jaunty knot around the neck. It’s a winterised take on a silk scarf and a quick way to add colour and warmth to neutral outfits.

“Our cashmere foulard is a bit of a stealth outfit game-changer because of the different ways you can wear it,” says &Daughter founder Buffy Reid, noting that the brand has sold out and restocked its Fionn foulard (£165, and-daughter.com) five times so far (the bestselling colour is red) and has introduced an XL version. “It does that rare thing of being both practical and interesting. And it’s deliciously comforting.”

If hoods and hankies sound one fur coat short of a Grey Gardens costume, try another summer staple that works surprisingly well in more substantial fabrics: the wool or cashmere baseball cap. Last year’s ribbed beanie is fine too, if you can find it — winter hats being as notoriously easy to lose as umbrellas.

In gloves, the tell-tale contrast finger pads of touchscreen-compatible knitted styles are still ubiquitous among wearers who prioritise function. For a more fashionable approach, go long. At Net-a-Porter, searches for “long gloves” have ballooned by 1,020 per cent over the past three months as customers seek out elegant knitted and leather styles from The Row (£1,570, net-a-porter.com), Toteme (£150, int.toteme.com) and arch4 (£145, net-a-porter.com). 

“These long, opera-style gloves offer a twist on the cold-weather functional accessory,” says Net-a-Porter fashion director Kay Barron. “They add a touch of fashion to something that has traditionally been considered a very practical purchase. It’s all in the details and our customer wants to look stylish regardless of the weather conditions.” Better bundle up.

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