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It was sometime last week, while walking near the HuffPost offices in Times Square, that I spotted a mysterious, vaguely familiar scarf for what seemed like the millionth time this season. It was a particularly drizzly spring day and my fellow New Yorkers were layered up — and one of of them, I noticed, was sporting a brightly-colored blanket scarf that I’ve spotted on countless passersby throughout the late winter and spring.
The oversized piece has an eye-catching color scheme, combining electric shades of cobalt, turquoise, orange, and yellow into an oversized buffalo check-style pattern. It has a hairy, fuzzy look and is finished with long fringes, with a neck-swallowing footprint similar to a blanket scarf that wellness editor Lindsay Holmes tipped us off to in a recent roundup of editor’s picks.
At Holmes’ recommendation, I hit Amazon in search of the scarf — and it should come as no surprise that the online retailer did not disappoint.
The sight of the scarf activated my shop-dar for a few reasons: One, it appeared to be so ubiquitous, and two, it reminded me of a pricey blanket scarf that the Swedish luxury brand Acne has offered for the past few seasons. Acne’s version — in a premium fabric blend containing alpaca, wool, and mohair — currently retails for $310. (While the colorway I’d seen copycatted is out of stock, Acne still has plenty of options in a similar vein, should you be interested in dropping coin on the real deal.)
It should also come as no surprise that the Amazon reviews were swimming with comparisons to the designer original. Plenty of reviewers, however, gave the $25 scarf high marks for other things, including the quality and incredible softness. “Soft, cozy, oversized scarf! Def recommend. Not itchy — I’m super sensitive to itchy material,” commented reviewer Shelly Rapoport. It also offers a lot of warmth for your buck, according to AmaPorub, who wrote: “[It’s] surprisingly warm! I wore it with a coatigan in 38-degree weather and didn’t need a jacket.” Overall, it’s garnered a score of 4.6 out of 5 stars from over 200 ratings.
TikTok offers some insight into the scarf’s hyper-local popularity. A quick search yields videos of “The Scarf Guy,” a midtown street vendor whose outdoor racks are decorated with the blanket scarf in a range of colorways. (The insidious accessory also seems to have infiltrated so-called “high street” outlets — a number of TikTokers claim to have discovered the scarf at places like Primark and Kmart.)
While a cozy, insulating layer of knitwear might seem like a strange thing to buy at this time of year — when the weather is finally, tantalizingly beginning to warm up in some parts of the country — we’d argue that it’s actually the most strategic fashion purchase during a transitional season. A Lenny Kravitz-level scarf like this one is the best insurance policy against fluctuating spring temperatures, enabling you to leave the house in that dangerously lightweight jacket without worrying about any unexpected temperature drops, April showers or “cold-in-the-shade” moments.
Click below to add this Big Apple-approved staple to your wardrobe ASAP.