Bandanas

By Eric Langlois

Neckwear, like headwear or men’s jewelry, is a purely additive accessory. What I mean is we don’t live in a culture where people are expected to be wearing scarves or ties around their necks.

Even in rarified settings like the boardrooms of companies or four-star restaurants, neckties are relatively uncommon these days, and anything you put around your neck is going to be a statement, adding something to what people expect you to wear.

Adding an accessory can mean dressing up, particularly in the case of jewelry or neckties, but a piece of neckwear with an easy-going attitude is the classic bandana.

The bandana is closely associated with American workwear, but the word originates on the Indian subcontinent. Bandhani are traditional tie-dyed cloths, usually of a solid color with white undyed sections making intricate patterns.

This is the basis of the classic paisley patterned bandana that is seen all across North America.

Bandanas became popular there in the 17th century, when snuff tobacco users came to prefer colored handkerchiefs that hid tobacco stains. Over the 19th century, advances in weaving, printing, and dyeing resulted in bandanas appearing in intricate colors and patterns.

Printed advertisements became popular material for bandanas, particularly during the American Civil War when partisan designs for both sides were printed and sold en masse.

They were worn to block the hot summer sun and to shield the wearer from the furnaces and machinery of the industrial revolution, but they had their place in fashion at the same time.

Today, we most commonly associate bandanas with being stuffed in the pockets of factory workers or tied around the wrists or necks of farmers and cowboys working under the hot sun.

However, with an increased interest in workwear over the last couple decades, plenty of well-dressed people are adding them to their wardrobe, adding visual interest to a simple outfit or dressing down a suit or dress shirt with a touch of workwear.

There are a couple ways you can tie a bandana around your neck. There’s the old-school cowboy style, folding the bandana in half diagonally and tying an overhand knot at the front or back of your neck.

This is handy for keeping the sun off when you’re out working in the garden or on a run (or riding the range, I suppose). It’s a classic look, although it is a particularly westernwear-focused way to wear your bandana.

Another option is to roll up the bandana on the diagonal so that it lays flat against your neck. This will hide some of the additional material, leaving you with a smooth loop around your neck. You can then tie it in the front or on the side.

For a simple, carefree look, you can tie it with an overhand knot, leaving two little tails pointing out to the side.

For a more streamlined feel, you can tie your bandana like a necktie, using the four-in-hand knot. This allows the ends to lie flat straight down your chest, and you can easily tuck them inside your shirt for an even cleaner look.

Giancarlo Giannini demonstrates an easy, summery way to wear a bandana

If you don’t want to tie your bandana, you have a couple options. There is a scarf ring, what the Boy Scouts call a “woggle”, which is exactly what it sounds like.

You loop your bandana around your neck and tuck the opposite ends into a small ring, both going the same way. The friction of the ring keeps it on the bandana, and holds it in place on your neck.

Boy Scout woggles tend to be carved of wood or made from leather, but an old piece of jewelry or a cigar ring found in a box can easily serve the same purpose and add a flash of personality to your look.

Another knot-free alternative is to simply throw the bandana around your neck and tuck both ends down inside a shirt or sweatshirt.

An untied bandana tucked under a shirt or sweatshirt can add a simple pop of color

I’m always a proponent of buying vintage, and there are definitely some wonderful vintage bandanas out there, but they’re not really easy to find.

Part of the reason for that is that most vintage sellers and estate sale organizers are not prioritizing vintage bandanas, and they are more than likely to be overlooked or tossed out in favor of bigger-ticket items.

Occasionally, workwear-focused vintage pickers will be able to rescue a supply of old bandanas in order to sell them on to the rest of us in the general public, but at that point you are going to be paying for their effort and expertise on the final price tag.

There’s nothing wrong with that, but the casual bandana appreciator may not want to pay the same prices as the vintage bandana obsessive.

Luckily, because of the relatively low outlay required to produce them, new-make bandanas of many styles are readily available.

Big box stores stock paisley and camouflage bandanas in the underwear section, but for something more unusual a quick google search will put you on the path towards what you’re looking for.

My bandana collection includes a reproduction of the marlin flag flown by Ernest Hemingway on his boat Pilar, a blueprint of a 1930s US Navy Biplane, a design commemorating the Depression-era Civilian Conservation Corps, and an example of traditional art by a native Tlingit artist from Southern Alaska.

Each of these are reminders of my personal interests, and whether or not the patterns are visible while I’m wearing them doesn’t matter. They’re a piece of me that I can wear out in the world.

If you’re looking for a way to add some color or personality to an outfit, particularly when the summer sun is beating down on the back of your neck, you could do worse than a bandana.

Whether it’s the traditional blue and white paisley pattern or something more personal to you, it’ll serve you well.