Harmonica, I'm going to throw a wrench in the works because unlike what some other people have said, I do edit my scarves. I have limited storage space for scarves, and even if something is potentially handy for the future, I find I very rarely go back and want it then. I am more inclined to want something fresh or more current, and often in a different color, etc.
When I edit scarves, there are several steps I take. First, I look at scarves I haven't been wearing and figure out why. Often, the scarf is too bulky, too large for my needs, or too small for my needs, it might feel itchy, or look awkward when I tie it, or I just can't figure out how to wear it to make the right color in the pattern sit closest to my face. I also have found I end up with duplicates because the colors are similar and interchangeable so I favor one over the other. I purge these.
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There is one additional and very reliable method I use for editing. I'm not sure of any other way to say this so I am going to go out on a limb here and be bold. I receive complements when I wear the "right" scarf. I keep the scarves that repeatedly draw complements. I know which they are. Use some imagination now........It's almost like a secret weapon because I know which are my very best. I currently have three scarves that uniformly draw multiple complements a day, every time I wear them, regardless of what I pair them with. I can put them on with a plain grey sweatshirt. I can cry and get no sleep the night before, wear no makeup, have bed head, put on an old tee, yoga leggings, and one of these scarves. People will tell me I look great. These are the scarves to keep. They are magic. I would love to have a larger collection, but I'm glad to have even one, let alone three. They are rare, and maybe elusive, but if you find one or more, hold onto them and treat them like your most precious treasure.
I can not predict with any reliability which of my scarves will have these magic qualities. There is a relationship to hair color, and hair style. I know this because the magic scarves in my closet change when these parameters change. Maybe an artist would say they have similar value, intensity and contrast. One of them is a solid color, and it is in fact one of the colors in my palette, but not every solid color in my palette works like this in a scarf. Even the same solid color in a different texture isn't as good. If I wear a similarly colored solid color Scarf, it also doesn't have the same magic. If I pick a pattern in the identical color as the solid it once again doesn't have the magic. This is why I would say to you that unless this scarf has these elusive properties, pass it on.
