Silk scarves and beautiful hand dyed shawls are some of the most practical accessories to find a place in a woman's closet. Not only are they the perfect accompaniment for a wide range of outfits, but they also have the advantage that they can literally be worn all year round.

Spring

Spring is a wonderful time of year. Everything is beginning to come alive again after the cold and bareness of winter and there are the first tantalizing glimpses of the sun. In the main though, there is still a chill in the air and stripping off the layers is something which can only happen gradually. As heavy winter coats are replaced with lighter jackets though, a silk scarf or shawl is the ideal way to keep the remnants of the colder weather at bay. While a stunning hand painted scarf worn around the neck helps to keep you cozy on the slightly warmer days or on short excursions into the open air, a silk shawl worn around the shoulders provides that extra bit of warmth when the temperatures are cooler.

Summer

Although the summer months may not at first seem to offer many opportunities for wearing women's silk scarves and shawls, this time of year lets them take on a whole new role in a lady's wardrobe. Tied around the waist or bust or worn as a sarong, they are a stunning addition to a swimsuit or bikini for those times when you are sitting down to relax or eat by the pool or at the beach and need to cover up slightly for the sake of propriety. Plain beachwear in particular can be given a whole new lease of life when accompanied by a scarf or shawl which features original hand painted designs, and the range of colors available mean that finding one to coordinate perfectly is far easier than trying to match to the limited choices offered by the mass-produced alternatives which are sold in department stores. Cool summer evenings too, are the perfect time to opt for a light scarf or shawl as a beautiful and more comfortable alternative to a jacket.

Fall

Fall, like spring, tends to offer mixed weather conditions and variable temperatures. We are not quite ready to pack away our summer clothes and replace them with our winter woolies, so again silk shawls and scarves are perfect for helping us to find some middle ground. The wonderful thing about hand painted scarves and hand dyed shawls is that they offer an inexpensive way to dress up an outfit using seasonal colors and those which are currently in fashion. In nature, fall is, of course, one of the most colorful times of the year, and scarves and shawls which incorporate the glorious reds, oranges, yellows and browns that we associate with the season can lift even the plainest or dreariest outfits.

Winter

Being such a light and floaty material, many people fail to consider silk when they are thinking about their winter wardrobes. Actually though, its properties are as such that it is ideal in both warmer and cooler weather. Silk, for example, is often used as the lining for leather gloves because of its ability to produce and retain warmth. Another benefit of silk scarves and shawls for winter wear is its lack of bulk. Thick sweaters and coats and woolen scarves can leave us feeling bulky and unattractive, whereas dressing in thinner layers and then topping them off with a beautifully draped scarf or shawl allows us to retain a sense of elegance without masking the natural contours of the figure. Strong colors and a unique design are the perfect tonic for dark winter clothes, and a single outfit can be totally transformed with the addition of different scarves and shawls, making them a truly value-for-money purchase.