Dandy creatives rejoice - Calle Sjönell has launched "Man-Scarf" a curated shop for spiffy scarves

The man scarf - it's a creative director kind of thing.

I first noticed this in the mid-nineties, and how the man-scarf, and how to tie it - there is a style book to be written about the different wearing techniques, I'm sure - traveled through the trendy agencies, and up the creative ranks. At some point, I called it "The Creative Director" scarf, as everyone was sporting it. It even spawned a tumblr blog called Reklamare med halsduk inomhus (translated: Advertising people with scarves indoors.)

Well, I wasn't the only one who noticed and loved them, Calle Sjönell, Head of Meta Creative Shop Nordics, is a big man-scarf fan. So much so that he just launched his passion project Man-scarf.com.

Ever since the hey days of advertising in the 90's, when copywriters, art directors, and photographers transformed indoor scarfing into an art, I've been riding that scarf wave. Some years it’s been lonely on that wave, but lately, it’s making a comeback.

It’s not just an accessory; it’s a way of life! Jokes aside, a scarf brings nuance to the ordinary, creating a look that's both memorable and distinctive. Sure, it garners attention, but isn’t that what we in advertising live for?

Every morning, my ritual is simple: I let my scarf choose me, reflecting my mood, and then match the rest of the look. Yet, securing quality scarves at a decent price point has always been a challenge. While iconic brands like ACNE, Paul Smith, and Rag & Bone makes great looking scarves, they are not so affordable.

That’s what brought me to start www.man-scarf.com. It's a curated experience with a small but diverse selection of scarves. From the laid-back indoor variants to the rugged winter companions, we've got scarves that don’t just complement your style, but also bolster your confidence.

Well, that's a fun idea. Here is a peak scarfing moment in advertising history, when Calle and his brother Pelle Sjönell scarfed the world in Adweek, 2011, back when they both worked at BBH in New York.

The biggest issue before launching this curated scarf shop was settling on a name. Calle had a working name, but every time he mentioned it to people, he could tell that they didn't love it. So they tried to figure out other name ideas.

"- Then my brother Pelle Sjoenell, an avid scarf wearer himself, called me.
I had a feeling this call was going to come and that he would suggest a really smart, clever, fun name. He just said, why don't you call it Man Scarves?

Pause. Well, if you can try to define the category, why not go for it? Man Scarves was taken in to many ways so I settled on Man Scarf. "

Man-scarf. Well there you go. The content is in the name right there. And as Calle was talking about the project, Josefine Billström Raasakka, creative strategist at META, quipped: "Man Scarf-replacing ties, one scarf at a time" and a star was born.