One outfit, six different scarves

It's tempting to starting thinking of each scarf as being "married" to (or at least going steady with) a particular outfit that you own, and moreover, to always reach for the same scarf when you put on a favorite outfit.  I do this often, and I'm trying to break out of this habit, and shake up my scarf/clothing combos a little bit.  So I took one outfit that I wear a lot  (this sweater is linen, so it can be worn through all but the hottest summer months) and tried to see how it would pair up with a variety of scarves.

I show Hermes scarves here, but PLEASE bear in mind that this exercise is true of any scarves you own.  Vintage from a thrift store, hand-crafted from a street fair, or heritage scarves that you have owned for decades - all are equally valid, and equally capable of finishing off an outfit to perfection.

The outfit is a simple pair of black pants, and a plain black tank top, from Eileen Fisher. My sweater is also from her, but no longer available, but it's very similar to the sweater from Inhabit  that I show here - asymmetric, textured, shows a bit of the hem of the tank under the hem of the sweater. It's an outfit in which I'm very comfortable...

Normally, I'd wear this outfit with simple silver jewelry, my cool silver cap-toed oxfords, and my grey grey grey Jardin des Metamorphoses scarf:

But I like to mix silver and gold - my wedding ring is a mixture of metals, and so is my watch.  So why not choose a scarf that has both gold and silvery accents, and toss a bit of gold into my shoes and earrings?

When analyzed up close, the grey sweater is really a melange of black and white, so it seems obvious that a scarf that is primarily black and white, with some bright details, might work beautifully too.  Some simple black loafers, and my signature pearl jewelry, and I'm good to go...

Everything so far has been sort of dark and serious, but grey is a great color with which to wear pastel colors.  Pearls lighten things up too, and pewter ballet flats both complement the sweater, and keep the softer and more feminine theme going.

When you look at many of my scarves from a distance, with your eyes half-closed, you get a greyish "feeling" or sensibility from them.  For no good reason that I can isolate, I'm really smitten with this scarf that has bright blue juxtaposed with shades of teal, and some dark silvery accents.  Grey pearls are perfect with the dark silvery-ness in the scarf (and I've had this bracelet and these earrings for years!).  Thin teal socks - just for the heck of it, and my ballet flats again... (although the pewter flats might be nice here, too...)

And finally, yet another one of my many Feux d'Artifice scarves, in plum and French blue.  I'm a big fan of socks, and that little sliver of color is sometimes all it takes to make the scarf look "deliberate" rather than just a last minute "throw on."

Now imagine the possibilities if I swap out my black pants for a simple, narrow black skirt...  Or a soft mid-calf skirt, and some black boots... or...