The best scarves for men

The scarf once sold as the Canada: long, wide, midweight wool with fringed ends and the pink label. At 200 by 45 cm it wraps twice or folds. Unisex, nine colours, made in Italy.

Why this one: Over the Norse Projects: 10 cm longer and nearly twice as wide, so it doubles as a wrap, for $125 more.

Limitation: $250 for plain wool, Acne gives no care instructions, and the pink label is the point for some and a reason to skip it for others.

A plain lambswool scarf with a contrast fringe, developed with and woven by Abraham Moon, one of England's last vertical mills. 100% merino lambswool, 190 cm long, made in England.

Why this one: Over the Acne Studios: an English mill-woven lambswool scarf for half the price, though narrower at 25 cm.

Limitation: Two plain colours (a checked version is sold separately), and Norse Projects gives no care instructions.

A brushed, plain scarf in a fine wool blend Uniqlo says is non-itchy and resists pilling. Unisex, five colours, and you can hand-wash it.

Why this one: Over the Barbour: about a third of the price and hand-washable, but mostly acrylic rather than lambswool.

Limitation: 65% acrylic, which is less warm than wool, and Uniqlo gives no size.

Pure cashmere woven and finished at Johnstons' mill in Elgin, with a ripple finish that raises a soft texture on the surface. 180 by 25 cm, in plain greys, navy, black, blue and red.

Why this one: Over the Burberry: plain Scottish cashmere for $380 less, without the check.

Limitation: Dry clean only, and at 25 cm it is narrower than the Acne Studios.

Pure cashmere with fringed ends for under $70, in thirteen colours. Uniqlo cuts it compact, so it sits under a coat without bulk. Sold as unisex.

Why this one: Over the Johnstons of Elgin: pure cashmere for $225 less, though Uniqlo gives no size and says only that it is imported.

Limitation: No length or ply stated, and dry clean only. Reddit owners who discussed cheap cashmere report it pills sooner.

The House Check in pure cashmere, woven in Scotland on traditional looms and brushed with teasels to raise the surface. 168 by 30 cm, in 38 colourways.

Why this one: Over the Johnstons tartan: the Burberry check itself, 5 cm wider, for $380 more.

Limitation: The most expensive scarf here, specialist dry clean only, and the shortest woven one at 168 cm.

Johnstons' classic tartan in pure cashmere: Black Watch, the black, navy and green sett worn by Scottish soldiers for 270 years. 180 by 25 cm, made in Scotland.

Why this one: Over the Barbour: pure cashmere instead of lambswool, from a Scottish mill, for $215 more.

Limitation: Dry clean only, and a bold tartan is harder to wear with a patterned coat.

Barbour's own Classic tartan in 100% lambswool, with a tasselled hem and the brand label near one end. 195 by 30 cm, long enough to loop.

Why this one: Over the Carhartt WIP: all lambswool rather than a wool-polyester blend, 22 cm longer, for $28 less.

Limitation: Barbour doesn't say where it is made, and it is dry clean only.

A brushed wool-blend check with brushed fringes and the woven Square Label: a country scarf in streetwear colours. Carhartt WIP states its weight, 245 g/m², and 173 by 30 cm.

Why this one: Over the Barbour: a brushed hand and the Square Label, for $28 more.

Limitation: 27% polyester, and Carhartt WIP gives no care instructions or origin.

A plain 7-gauge rib in 100% Mongolian cashmere, 178 by 25 cm, unisex and in six colours: the cheap way into a knitted scarf for real cold.

Why this one: Over the Howlin': pure cashmere in a plain rib instead of a loud lambswool check, for $92 less.

Limitation: At 25 cm it is narrow for a double wrap, and cashmere wants a cold hand wash and flat drying. Quince shows it product-only in just one gift-wrapped photo.

A checkerboard in two colourways that clash on purpose, from the Belgian knitwear label. Lambswool brushed with natural teasels, hand-finished in Scotland, 184 by 22 cm.

Why this one: Over the Margaret Howell: a louder pattern and a teasel-brushed surface, for $21 less.

Limitation: Only 22 cm wide, and Howlin' gives no care instructions.

A two-tone stripe knitted in lambswool with a soft hand, from Margaret Howell's MHL line. Soft rather than chunky; 176 by 25 cm, made in the UK, and hand-washable.

Why this one: Over the Howlin': a calmer stripe that goes with more coats, and hand-washable, for $21 more.

Limitation: Knitted, so it sits bulkier under a collar than a woven scarf of the same length.

A fine merino-blend knit with sleeve-like side panels, so it ties like a sweater thrown over the shoulders. Rib-knit trim, made in Portugal, sold as unisex.

Why this one: Over the Margaret Howell: a shape no other scarf here has, for $145 more.

Limitation: Lemaire gives no fibre percentages or size, and it sits over the shoulders more than around the neck.

A light, reversible wool scarf handwoven in the Kullu and Kinnaur valleys of India, with the striped borders of the region's traditional shawls. Warm without weight for autumn and spring.

Why this one: Over the Wax London: a handwoven wool scarf you can loop, rather than a cotton neckerchief, for $61 more.

Limitation: Universal Works gives no size or care instructions.

A triangle neckerchief in ribbed cotton knit: it sits close at the collar instead of bulking up, and cotton won't scratch. Four colours.

Why this one: Over the Universal Works: half the price, and cotton that won't itch, though it only covers the neck.

Limitation: Cotton is the least warm fibre here, and Wax London gives no size.