It is with a fair amount of regularity that I encounter a client’s painstakingly preserved collection of silk scarves, and along with them, an attitude of utter resignation.

“Oh yeah, they’re gorgeous. Have to keep them. Will never wear them,” you tell me. Shrug. “What do you do? Mumble.” Rifling. Bit of head shaking. Another shrug, most probably taken to mean: These used to be so in./ My mother spent a fortune on these./ I don’t have occasion to wear these; I’m not the queen./My husband spent a fortune on these./ I spent a fortune on these./

One of my preferred challenges in response to your insistence on holding onto something that has no practical application, is, well, then you should frame it.

If you can’t commit to or get excited by the thought of staring at it or a picture of it every single day on your wall, the chances are high you’re going to be all set without it.

A frame can lend an otherwise functionless item a purpose: art.

As fate would have it, scarves are rawther a prime candidate for this proposal.

A. your explanation reveals they’re lacking a purpose–since sitting in a little orange box on a shelf somewhere never to see the light of day isn’t one. And B. You insist on keeping them, and would, actually, now that you mention it, love to admire their beauty often, while not committing yourself to a life of high-tea-at-the-Plaza-attire.

And so. In the matter of silk scarves and frames, I deem that it is a very good idea, indeed. Come si:

Once you see these silks under glass, you start to question the validity of their ever being downgraded to mere necks in the first place.

In summation:

Framing scarves accomplishes multiple goals in one design-savvy, Live Simply move:

-Gain (or regain) enjoyment from your loveliest once-were-neck-decorations but had been relegated to “Where are those again?”/”Haven’t looked at these in years.”/”Hmmm.”/”Blah blah.”

And!

-Gain a statement-making piece of art (with a story to boot, perhaps) for your garnish-hungry walls.

This idea is one so solid, in my opinion, that if you have need of the latter but lack possession of the whole matter of the former, you would be wise to scuttle out to your neatest vintage store and score yourself a special silk scarf. Which you can frame. Like an OG Live Simply.