9 Ways To Wear a Bandana This Summer

Can we all take a minute to obsess over this whole bandana movement at the moment? Well, I guess head accessories in general because I like the look of headscarves and bands, too. But I think the bandana is my favorite because it’s so versatile! There are so many ways to wear a bandana that this little accessory is deserving of its very own “how to wear” blog post.

I first mentioned my love for bandanas back when I shared my go-to Summer Capsule Wardrobe Essentials list. And something I’m really excited about doing more of on my blog is actually showing you how to wear these essentials – giving you ideas to make more with what you’ve already got.


Madewell Bandana
I’ve had SO much fun styling this exact little red bandana this season! I’ve worn it in my hair, around my wrist, and styled it a few different ways around my neck too! All that to say, I can’t hype this one up enough.

You’ve probably noticed (or will) this little red one popping up in outfits all over the blog and Instagram. It’s quickly become my favorite accessory of the season, and I don’t even hesitate when grabbing it. So much so that I just purchased 2 more colors while at Madewell last week. I’ve found that it truly takes a blah or boring outfit into something cuter; it’s such an easy outfit-completer, often serving as that “third item” I need to round out a look.

9 Ways To Wear A Bandana This Summer

I haven’t personally tried all of these ways, but I still wanted to share all the different ways you could potentially wear a bandana in case you wanted to try for yourself. I’ll provide examples of ways I’ve worn my bandana when I’ve got a photo.

First up, let’s talk about ways to wear a bandana on your head – because we’ve got a few variations here.

1. As a Headband

Wearing it as a headband might be my favorite because it’s just so easy. I’ve been doing this (and no. 3) all Summer long so far! It’s cute if you want to keep hair out of your face or when it’s hot (aka all summer in Dallas). Just tie the bandana around your head and then either leave your hair down, half up or top knot it. It all looks good! You can choose to leave the knot behind your hair or up top. I think both look cute depending on what I’m going for. The knot up front definitely adds a more girly touch, which is fun.

2. Tie Your Bandana Around Your Pony

I love doing this with ribbons as well, but a bandana is so fun around a ponytail. It adds a little sass to a regular ponytail with barely any effort. You could do a low pony or high, but I usually go high. Pro tip: Use a hair band first and then tie the bandana on for more support.

3. Knot It Around Your Head

This is pretty much the same thing as way No. 1 (as a headband), except instead of tying it in the back under your hair, tie it ontop for a cute little bow-like look. I wear it like this when I’m at the beach a lot too – it’s such a cute look!

Moving onto ways you can wear your bandana as a necklace, as there are actually a few variations on how to wear your bandana around your neck too!

4. As A Choker

Another way to wear your bandana is as a choker like you can see in the outfit above. This way of wearing my bandana took me a minute to get comfortable with, but I love how it looks with an open neckline like this dress. The trip is to make sure you fold the bandana super tight so that all loose ends are secure. It works better when you use a smaller, square bandana like the ones at Madewell.

5. Wear It Tied Around Your Neck As A Knot Necklace

This might be my favorite way to style the bandana at the moment. It’s just SO good, right? Since my favorite bandana is red, I’ve been into the Americana combo with a simple white shirt and denim shorts. It feels like summer to me! I also love it with a cute denim, white, or black dress. Really any color combo would work depending on the color of bandana/scarf you’re using. If you’re wearing this style, just keep earrings minimal or it’ll be too much going on.

6. Wear It As a Triangular Choker Necklace

I’ve personally never worn it like this (yet!), but I’ve seen girls really MAKE an outfit by wearing their bandana like this. I need to give it a try for sure. What about you?

 

7. Tie Your Bandana onto denim

If you’re wearing a basic outfit and want a little extra touch, you can tie the bandana in a bow on one of your belt loops. Again, super simple but cute!

 

8. Bathing Suit Cover-Up

If It’s A Larger Bandana, You Wear It As a bathing suit coverup. I’ve seen girls make really cute bandeau style tops with scarves, but that’s not really my style. I don’t love showing that much skin and helloooo there’s a lot that could go wrong there! If you like that look but aren’t trying to show much skin either, try it over a bandeau bathing suit. This looks really cute with high-waisted denim shorts for a day at the pool or whatever. Would be really cute for the 4th, too!

9. On Your Bag For An Added Pop Of Color

Or sometimes if I feel like my outfit is missing something and I’m not in the mood to wear it as a necklace or around my head, I’ll tie it to my bag. I do with scarves too. It’s such a fun way to add a pop of color to an outfit without having to try too hard.

Do y’all have any other ways to style a bandana slash headscarf? Lemme know because you know I’ll try it!