The Scoodie

There’splenty to love about fall fashion-boots, layered ensembles, tastefully placed faux fur-but as avant-garde and experimental clothing becomes more accessible and, in turn, more commonplace, so too do the fashion faux pas. Enter the scoodie: part scarf, part hoodie, and all bad news.

Marketed as the solution to every woman-or man’s-fall fashion dilemma, the scoodie is the indecisive dresser’s dream. Allegedly offering that much-needed swatch of extra protection against the elements, the hybrid pairs the hood of a sweatshirt with a long, draping scarf, thus leaving the purchaser with what amounts to a Holden Caulfield-style cap with earflaps that can be draped around the neck.

So aside from creating a quicker way to get clothed for the looming cold-weather months, the scarf-meets-hoodie formula makes little sense. For one, the look this combo creates is about as disjointed as one can get. Hitting shelves in a variety of colors (think Juicy’s velour track suits, but on your head and neck) and textures (Anthropologie offers up a mildly appealing chunky knit version), scoodies add an odd, bulgy swath of color and pattern to pretty much any outfit they’re paired with. Consequently, what you’re left looking like falls somewhere between casual Eskimo and Saharan princess.

In the end, the scoodie comes across like most combination efforts do-an idea that worked really well on paper, and not so great in application. Think Go-Gurt and roller skate shoes: Sure, it’s possible they’ll save you time and a little bit of effort, but they’ll also earn you some funny looks from your friends