What’s in a name?

May is the month of the rose, the queen of all flowers.

The scent and the beauty of roses have enchanted for centuries, including Shakespeare’s popular reference to his play Romeo and Juliet. 

 “What’s in a name? That which we call a caro scarf by any other name would be as dear.”

Would caro be as soft and beautiful with any other name?

Probably yes, but I have fond memories on how this name was created. Initial discussions started in South Africa, during a lunch with dear friends in Pretoria. I still keep the notes from that day, full of logo suggestions and words that unfortunately never made it to the final decision.

caro was actually proposed by my dad. Even if he was worried about this new venture, about the idea of me traveling alone in India, he still came with the most brilliant suggestion. Take the first two initials of my full name and swap the order…. Rossana RO Cazzato CA… CARO…. that was it.

It sounded simple, short and easy to read in many languages. He also pointed out that caro means “dear” in Italian, it would make people associate it to something that embraces and hugs, just like a “dear” friend.

And today, our whole brand rotates around this concept, we want our customer to feel cuddled by wearing our scarves that truly hold and support through all periods of time.Since I partially quoted her, I would have loved to ask Shakespeare’s Juliet about the color as well. Would a rose be as beautiful in any color?

This is instead an important element that gives value to our cashmere and inspire our designs. Color has the power to evoke every type of feeling and creates an emotional connection. At caro we have chosen to use neutral palette of colors –  timeless and transeasonal. 

Starting from our collection, in May we will pair each scarf with the chromatic characteristics that enhance the person who wants to wear it. We will do this according to armocromia, a discipline that studies people’s chroma, analysing hair, eyes and skin complex when searching for the ideal palette for each individual.

Together with an an Italian expert consultant in armocromia, we joined in a unique project to help our customers find the ideal caro scarf for their specific skintone and colors. We are extremely enthusiastic about both the collaboration and the results that we will make avaliable on our Instagram in the “Armocromia” highlights as well as our webshop very soon. I truly enjoyed this experience and hope that you will, too. 

Let caro and our colors enhance you!

From Puglia to Stockholm via Delhi

As lockdown continues and starts again in many countries, the popularity of the audio-based social media app Clubhouse has skyrocketed. 

I myself have been pretty active there, sharing experiences with other small business owners or dropping-in interesting discussions. 

I see the incredible success of such a platform as an attempt of satisfying our need for socializing and connect with others, particularly now that these needs have been denied. 

On Clubhouse, you can’t text or share any images but you can write a short introduction of yourself, the BIO. Mine starts like this: “From Puglia to Stockholm via Delhi”

“I miss visiting the local markets, strolling around the alleys looking for inspiration and also elements for our designs: beads, threads, buttons or laces.”

My biography and journey wouldn’t have been the same without the passage through Delhi. Just thinking about the streets of Delhi, I realise that they offered me a place for socializing, connecting and learning. 

During the years as resident and during my business trips later, I have refined my natural negotiation skills and captured the best marketing and sales tricks from the local vendors. I miss meeting my team of course. I also miss visiting the local markets, strolling around the alleys looking for inspiration and also elements for our designs: beads, threads, buttons or laces. I have learned to navigate around the city but I often get lost. I share my poor sense of orientation with Ritesh, my creative director. We have been walking around the same block without even realising it more then once. 

There are markets which I call cities in the city, I usually move around with drivers or even with short rides in tuk tuk – a must do,  if you don´t mind the feel of a real urban jungle!  

I miss all this. Until we meet again, Delhi.

Hello spring!

It´s that time of the year. Time to clean out your wardrobe. Time to give away or re-cycle what doesn’t spark joy.

As I organise and sort my clothes, I realise this is a moment of mindfulness for me. Now that many of us can’t travel, going through my closet is like traveling through the memories I have built in the years, wearing those clothes.

As a passionate brand owner, striving to make a positive impact, I encourage our customers and followers to want to know more about our product and the materials we use.

With time, I have created a core wardrobe of versatile essentials with the idea of owning and using them for a long time. I can assure you that this way, the cleaning out is much faster.  

Of course, caring for your clothes and making them look their best season after season requires some “TLC”. That’s why we thought we’d share a tutorial on how to take care of your cashmere scarves and shawls. You can also apply the same tips to delicates like silk and wool.

I believe that care, quality and materials are important factors to keep in mind when buying new clothes. As a passionate brand owner, striving to make a positive impact, I encourage our customers and followers to want to know more about our product and the materials we use.

Our scarves are spun from pure cashmere, where the long and thin fiber guarantees the finest quality and durability. The insulation properties, the thermal regulation of the cashmere and its natural comfort are three elements that make our scarves an ideal year-round accessory. They are inspired to be held and hugged close to your skin, protecting you from all seasons, in any occasion.

And for those of you wondering how to use scarves in the warmer seasons, we are working on a new season story to get you inspired, so stay tuned and don’t store away your cashmere scarves!

With my Creative Director in Delhi capturing the spring feel in Hauz Has Village park, and my entourage longing for spring in the opposite part of the world in Stockholm, we were able to create a spring-summer storyboard in these two locations. See a sneak-peak here. 

Let caro embrace you this season and discover our lightweight, breathable and outfit-elevating scarves in our web store. 

Define your own style

“In the lexicon of fashion accessories, scarves possess the unique ability to endure passing trends and define individual style”

– Coco Chanel

I used to look at February as the month before spring. As I grew up in Southern Italy, I felt that spring was only few weeks away, and the expectations were high. It was soon time to think about the seasonal change of my wardrobe. At that time, it was not about buying new clothes, but rather to go through the old ones and perhaps add something new in order to create new outfits. 
Sustainable fashion at its best. 

Here in Stockholm, we are still enjoying the full winter season. Snowy and brighter days are indeed a unique and magic experience.  

Whether you are ready or not for the spring, and perhaps still spending a lot of time at home with the different restrictions and lockdowns, this month we want to invite you to a conscious and playful approach to fashion. This is our challenge for you: accessorise rather than buying new clothes.

Consider this an invitation to reintroduce older pieces in your wardrobe with a fresh perspective. For example, bring new life to your outfits by wearing your scarves with an unexpected twist, a different knot and a loop even on a basic t-shirt or a blouse during your online meetings.

“This is our challenge to you: accessorise rather than buying new clothes”

We believe a caro scarf is a timeless piece that you will be able to use season after season, by adding and creating your personal touch to the same outift – again and again. 

We got inspired by the British fashion icon and influencer Trinny Wooodall, and took onboard the perfect Italian gentleman Franco Mazzetti who showed us how to effortlessly wrap yourself in a caro scarf. This resulted in a video on our IGTV, where we did our own take on a scarf style guide, and it engaged so many of you that we decided to create more style guides that are now avaliable to browse and enjoy in our reels! 

And there is one more reason to not let February go by just as another cold winter month – it is the designated month of love. Whether or not you celebrate Valentine’s Day, it is hard to ignore a perfect reason (or excuse, if you prefer) to get closer to and embrace your special person. Whoever it may be. 

While we wait for the spring, we encourage you to indulge in our collection of comfortably warm and soft cashmere scarves. 

Let caro embrace you ❤️

Open for business

by Rossana Cazzato

With family in Italy, production in India and home in Stockholm, I have witnessed how the pandemic has affected all of us in so many different ways. I’d like to first say that our thoughts are with those affected by the virus. As many countries are adjusting to the new “normal”, other countries like India are still facing a high challenge. 

Our team in India is keeping safe and we have had to maneuver around the impacts of this pandemic and the unprecedented effects, and we hope we will be sharing some new ideas soon.

For now I wish you and your loved ones health and safety.