With Christmas just around the corner and horribly cold weather in our backyards, now is the season for Snoods.  Here, there and everywhere; this article provides a little update of snoods (tube-neck scarves) in the mainstream media and news.

Manchester City Stars Train in Custom Designed Football Snoods

First on the list is a series of reports emerging from the Manchester City training grounds that a number of their star players are wearing custom-made football snoods.  Mario Batellotelli, David Silva, Nigel De Jong and even former Middleborough player Adam Johnson have all been spotted wearing specially designed custom snoods from kit manufacturer Just-Keepers.com.

The snoods worn by the Manchester City players in training are complete with their country flag and squad number embroidered on the front of the item.  23 year old Spanish International David Silva, for example, has been spotted wearing a stylish white snood with a Spanish flag and his squad number “21” on the front.

The custom made football snoods are all from the online retailer Just-Keepers.com, which is owned by Ian Milne, the son of the former Coventry football manager Gordon Milne.  Just-Keepers.com and FootballSnoods.co.uk are two of the top football snood retailers in 2011/12.

Women’s Snoods Perfect for Winter Weather

A recent article from “My High School Journalism” just published an article about new fashion trends emerging this Winter.  In addition to oversized watches and earmuffs, snoods were 3^rd on the list.

Also known as circle wraps, chain loops and tube-neck scarves (or tube scarves), these snoods date back to the 7^th century and are perfect both for the incoming cold weather and as a fashion accessory.

You can buy women’s tube scarves (or snoods) at a number of stores suchas TopShop.co.uk, Zara, Debenhams or TopMan.co.uk (for men).

The 21-year-old footballer moved from Inter Milan to Mancheter City in August 2010 after being recruited by his former manager at Inter, Roberto Mancini.

At training last week, the loose cannon footballer was caught sporting his own specially designed, white football snood in training.  The Balotelli’s new snood has his Italian flag, squad number, name and a picture of the Nintendo character Mario stitched on the front of it.

Although football snoods were banned by the IFA (International Football Association) last season during professional matches, it appears that players can still wear them in training.  Given the surprising number of International players in the Premier League it makes sense that a number of them elect to wear gloves and football snoods during the cold, harsh, Winter months.

In my opinion, this flashy new snood is emblematic of Balotelli’s firy and somewhat unpredictable personality.  Ever since he was at Inter Milan, Mario has constantly been the centre of attention for disciplinary matters and hitting the headlines for the wrong reasons.

Jose Mourinho suspended the Italian for disciplinary reasons in 2009.  He was even caught wearing an AC Milan t-shirt (Inter’s biggest rivals) on th Italian TV show Striscia la Notizia in 2009. This raffled many of Inter’s loyal fans and arguably limited his future at the club.

However the tantrums and on-field problems didn’t stop there.  In a pre-season friendly match against LA Galaxy in 2011 Balotelli infamously tried to “back-kick” the ball into the opposition’s goal during a professional football match.  This infuriated the opposition, his teammates and his manager who substituted the attacking player just seconds after.

In recent matches it appears that Balotelli has put his childish antics behind him and is now an important part of the Blue’s first team after scoring 7 goals in the last 7 matches (including a crucial opening brace against Man Utd at Old Trafford in their 6-1 win).

If you want to be like Mario Balotelli and wear your own football snood than you can have a look at our collection of football snoods here which are available from as little as £5-£12.

What is the Purpose of a Dog Snood?

The purpose of dog snoods is to keep a dogs ears clean and to stop it biting its own ears during mealtime.  Owners of show dogs tend to buy dog snoods for their dogs in order to keep their ears and head clean before the show.

You can buy dogs snoods in a variety of colours, designs sizes to suit different dogs.  Small dog snoods (Poodles, Shitzus, Cocker Spaniels) are approximately 8 inches from end to end while large dog snoods (Greyhounds, Pointers) can be up to 14 inches long.

Dog snoods are normally made from either 100% cotton, cotton blends or poly fibres.  There are a number of dog snood stores that sell them in a huge range of colours and sizes.  Normally these cost around $10-$20.  You can request special snoods for your dog at sites like Celebrana.com too!

How to Fit a Snood on your Dog

In order to put a snood on your dog, open up the elastic snood and then gently glide it over its head and ears.  Unlike human snoods, dog snoods should cover the ears in order to hold them down, protect and keep them clean.  The elastic on the dog snood should keep it firmly in place without hurting the dog.

Be aware that some types of dogs will not enjoy wearing a snood and will try to take it off with their paws.  Because of this you should always accompany your dog when it’s wearing its snood to make sure it doesn’t try to take it off or damage it.

When you buy a snood online you need to make sure you choose the correct size for your dog.  Most dog snood makers have a size range from small breeds to large breed.  You need to pick the right snood for your dog so that it doesn’t fall off too easily.

Hair snoods have been around since medieval times in Europe. A snood is a net-like cap that is worn by women to keep their hair in place (the other term for snood is a tube-neck scarf).

Women from as far back as the 1st century wore snoods before elastic or crochet hair accessories existed.  The purpose of a snood is to hold the hair in one place.  Head snoods are usually made of a netted material however they can also be knitted from cotton, micro-fibres, wool and other materials.

A number of women today still wear snoods in their hair.  They can be worn either as a fashion accessory at Weddings and other special events, or just to keep their hair tied together neatly.  Jewish women also wear a special type of snood to keep their hair covered in accordance with Jewish Law.

The great thing about wearing is a snood is that they can be adjusted in many ways.  Both long and short-haired women can wear snoods and you can buy them in a variety of colours and fabrics online.  Some fancy snoods can be decorated with beads and sparkly jewels that are sown onto the outside of the snood.

What’s the Best Way to Wear a Hair Snood?

The easiest way to wear a snood is to open the front rim and place it over the front of your head.  You then need to tuck the back of the rim behind your hair and keep it in place with hairpins or a hair band.

Step 1. Gather all of your hair in a pony tail and pull it back behind your head so that it’s all in one bunch.

Step 2. Open the snood and pull it over your head.  Place the front rim at the crown of your head and then pull the back rim so that it sits underneath your hair.

Step 3. Close the elastic or tighten the snood so that it keeps your hair firmly together behind the nape of your neck.  The snood should not cover your ears.

Step 4. Your hair should drop and fold into the bottom of the snood in a neat bundle.  No hair should be sticking outside of the snood.

Step 5.  Use bobbin pins to secure the position of the snood if necessary.

You can find more information about how to wear a snood in this forum at LongHairCommunity.com.

Snoods are comfortable, stylish and they can keep you warm throughout the year!

Lots of celebrities have been spotted wearing snoods.  Stella McCartney and Marc Jacobs both featured them in their fall collections.

Now a number of high street, fashion retailers are selling knitted and cotton snoods.  The best places to shop for snoods are TopShop.com, Primark.com and Debenhams.co.uk. Or you can check some of our highlighted ladies fashion snoods here.

Examples of How to Wear a Snood:

How Many Different Ways Can your Wear a Snood?

The snood is such a flexible, comfortable and stylish fashion accessory that it can be worn either as a scarf, hat or hood.  While most celebrities and fashion models wear snoods in the regular way on the runway, here is a list of other great ways to wear one.

1)   Basic Snood Position – Wearing the snood around your neck keeps your neck and body warm and it is a great substitute for a scarf.  Just pull the snood over your head and let it rest around your neck.

2)   Upper Snood Position – You can lift the snood further up your head in order to cover your neck, mouth and nose.  This position is great for Christmas when it’s really cold outside.

3)   Snood/Hoodie Position – Wear the snood as a hoodie by switching it from the     horizontal position (looping around your neck) to a vertical position so that it’s looping around the top and bottom and bottom of your head.  This creates a “hoodie” effect and can hide your face in public in case you’re not wearing any make-up.

4)   Double Loop the Snood Around Your Neck – If you have a specially designed long snood than you can loop it twice around your neck in opposite directions.

5)   Tie a Not at the Bottom of the Snood – If you’re wearing a big snood than rather than fold it over your head twice in a double loop you can put it over your head once and then tie a basic knot at the bottom.  The knotted section of the snood will dangle above your chest.

6)   Twisted Double Loop – This is just like the double loop position except you can thread the bottom half over the top in order to make a pretty, twisted scarf look.  This also creates additional warmth by providing twice as much insulation to your neck.

Video Explaining 10 Ways to Wear a Snood

www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXj_coYeXDg