For $1.50 I can look uber professional in a second (and save my top from getting ruined)

Got these two scarves at Goodwill: $1.50 for the silk and $2.50 for the larger scarf. As you can see, they washed up beautifully (I will "iron" the silk scarf by sitting on it while I eat my dinner...I never iron-iron). I love prints and have discovered scarves are a cheap way for me to indulge (learned this early on after discovering all my print skirts didn't match my print blouses). While doing so, I also discovered that everyone thinks you are fabulously well dressed when you throw on a nice scarf. It's amazing. I was always a very casual dresser and the addition of a scarf made me look instantly professional.
Another nice thing about inexpensive, second-hand scarves is that they are de-facto bibs. As a, ahem, (unhappily) well-endowed woman, I've ruined a good number of tops. Putting a napkin in your lap is useless when any droppings never make it past your chest. However, a scarf protects the shirt. Sometimes the scarf washes up just fine. Other times, with the busy pattern, you can just fold the scarf a different way and no one will know there is a stain. If lunch results in a mishap, the scarf can be rearranged or removed and you can go through your business day without looking like a slob.
But, mostly, scarves are just beautiful and fun to wear. And warm. And hide cleavage until it can be displayed more acceptably at a later hour. So there.