Scarves in the summer

On my way to work today I passed by a woman who was wearing a tightly-wrapped scarf around her neck and a white wool cap. It's about 25 degrees outside and humid as Hell. Then I noticed at least five more woman wearing scarves. And these are not light, silk scarves. I'm talking about long, heavy, layered scarves. The kind that you have to wrap around your neck at least four times. The kind that my seven-year-old cousin wears when she goes skating.
There can only be one reason for this odd, weather-defying behaviour: Office air-conditioning. Where I work, the a/c is jacked up so high that we are forced to wear sweaters. I guess scarves are the more fashionable alternative to a bulky sweater. But i still cannot understand why women just don't pack the scarf in their bag instead of getting a sweaty neck. I admit that scarves are beautiful and look chic. But I would rather forgo beauty rather than look like I just came from the gym. But that's just me. Most of the women I saw looked as if they were walking through a cold breeze; they looked so effortlessly cool. If it were me, you would see the sweat dripping.
But what will these women do when Fall and Winter hits? Sandals? Shorts? Whatever they do, I'm sure they will look hot.

(Photos: New York Times)