Photo: © 2008 AAP/ROBERT MCGRATH

As the months get colder, increasing numbers of men take up varying styles of "man scarf" - "marf" for short.

But while marfs are becoming more commonplace, many men still worry about looking too feminine in their fashionable winter neck-ware.

"I wouldn't be surprised if guys might put other guys down for wearing it," proud marf wearer Sam Cochrane told the Daily Telegraph.

"But if you're old enough to wear a scarf, you're old enough to handle the put down."

So there you have it.

The simple mathematical equation of male + scarf has given us the answer to years of men suffering through cold winters.

Why, oh why, didn’t they invent this earlier?!