Scarves--What are they good for?

So, one thing that is very noticeable in the limited wardrobe of the Brit is the scarf. Young or old, male or female, it is a staple. The thing we find strangest about it is the men that wear scarves without a coat, looped around their neck in a rather feminine fashion whilst being INSIDE. For instance, tonight we were at a sushi restaurant INSIDE the mall our tube stop is at. The manager of the restaurant was running around, making sure all of the patrons were happy wearing a HUGE wool scarf around his neck wrapped tight--as if he were wearing a neck brace. C'mon, he's got to be hot! This is not an isolated incident, we see it all the time--the British obsession with scarves! I must admit, in my efforts to 'fit in' and 'look like a brit' I have tried to wear a scarf and I just get hot and itchy. Truthfully, I don't even zip my coat here because it's just not that cold! Yesterday was the first frost for God's sake! It's JUST NOT THAT COLD! In relation to the scarf is the is female's wearing the pashmina. They wear it much like a scarf, but again, they're all wrapped up in it, and it's JUST NOT COLD! Maybe they have some kind of iron deficiency or something that causes them to be cold, but frankly at the quick pace that these people walk at, they should be breaking a sweat!