Monte Carlo

Just back from Nice and Monte Carlo where I managed to purchase the exclusive Hermes scarf made for the Societe des Bains de Mer.  There was a choice of 4 colourways: lemon yellow, pale green, turquoise blue and orange and I chose the orange - I was surprised that I liked it but it works really well as it has lots of red in it too.  The design is by Joachim Metz. The shop that sells the scarves is the "Boutique SBM" and is located immediately to the right of the Casino as you come out of the Casino and just before the Cafe de Paris - the scarves are on display in the window.  Really easy to find but I am including a photo of the shop just to be sure!!

I have shown the scarf worn in a variety of ways:  equestrian, equestrian then tied in a half ascot, then a twist and finally the friendship knot.

Gone to the Dogs again.....

I was in Hermes at Harrods a few weeks back and I saw a scarf I had passed on a few weeks earlier which I really regretted.  Anyway I saw another one and had to have it this time - the pale pink and lilac Polaires scarf - OK I have the navy blue one but the pink and lilac is so lovely I could not resist!

Worn with a simple knot tail folded over equestrian style

Worn basic fold with a scarf ring

Worn cossack style

Worn with a scarf ring/butterfly knot

Diana, Princess of Wales

Today is the 12th anniversary of Diana, Princess of Wales' tragic and untimely death in Paris in 1997.  I was a big fan of Diana and to this day I miss her.  I was lucky enough to see Diana 3 times in the 1980s, but sadly I never met her.

This is a lovely portrait of Diana, by the French photographer Patrick Demarchelier, that I have always liked.  Diana may be gone, but I like to think she is not forgotten.

My Venice Collection

La Serenissima Venezia!
Who could fail to be seduced by the magic of Venice?  It is a magical place and holds a special place in many people's hearts.  I go to Venice every year at least once - it's part of my rountine now!

Venice February 2009

Of course Hermes has honoured Venice several times with it's designs - Carnevale de Venice/Fetes Venitiennes, Trophees de Venise I, Trophees de Venise II, Bissone de Venise, Rialto and Venise.

I have managed to collect a few scarves with a Venice theme and was thrilled to obtain a new 70cm vintage silk Rialto last year in Venice - it is a special edition just for the Venice boutique and is marked 2008.

Here are my Venice scarves:-

Rialto by Peron 70cm silk (Venice Hermes Boutique 2008 edition)

Rialto by Peron 70cm cotton SS09

Carnevale de Venise/Fetes Venitiennes 90cm silk - and these scarves have jacquard weave of mandolins and violins in the silk which you can just about make out in the 2 larger photos.

 

I hope you have enjoyed my little scarf trip around Venice - Ciao!

Not all my scarves are Hermes!

Some of my favourite scarves are not Hermes at all, but Tie Rack.  A few years ago Tie Rack supported art/design students through their Young British Designer range.  I own 2 of the scarves from that range and they are just about my all time favourites because I love the colours and patterns plus the stories and sentiments attached.  The first scarf is "The Magic Carpet" by Jill France the colours and patterns in this are to my eye fabulous and just "do it" for me.  I own a Hermes "Zabavushka" scarf from AW09 and for me that scarf draws a parallel to the patterns and some colours in "The Magic Carpet"...which is probably why I had to have it, as well as liking all things Russian (of course!). 

^^Zabavushka

The second scarf in the greens and blues is by Tamara Salman but I do not have its name. The city of Venice is one of my favourite places and this design reminds me of Venice and the Basilica of San Marco.

The balloon basket the man is standing in is rather gondola like as well!

A little scarf I found in Paris

This is a cute little scarf I found in a boutique in Paris a couple of years ago - it is by Mia Zia and I really like the jolly colours and the little dangly bits! It looks great with a T-shirt or a with a collared shirt with the collars upstanding.

By Pass "Knot" with Scarf Ring

This is a very simple way to use a scarf ring - fold your scarf in the "basic fold" first and put it around your neck then follow the video! You can wear the first look in lots of different lengths - I have chosen to show it 3 ways: close to the neck, mid chest or lower again at lower rib-cage level (for a larger scarf or shawl you could go lower again)- my caveat would be to wear the length appropriate to what activity you will be doing. Then you can choose to wear the scarf another 2 ways - I pulled the scarf/ring close to the neck again to wear it with the ends split over the shoulders or I tied the ends at the back of the neck to make a lovely (warm)collar. I am using my Hermes 70cm Kelly en Caleche scarf in the video with a plain gold plated stainless steel band ring (UK size P which fits the 70cm scarves well). Hope you find this useful and have a go it is so easy!

Ex Libris


Butterfly Knot with scarf ring


Half Ascot Knot


Plain Knot


Cowboy


Just back from Amsterdam after a trip to see some ballet and the fabulous new Hermitage Amsterdam Museum - I highly recommend a visit to the current exhibition "At The Russian Court" - the exhibits were fantastic.
I could not go to a city where Hermes has a branch and not call by, so I popped by the one in Amsterdam - not intending to buy a thing - but then I caught sight of a rather good selection of gavroches so I had to go in. I have been after an Ex Libris for a while and they had 4 colourways. Anyway I whittled it down to between the black/navy/white and a purple and magenta one - I picked the purple. I was given a large box as they had no small ones left so now I have a single home for all my gavroches and they even gave me 3 super 15ml miniature perfumes which was a really nice treat!









Here are a couple of little pictures of the Mariinksy/Kirov at the end of Don Quixote - one of the happiest "sunshine" ballets I know.











And one cannot go to Amsterdam and not buy some lovely flowers so here is a close up of a lovely rose from a big bunch I bought.

Friendship Knot

This is a lovely knot that I use quite often and it looks really nice. I am showing it here with my Hermes 70cm Vintage Silk "Rialto" scarf. I believe the origin of this knot lies with the Girl Guides Association. It is a little tricky to learn at first - I had to practice many many times to perfect it and I still get it wrong sometimes! So you need plenty of practice. Start with a scarf folded in "the basic fold". The most important thing I have found is to make sure when you do the first fold back and up of the first "tail" you must make sure it lies on top of the tail coming from round your neck. Watch the video you should see what I mean. I hope my video helps and you have some fun learning!

Update 29/11/09: So many people ask how to do this knot as it is tricky to learn at first - here's a link as well to a useful annimation which ties in very well with what I am doing in the video:
http://www.k2esu.org.uk/friendshipknot.gif
and a link to some instructions you can print off.
http://guidinguk.freeservers.com/necker.html

In the video I am using my Hermes Carnevale de Venise 90cm silk twill scarf.

Christmas in July

Today I wore my Hermes "Passage a Moscou" for the first time as the Friday scarf theme today was Christmas in July.








As you can see I teamed my scarf with a plain white shirt and an aquamarine cashmere sweater. I tried it first with an equestrian look with pearls but ended up with a Half Ascot Knot, as it is a bit cooler, so I could tuck it into my sweater to keep away from the catchy files at work.
To tie the Ascot Knot see the video on my first blog post.
Watch out on Sunday for a new "how to" video.