Carres

"Carre" literally translates to "square".  The classic scarf size, a carre measures approximately 35" square (or 90cm).  Traditionally, the Hermes carre is silk twill with forward-facing hand-rolled hems.  To me, there are few things more magical than the feel of stiff twill over my shoulders.

Looking at my collection, you can see how much I love detailed designs and animals, bright colors, and all sorts of pink. There are a few artists who are a tad over-represented in my scarf drawer - Alice Shirley and Jan Bajtlik, I'm looking at you! - but Hermes really creates such magic on silk it's hard to stick to one 'thing'.  Most of my scarf drawer is occupied by designs and colors that make me swoon, but if you see AMIM - that stands for "Ask Me, I Might"  - I might be willing to part with something in my collection. Drop me a note if you're interested, and check out that which I've already decided to re-home. 

DIMITRI RYBALTCHENKO

Cheval de Caractere ("Horse of Letters")

Dimitri Rybaltchenko is the son of Vladimir Rybaltchenko, who was the great-nephew of Philippe Ledoux, all of whom have created so many amazing scarves.

Originally issued in 2007, and given the special edition treatment for the opening of Hermes in Qatar in 2009, this iconic Hermes horse is here created by the letters that spell "Hermes".

Vif Argent​ ("Quicksilver")

Interestingly, my other Rybaltchenko 90 also came out in 2007 and is also in black and white (and yes I've worn them tied together and it is spectacular!). Here the iconic Ex Libris motif is painted like mercury (aka quicksilver). It has an amazing white contrasting hem.

This design reminds me of another Rybaltchenko design, Peinture Fraiche, which came out in 2012. It also features the Ex Libris in a wet look, and was re-issued in 2022 in a gavroche with a striped hem.

KERMIT OLIVER

Faune et Flore du Texas​ (Texas Wildlife)

Kermit Oliver is the sole American to design scarves for Hermes. A renowned painter, he's taught university classes in Houston, had his work  in the opening exhibit of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, won a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Houston Art League, and sorted mail for the Waco post office. A seemingly odd juxtaposition, the postal job allowed him to maintain a steady income while granting him time to paint. ​When the Dumas family was looking for an American artist to commission, the Marcus family (of Neiman Marcus) recommended the Texas native.

Oliver's work is incredibly detailed and realistic, most often focusing on Texas and southwest Native American life. He's also designed work celebrating Native Americans in Canada and the Pacific Northwest (Tsitsika, come back! I never should have re-homed you!). 

Texas Wildlife is unique in that the English translation of the title also appears on the scarf, first produced in 1986 and also appearing in a 140cm cashmere (grail!). I resisted the 'turkey scarf' forever thinking it could only be worn in November. Silly me. I've had many colorways over the years but these are the two I've kept. The yellow is a 2005 Special Edition for the Houston Museum of Fine Art. I also once had the 70cm version issued in 2015 (I think) and let it go. Ugh. As you can see, knowing how to knot a scarf allows you to show off the parts that make you happy. I'm late to that party.

La Vie Sauvage du Texas

Kermit Oliver was thought to have retired from designing scarves for Hermes, so the collecting world emitted a squeal of delight in 2014 when a new design came out. Known as the Cesar Kleberg scarf, a limited run of 2,000 was produced to benefit the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute's Waterfowl and Wetlands Birds Department (twice the volume of most scarf productions). Yes, I had a spectacular colorway with a mustard yellow border. No, I didn't know what to do with it and re-homed it. Aaaaagh!

The design was also produced in 2015 as a regular issue of 2,000 bearing its 'Vie Sauvage" title. Is it a play on words (wildlife vs wild life)? Only Mr. Oliver knows. Again we see in intricate detail 122 species of plants and animals native to Texas. In these two colorways, the interior scene and the border flowers remain the same color across the scarves with the difference being in the two border colors.

ALICE SHIRLEY

Appaloosa des Steppes

Alice Shirley began partnering with Hermes in 2012. She brings a sense of childlike wonder and whimsy to her designs. (In fact, she is also the author and illustrator of children's books, and has taught young artist programs in Britain.) This 2017 scarf was my first Alice Shirley carre. It was inspired by two dissimilar parts of the world: the Appaloosa horse of North America, a breed tied to the Nez Perce of the Pacific Northwest, and the felt tapestries (shyrdaks) of Kyrgyzstan, a Central Asia country. What both cultures have in common is a nomadic lifestyle rich with traditions passed from one generation to another.

Mountain Zebra​

After I caught the Alice Shirley bug, I initially resisted this 2021 design because zebras don't live in mountains! I overcame that objection because  it ties like a dream and the out-of-place zebra can be hidden. And reading the 'story behind' I learned there *is* a type of zebra that lives in the mountains. Color me educated! And thrilled with the blues and pinks of this beauty. I have to fight my desire to add more colorways to my collection. 

The 3 Graces​

I admit, I didn't 'get' Alice Shirley designs when they first began appearing in boutiques. Appaloosa was the first of her scarves I added, and I didn't wear it for three years. Go figure. As I started seeing the beauty of her work, this 2021 design appeared and I thought 'brights! busy! Totally in my wheelhouse!' And still it took several attempts before the angels sang. Now this is one of my absolute favorites. I've decided that sometimes a scarf needs time to 'rise' like a good dough and I regret re-homing many designs that just didn't click when I first threw it around my neck (Space Derby, please come back!).

Into the Candadian Wild​

When this design came out in 2017 it was another one I didn't 'get' (the design is asymmetrical! there is no border!). Words cannot describe how badly I'd like to go back in time, grab myself by the shoulders, shake vigorously and scream "BUY EVERY COLORWAY!" So I had to find this on the resale market. Overseas. With an "S" stamp. Le sigh.

But what's a girl to do? I adore this for many reasons but chief among them are the grizzly and polar bears, and bonus orcas. Most of the wildlife in this design reminds me of the Pacific Northwest where I grew up (and also makes me want to go back in time and stop myself from re-homing Kermit Oliver's Tsitsika).

I'm usually ok with a single colorway but the red juxtaposed against the green feels a tad Christmas-y. So I squealed with delight when I could add another colorway! The colorists at Hermes are pure geniuses and I'm constantly amazed at how different colorways make one design feel like a completely different scarf.

​Could I lose my mind and set about to add every colorway to my collection? Perhaps.

Dans un Jardin Anglais​ ("In an English Garden")

 (One of Alice Shirley's earliest designs is also one of her most sought-after. Released in 2015, Dans un Jardin Anglais is a colorful and detailed depiction of the flora and fauna of English gardens (yup, another one I didn't 'get' when it was in boutiques; insert silent scream here).

There's just something light and happy about this design, be it from the riot of color, the seemingly carefree smiles on the variety of animals grazing, flitting about, and relaxing in the foliage and by the waters.

There are 10 colorways of the 90cm silk, and I could have each colorway and not feel any one duplicates the feel of the others. There is even more to relish in 140cm mousselines, 45cm gavroches, and twillies. I've not seen these other formats show up on the resale market frequently, and when they do they typically last less than 24 hours. 

​Does that mean I want each color and format? Yes. Yes, it does!

Tyger Tyger

Tyger Tyger was issued in 2015 in both 90cm silk carre and 140cm cashmere shawl. The green cashmere shawl was my first Alice Shirley addition, and this carre was one of my most recent: it fell into my scarf drawer 7 years after its issue.

This design weaves together inspirations from the classic William Blake poem (zoom in on the green fern to see the poem's opening line) and botanical illustrations of  the Periyar tiger reserve in Kerala, India.

Wild Singapore​

When I first saw this in my local boutique in February 2020, I thought 'lions have no meaning for me' and 'red and purple???'. I walked away. FOOL! My taste in scarves has certainly evolved over time, even over the past year. 

To my knowledge, there were only four colorways: this, a blue/gold (similar to the DUJA above), a pink/green, and a special edition blue/green that was retailed only in Asia. The design celebrates the nocturnal wildlife of Singapore: migrating birds, bats, big cats, mouse-deer; all nestled under the mangroves and watched over by a lion created by a fig tree.

I lucked out finding this on the resale market for what I would have paid two years prior. It ties like a dream! I hear rumors that there will be a new Alice Shirley design this year, but for now I can sleep easy with her most recent beauty in my collection.

JAN BAJTLIK

Animapolis

Words cannot describe how giddy this design makes me! Definitely not the traditional equestrian themed Hermes scarf, this 2019 design is the first from Jan Bajtlik, a young Polish artist who began working with Hermes in 2016 at the age of 27 (yes, it takes years from commissioning an artist to seeing the final design produced in silk and available at boutiques).

Not only do I adore all the animals overtaking famous buildings from Warsaw, Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Kiev and New York, but I beyond-adore that his dog Kluska ("Noodle" in English) features so prominently in so many vignettes of this scarf. Like an Annie Faivre design there is so much detail here that I notice something new every time I look at this scarf. 

​Exposition Universelle

I went to a few Pacific Northwest Expositions in Vancouver BC when I was growing up. It was like a state fair on steroids! Hermes describes this 2021 design as "Absurd humor and nods to history...in which dinosaurs frolic under a cloche and penguins dance underwater. A Tower of Babel transformed into a spiral slide stands near a Trojan horse housing a spa, while four drones hold the Great Pyramid upside down. The designer finds inspiration in the great world fairs of the 19th century to recreate a fantasy park."  I, of course, am drawn to Kluska in the corner.

PIERRE MARIE

L'Ombrelle Magique

Pierre Marie has quickly become one of my favorite scarf designers. In 2008 he became the youngest scarf designer for Hermes.  Inspired by nature, history, and folklore, his designs feature a similar level of detail and sense of whimsy as Annie Faivre but with a different more narrative feel. L’Ombrelle Magique began with a feathered cane parasol from the Emile Hermès collection. With his imagination, the designer takes this magic umbrella through an elaborate story from the north to the south, east to the west. Follow the story through the circular vignettes!

La Maison des Carres

This house of silk designed by Pierre Marie inspired a website redesign at Hermes in 2014. Videos also capture the fantasical interpretation of 'la maison' though the silk came out in 2015. This scarf came from the mothership at 24 Faubourg so it truly represents the maison! Again, the humor and detail that Pierre Marie brings to this design push all my H buttons.

AMIM

Le Laboratoire du Temps

Twice a year France requires every retailer in the country to offer a certain percentage of merchandise at 30% (or more) below MSRP. For Hermes these sales take place off-site, typically in convention centers that can manage large volumes of shoppers. Merchandise is marked to prevent buyers from returning or exchanging for full-price goods. 

This scarf came from the 2015 Paris sale, to which I could devote pages in an attempt to capture the full experience. I was thrilled to find a carre from one of my favorite artists. Again, Pierre Marie creates a winding story throughout the square yard of silk so that every time you look at the scarf you find something new and delightful - the young Mozart practices at his harpsichord, while Neil Armstrong walks on the moon, not forgetting Émile Hermès in front of the store windows on Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré.

Woof Woof/La Source de Pegase

I love pink. I love Pierre Marie designs. I love dogs. I love a good SE. And here we have everything all rolled into one! The legend of the winged horse Pegasus' birth is given the Pierre Marie treatment in this 2021 design. As divine as this scarf is, I told myself I did not need another pink scarf. However, for a few years - beginning with Brides de Gala Love - Hermes has created special edition scarves packaged in heart-shaped boxes, and in 2021 a couple of romantic dachshunds were cut from other scarves and embroidered onto this pink colorway (as well as a pink Please Check In). The silk of the dogs is a surprise, and I believe this one is cut from Les Faceties de Pegase, a Dimitri Rybaltchenko design from 2014). 

Chiens au Rapport, Carl de Parcevaux

Cocker spaniels have been in my life since childhood. Until Virginie Jamin's Colliers de Chiens in 2013, the only Hermes scarf I could find that includes spaniels is Chiens au Rapport, a 1987 design by Carl de Parcevaux. This design pays homage to hunting dogs, specifically retrievers. Cocker spaniels were so named because they were most renowned for retrieving woodcocks. Retrievers are known for obedience but most of the spaniels in my life have been rather cheeky.

This particular design was issued in quite a few colorways, and I believe at one point I had all of them (perhaps five colorways?). Over time I've had to re-home the ones that have not gotten into a regular rotation in order to keep my collection from overtaking my entire house.

Chanteclair, Maurice Tranchant

At first I thought this 1974 design (re-issued in 2002) paid homage to Chaucer's Canterbury Tale, but that tale is about a rooster and a fox.  Since this features a rooster and a bird, it appears this scarf was inspired by the 1910 play by Rostand which features a proud crowing rooster who is loved by a golden pheasant with beautiful plumage (there is also a nightingale, a blackbird, a guinea hen and gamecocks, and an evil hawk).  Anyhow, I found this in a consignment shop and fell in love with the unusual color which looks amazing against a white shirt.

Fleurs de l'Opera, Julia Abadie

I do not enjoy opera. If there is an antithesis to a love of opera, that's how I feel about opera. So what about this design appeals to me? The colors! The contrast of the blue/black/rust makes me happy. And my mother loves the opera, so the names of the operas that line the border remind me of her.

Julia Abadie was quite a prolific Hermes scarf artist, designing 30+ scarves over 40+ years beginning in the early 1970s. The GMCS of Clic Clac au Pois is one that always brings a smile to my face.

Orgauphone et Autres Mecaniques, Francoise Faconnet

Francoise Faconnet designed but a handful of scarves for Hermes. This 1996 scarf was issued more than 30 years after the first (Courbettes et Cabrioles, in 1962). I typically lean away from more traditional designs, but the rust/taupe/blue colorway makes me happy - similar to Fleurs de l'Opera. Even more fun is the jacquard weave of treble clefs that adds another dimension to this carre.

AMIM

Cheval de Mer, Christian Renonciat

This seahorse from 2012 is deceptive. A cream background with blue line art seems so blah compared to the details and colors that Jan Bajtlik, Annie Faivre or Pierre Marie might create. And yet the simplicity of this scarf's color scheme adds so much to any outfit, and it's fabulous for providing contrast when twining two carres together. To my knowledge, the only other scarf the artist has created for Hermes is Le Pegase d'Hermes. The common thread of those two designs is the intricate linework in the scarf. So while this may seem an unlikely favorite, it's a keeper.

Fleurs d'Ecosse, Sylvia Kerr

I've referred to Sylvia Kerr's 2010 design as 'the picnic blanket' scarf (note that Ms. Kerr is a renowned textile designer!), but became entranced when a friend of Scottish descent began identifying the flowers and symbols of her heritage. And while I typically shy away from a red/white/blue color scheme the particular steel blue and bright red are divine, and the pops of pink hit me in the feels. The red contrasting hem sealed the deal.

To my knowledge, the only other Hermes scarf she has designed is Parade de Leonhardi, and I would love to add it to my collection.

Hommage a l'Explorateur Sir Ernest Shackleton, Zoe Pauwels

I typically associate Zoe Pauwels' designs leaning toward the graphic or abstract (I absolutely love Reve d'Australie but am re-homing most to make room in the scarf drawer), unlike this realistic depiction of Shackleton's journey on the Endurance, which ran aground in the Antarctic in the 1800s. Though the ship was destroyed he led all 28 crewmen to safety in Chile. For such a harrowing tale (a real event that covered 2 years), in 2005 she created a charming scene with happy penguins and sled dogs enjoying the company of the seamen.  I love the pink, the dogs, the contrasting hem... And penguins always make me smile in remembrance of a friend who fell into a penguin enclosure at the zoo as a teenager (penguins are NOT friendly when they feel threatened!).

L'Ivresse de l'Infini​, Zoe Pauwels

The drunken-ness of infinity! The madness of the universe! I can't imagine a design more unlike Shackleton than this 2011 eye-popper. It's pink. It has a contrasting hem. It is bright. It is busy. And I absolutely adore it. There's an acid green colorway that I would love to add to my collection!

Coupons Indiens, Aline Honore

Hermes designs follow annual themes, and 2008 was The Year of India. At the time, I pursued a mousseline Indian Dust, had 2 90s and 2 GM cashmeres of Carre Kantha, and helped others find their Beloved Indias. And since I was still fairly new to scarves Coupons Indiens felt weird.

Fast forward 14 years and OMG I love it! The colors are so fabulous and tie so many different ways I couldn't stop at one.

Colliers de Chien ("Dog Collars") and Colliers et Chiens ("Collars and Dogs"), Virginie Jamin

This 2013 design was inspired by the ephemera in the Hermes museum, located off the original Hermes boutique in Paris.  I've been privileged to get a tour of this private collection and gasped in delight at the collection of the collars. The first collar added to the Hermes collection was an enormous collar worn by a St. Bernard.

I have fond memories of the Denver boutique where I found this doggy-themed delight. Note the enamel Brazil scarf ring; the orange and black are perfect complements to the colors in the silk.

In 2021, Colliers de Chien got a little facelift - literally! Furry faces were added along the border (as well as a ribbon-like leash) - and since there's a cocker spaniel or two in the mix this was absolutely irresistible.
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Another twist to the design is the silk itself - rather than the traditional twill whose stiffness I love, this is a silk 'wash'. The washing technique is done by hand and gives the silk a super soft touch. I'm not sure I'm a fan of the silk wash; the softness makes it harder to secure a fancier knot. Still, the pups' appeal overrides the fabric concerns.