Hermes, luxurious Hermes

1930 - Hermes scarves are used in this two piece outfit

You all remember Luciano Pavarotti and his great stage presence. He considered the Hermes scarf his personal good luck charm - without it he wouldn't go on stage.
Hermes has been a status symbol ever since the first shop was opened in 1837 by Thierry Hermes in Paris. Back then it was only about selling gloves, boots, belts, coin purses.
By 1879, his son Emile Charles extended the activity to include saddles, eventually moving on to produce luggage, bags and wallets.
In 1935 Hermes saw the invention invention of the Kelly bag. Totally handmade by skilled artisans, each bag requires 18 hours to complete. It was only in 1937 that the first printed silk scarf was produced. To this day the Hermes scarf is synonymous of style, elegance and quality. Again it is completely handmade down to its hand-rolled hems.

Here is an example of an authentic Hermes scarf. The design is called Fleurs de Fuchsia and was designed by artist Leigh P.Cooke. If I am not mistaken this comes from the 2006 collection. Size is 90 x 90cm.

Denis's Trees & My New Scarf

I picked up this fantastic scarf

from a charity sale last week. When I saw it I realised it reminded me of something I had already seen...

And then I remembered this......

For some strange reason, I couldn't shake off the memory of the paintings by the French Symbolist artist Maurice Denis (1870-1943).

And of course it all comes together with the fantastic pins of the 1960s and 1970s..... what about this fantastic flower power pin?

Makes you wonder... what comes first... is it colour, is it shape, is it art, is it nature, is it fashion? My hunch is that it's all a dynamic mix that comes together to minds who are creative enough to grasp innovation when they see it.

My Thrift Find - An Original Jacques Fath

It's amazing what pops up during estate thrifting. I unearthed this lovely all silk scarf, signed and with a label saying Jacques Fath Paris. It wasn't exactly my colour, but it seemed too handsome to let pass & I love silk so picked it up anyway.
Then I researched some and found out this Mr Fath was an incredibly important
French designer who was somehow forgotten.

I found this information on the web......

"Born: Lafitte, France, 12 September 1912. Studied bookkeeping and law, Commercial Institute, Vincennes, France. Married Geneviéve Boucher de la Bruyére, 1939; Had one son: Philippe. Completed required military service and served again in the artillery during World War II. First was a Book-keeper, then a trader at the Paris Bourse, 1930-32.
He showed his first collection in Paris, 1937; reopened salon, 1940; designed ready-to-wear collection for the American manufacturer Joseph Halpert, 1948; formed own company in the U.S., 1951; developed ready-to-wear collection in Paris, 1954, including Fath scarves and hosiery; business sold, 1957; fragrance license bought back from L'Oreal, 1992; Tom Van Lingen hired as designer, 1992; relaunched several fragrances, from 1993; company bought by Groupe Emanuelle Khanh, 1997; Elena Nazarhoff replaced Van Lingen as artistic director, 1997; Nazarhoff fired and Octavio Pizarro hired, 1998; fragrances include: Green Water, reissued 1993; Fath de Fath, 1957 and 1995; Yin and Yang, 2000. Exhibitions: Jacques Fath Création-Couture des Années 50 (retrospective), Palais Galleria, Paris, 1993. Awards: Neiman Marcus award, Dallas, 1949. Died: 13 November 1954, in Paris."
(Read more on http://www.fashionencyclopedia.com/Es-Fo/Fath-Jacques.html)

Check out my Fath scarf and see what you think:

For more images of my Fath scarf check out...

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=33181393

Here is a Fath hat which is found at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London:

A 1950s suit by Fath:

And here is a dress to die for... the kind of frothy vintage beauty Dita von Teese would dream of wearing for her next promo....