When collecting scarves.......

S'Mom

S'Mom

Resistance is Futile
O.G.
Apr 8, 2006
19,280
459
#1
.......do you buy the design you've been looking for even if it's in a color-way that doesn't suit you?????

I've come up against this time and again. There are scarf designs that I'd LOVE to have and WEAR and I find them in colors that don't work for me. I wind up not buying them and then miss out on owning something that's hard to get......

What's the right way to look at this.......I don't want scarves just laying around but there are some designs that are just so wonderful to look at that I'm a bit torn.

What do you guys do???????
 
#2
I have to LOVE the colorway--sometimes that means it will suit me to wear or not. i.e., I love Lumieres de Paris--am not a really pink person, but bought it in pink b/c it's beautiful. I stayed away from the white and the orange because I just didn't like the design in those colorways--to look at or to wear.

In short, even if it's super rare, I usually pass if it doesn't appeal to me aesthetically b/c I'm not at that stage of die-hard collecting (yet!).
 
#3
Hi Shopmom,

I'm predominantly drawn to the graphics, because there are some patterns that are so interesting from a graphic design/artistic standpoint that they overwhelm and fascinate me. I especially like when I can guess at what the designers' original source of inspiration might have been.

My secondary interest is color. The way I've looked at it, Hermes has some of THE best colorists out there, period. Getting color absolutely perfect is way more difficult than most people imagine, and poor/mediocre color groupings are almost physically painful to me. Hermes rarely misses. I've counted maybe 5-6 over the course of 30 years that I think are truly a misstep.

What I continue to find is that as colors come in and out of style, (I have some 80s purples that WILL NOT work with anything right now :crybaby: ) I can keep them in acid-free boxes and enjoy looking at them and handling them. Almost everything always comes back around eventually. I have some 70s acid green that are absolutely perfect right now, but were not at all to my taste 10 years ago. I bought them solely for the design, but I'm thrilled to have them now.

I tell all my collectors that as a general rule when building a collection, strong design holds its value much, much better.
 
#5
I've only got one full size scarf and it is one I would never wear. It just does not suit me and I knew this would be the case when I purchased it. I am going to frame it. So, yes, I would buy a scarf if I loved the design even if I could not wear it.
 
#6
I buy the scarves to wear, not to frame so I always go for colour first, I often choose by glancing across the drawers of scarves and picking out the likely candidates. However, once I've seen some colour combinations that I like, the design must mean something too, eg a Paris theme or horse theme (I ride) or something that is significant to me in some way for example we holiday in Nice a lot and the beach is all pebbles and one of my favourite Hermes scarves has pebbles...you get the idea. Once a scarf has been taken from the drawer and unfolded, then if the scarf has any white in it, I don't buy, I just can't wear it, it doesn't seem to work on me. Sometimes when the scarves are displayed on the walls and I see an amazing design, like the Parisian rooftops, I will ask to see all the colour combinations but I would never buy if the colours were not right for me. Back in the 80s I had my colours 'done' and I am an 'Autumn' and I do tend to stick to a khakis, golds and tans - a 'muddy' palatte although also I commit the 'crime' of a lot of black too. The only exception to my own rule are the plisse scarves which I never really took to before but I recently bought a couple and I simply love them, they are so light and easy. With a plisse I go for colour alone, the design is less important and it doesn't have to be significant in any way as it isn't particularly visible anyway. Sometimes I see designs that I would love however my 'no white' rule cuts out a lot of scarves and really concentrates my choices. There was one small silk scarf I bought, one of my first, it was a silk pochette, Early America and there was white in it, I only wore it once, kept trying it on but would always choose another scarf instead. That was the one and only Hermes item I have ever sold on ebay, it went to a lady in Italy who loved it so at least it went to a happy home and for almost the price I paid for it so I don't feel too bad about that one mistake.
 
#7
When I decided to collect them in earnest, the suitability of the colorway was no longer an issue for me. Here is my checklist when I am buying scarves:
1. Artwork:
a. the storyline must make sense
b. symmetry of the design
c. what sort of details, prefer no repetition in the art. The current ‘Red Berries’ is 1 design that has no repetition even though it looks deceptively simple.

2. Colorway, I usually pick the most visually powerful color combination regardless if it suits me or not. (Don’t have a bottomless bank account)

When I have a colorway that doesn’t suit my coloring, I won’t wear it directly on me but rather in an indirect way through my clothing. Shopmom, you have a basically black wardrobe? You can wear ‘unsuitable’ colorways around your dress blouses. Fold it in half diagonally to form a triangle, place 1 end on your shoulder and knot the ends on the other shoulder, I think a scarf ring here would be very elegant.
 
#8
OK........but what about the other way? Would you buy a scarf because you fall in love with the colors?

For example......I'm not a huge fan of Tohu Bohu but I fell in love with it in the pale pinks/celadon/cream/pale blue color way. I'm thinking of buying that one because I just LOVE these colors and it would be lovely for Spring/Summer......

Would you buy for color alone?????
 
#9
Personally, no, but only because that's the way my mind works. It's not a mistake to buy for color alone.

You seem to have a consistent, strong, and certain aesthetic sense, therefore your choices are usually going to mix well together. My guess would be that if you're drawn to a scarf for the color alone, there's something consistent underlying that choice, whether you can readily access why or not.

Funny you mention Tohu Bohu. That's one I adore for the graphics, although I can pretty much take or leave the colors.
 
#10
Yes--would buy for color alone--esp. with scarves... They can look so different folded (so that the pattern becomes a bit secondary) that if the colors worked when folded I would consider it even though I wasn't a big fan of the pattern (i.e., my legende kuna red/black plisse).
 
#12
shopmom411 said:
OK........but what about the other way? Would you buy a scarf because you fall in love with the colors?

For example......I'm not a huge fan of Tohu Bohu but I fell in love with it in the pale pinks/celadon/cream/pale blue color way. I'm thinking of buying that one because I just LOVE these colors and it would be lovely for Spring/Summer......

Would you buy for color alone?????
Click to expand...
i am really just learning about the artists, thanks to tPF.
each of my scarves was bought, first, by a theme/design that appealed to me.
if H didn't have a color that i liked and/or looked good on me, i didn't buy it.
this forum has definitely raised my awareness of my collection!
i literally and figuratively see a pattern here:
lots of colorways in blacks and/or different shades of blues,
some reds and a pinks.
until i began reading the posts on tPF, i didn't even know
that i was attracted to, and bought, designs made by the same artists.
i have so much to learn and i love it! :yes:
 
#13
I buy my scarves to wear them, so they have to be 'right'.

I like collecting equestrian themes (surprise surprise) and have been tempted to buy coveted designs even if the colour doesn't suit me, just to 'have' the design. I found this to be the case particularly when I started collecting scarves. I remember when I first saw the 'Jumping' design, I HAD TO HAVE IT and clicked the 'buy it now' button without conisdering the colourway. I was disappointed a bit when the scarf arrived, it is in brown/olive green tones. I ended up loving it actually but I wouldn't necessarily do the same thing again. Well, having said that, I have a much-coveted "Haras Nationaux" that I don't really see myself wearing - even though the colours would work for me - because the scarf is a. in mint condition and b. I am not so attracted to wearing it because I think this one might look 'mumsy' (haven't tried it yet though). I think I'll frame that one some day.
On the other hand, I am oftentimes drawn to colourways and combinations that have nothing to do with horses (the 'ducks' scarf for instance, or Tohu Bohu, or Naissance d'une idee or Les Lumieres).

At the end of the day, the scarf has to sing to me and I have become more selective in my scarf choices now that I have a nice collection. There is no way I can possibly have them all and there is always something else that will come along.
 
#14
After making several mistakes I now only buy if the color suits me. I have had to sell too many items at a loss to just buy because I like the print. This is a hard decision though and about kills me.
 
#15
The only way I have managed to restrain my scarf buying is to try to only get a scarf if I love the design, the colorway is flattering, and I like the design in the colorway.

There have been two exceptions: my first scarf was Gloire d'Alexandre in turquoise, picked out for me by a SA; this is not my favorite design, but the color is perfect for me, and it ties beautifully. The other was the Musique des Spheres reissue; the best colorway on me was the rust, but I didn't think this colorway showed off the design to its best advantage so I got the neutral sable one instead. Both are very wearable, but there's a special place in my heart for the ones that pass the test!
 
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