Scarves Power Scarves--scarves that could run the meeting all by themselves

[ElainePG]

You are so right, and what I really need to do is get to a boutique and compare them on. I used to have access to lots of different boutiques, but now it's fairly difficult, and it's never so frustrating as when I face decisions like this. I am more drawn to the Iris, but Genie's comment that she tried both on and liked Sangles's energy is compelling. Do you have this one or have tried it on?

No, I don't have either of them. I tend to reach for bright scarves when I'm wearing a "statement" scarf, which is why I thought of Sangles in that cw. Whereas Iris is lovely, but in the neutral cw it would blah me out.
But that's just me. I think if you are able to try them both on IRL, preferably with your power suit or at least with a black top, you will immediately know which one is right for you. Because when it comes right down to it, what matters in the design is how it looks tied, not how it looks laid out flat. (Or tied around the H models heads pirate-style, LOL!)

 

[ninakt]

Just beautiful. And elegant. And with the navy trench, so versatile and practical. Sigh.

Does the shirt run true to size, do you think? I just ran my measurements through the size suggester online, and it suggested a size smaller than I usually wear, even though I chose the slightly-looser-fit option (which I like, when there are princess seams to prevent boxiness).

It should be true to size, if you order just make sure, the return is easy.

 

[Tall1Grl]

Your mother is a wise woman. Fun to think of models of power-ladylikeness: Julia Sugarbaker, Joan Clayton, various roles played by Michele Yeoh, Diana Rigg, Maggie Smith, Angela Bassett, and Judy Dench....



Queen Bee! So smart--I love it. That BdG is heavenly and checks all my power-scarf boxes. Does your red one feel power-scarf-y to you? The white border on either would be very dramatic with black. Makes me think: why don't I wear my vintage black-on-white Ex Libris as a power scarf more often? MIght be because when I wear white, part of my brain is worrying about it a little. (Did my seatbelt leave a mark on it this morning and I forgot to check? My pen just got close to it, I hope I didn't leave a mark. Careful with that coffee...). I might have to up my gracefulness quotient to take advantage of the power of white.



You are so right, and what I really need to do is get to a boutique and compare them on. I used to have access to lots of different boutiques, but now it's fairly difficult, and it's never so frustrating as when I face decisions like this. I am more drawn to the Iris, but Genie's comment that she tried both on and liked Sangles's energy is compelling. Do you have this one or have tried it on?



I need to have a rubber band on my wrist when I visit maitai's blog, so I can snap it to remind myself when I look at her Tigre Royale that those aqua and clay colors are all wrong for me. Doesn't it look great with black? Wouldn't that be a good power scarf for someone with the right coloring?

https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YXGqf8JUclw/WIm3TEaLElI/AAAAAAAAivQ/kxqI8iMk6MEdD5d4BT_IDgi95XnfjxWHQCLcB/s1600/Tigre+Royal+how+to+wear+hermes+scarf.jpg

Is that blue among your jewel tones? I think it could be a perfect neutral-but-bright look that hits that elegant note. Though I must say, your Iris does the bright-and-elegant job all by itself. And there was an interesting discussion recently on SOTD on what constitutes a neutral: like power scarves, it seems to vary -- and vary much more widely than I expected! Start with @xincinsin's question in post #3372:

https://forum.purseblog.com/threads...u-wearing-today.958067/page-225#post-31198615

PS: Twillies never count.



Oh you are definitely permitted to say! The Chanel insight is wonderful: exactly what I want to know. CW 03 would be a color departure for me, but I can't stop looking at it. What colors do you wear it with?

The first time I saw cw03 I didnt even like it, I must admit, but I just kept getting drawn to it and so even though for me,as well it was a departure, Im so glad I got it! I wear it right now with linen actually; Khaki, black,navy, white, cream, I let the scarf be the focus that pulls it all together.

 

[Passau]

Bolduc in Rouge is my power scarf with a white shirt, and black skirt suit!

 

[Belphoebe]

Bolduc in Rouge is my power scarf with a white shirt, and black skirt suit!

Outstanding. Is it this one?
http://piwigo.hermesscarf.com/picture?/3226/categories

Here is Christine Lagarde saying, "You wear your Bolduc, Passau; I shall wear my Onde de Chic, and together, we will take over the world!"

http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/wwfeatures/wm/live/1280_640/images/live/p0/2m/bt/p02mbt2h.jpg

And since it has been very helpful seeing all the articles people have found, here is a Forbes piece on CL's power dressing and her scarves, featuring another photo of her in a black suit and red scarf: https://www.forbes.com/sites/raquellaneri/2011/08/25/christine-lagardes-power-dressing/#12410ae33c2f

We've talked a bit about the scarf equivalent of the power tie. Thank you for adding this one to the list!

 

[Belphoebe]

what matters in the design is how it looks tied, not how it looks laid out flat. (Or tied around the H models heads pirate-style, LOL!)

LOL! Arrgh, matey, 'tis I, Anne Bonny, wearin' me Etude pour un Iris cw 03 on me head, and as there's no 15 US Code §8111 in the high seas, ye'll be handing over all yer intellectual property, or ye'll be walking the plank!

 

[xincinsin]

Agreed--for myself and my personal style, anyway. Pastels are never going to give me mental oomph. (I am suspicious this season's Horsawards will come only in pastels and grays, which just aren't my strong suit in general. Drat. I wanted that one.) I want to be a little more daring with bold colors. Black is my go-to power color, but it is safe. Hearing how other people navigate color, finding the right balance of attention-getting without tipping over into distracting, is fascinating.


I am so very happy to hear that you get to wear your silks so much of the time. Your collection is exquisite, and it, like @frou frou's, @papertiger's, and others, is uplifting and inspiring. What is instinctive to you is instructional for many of us, and I appreciate your generosity in sharing what choices you make and your reasoning.

Although I am afraid you and @BBC are the reason I have banned myself from the Parures des Samourais thread. Your cw 03 and her cw 08 will never, ever work on me, I know it from past mistakes, but your pictures in particular make me want them so very, very badly. That thread is deadly.

PS: I have a PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT for anybody following my exchange with @frou frou about neodymium magnets. I swear by them--could not live without them--and yet, they have a drawback. Those babies are STRONG. More than once I have found myself suddenly attached to my car door, my umbrella, or to a metal doorframe. (Fortunately I was talking to a friendly colleague, who didn't even notice until I pointed it out, and we had a good laugh.) So: if you are wearing magnets on meeting day, keep an eye on how close you get to metal objects. Getting stuck to the doorframe probably isn't the best way to convey authority.

Magnets are useful but they can be dicey. A jewellery making forum I am on mentioned an incident when someone's magnetic bracelet clasp collected the cutlery on the table as she served her guests

 

[ElainePG]

Magnets are useful but they can be dicey. A jewellery making forum I am on mentioned an incident when someone's magnetic bracelet clasp collected the cutlery on the table as she served her guests

Oh, my... that is quite an image!

 

[pearlsnjeans]

Queen Bee! So smart--I love it. That BdG is heavenly and checks all my power-scarf boxes. Does your red one feel power-scarf-y to you? The white border on either would be very dramatic with black. Makes me think: why don't I wear my vintage black-on-white Ex Libris as a power scarf more often? MIght be because when I wear white, part of my brain is worrying about it a little. (Did my seatbelt leave a mark on it this morning and I forgot to check? My pen just got close to it, I hope I didn't leave a mark. Careful with that coffee...). I might have to up my gracefulness quotient to take advantage of the power of white.

In my experience, my red BdG tattoo does command respect and credibility when I wore with with a plain black sheath dress and nude pumps the other day. I also feel that the simple 2-color design of this scarf helps put me in that psychological state where I have to behave a certain way (ie: good posture) since I had to speak to some very senior execs at work.

I sometimes have to dress formally an a little older since I'm petite and look a lot younger than my age, so with my simple white and red scarf, I was treated with respect and not in a patronizing way by the (mostly) male execs in a conservative setting.

Although I do understand your caution when wearing white anything since they seem to be good magnets for spills and dirt. I don't know how I'm able to avoid those--maybe because I wore a white and gray uniform as a child going to school and that's just how I got the "training" to avoid dirt and pen/ink marks.

I also think that if I worry too much about getting a mark on the white shirt/pants/scarf I'm wearing, the more it seems to attract those things...

 

[Belphoebe]

In my experience, my red BdG tattoo does command respect and credibility when I wore with with a plain black sheath dress and nude pumps the other day. I also feel that the simple 2-color design of this scarf helps put me in that psychological state where I have to behave a certain way (ie: good posture) since I had to speak to some very senior execs at work.

I sometimes have to dress formally an a little older since I'm petite and look a lot younger than my age, so with my simple white and red scarf, I was treated with respect and not in a patronizing way by the (mostly) male execs in a conservative setting.

Although I do understand your caution when wearing white anything since they seem to be good magnets for spills and dirt. I don't know how I'm able to avoid those--maybe because I wore a white and gray uniform as a child going to school and that's just how I got the "training" to avoid dirt and pen/ink marks.

I also think that if I worry too much about getting a mark on the white shirt/pants/scarf I'm wearing, the more it seems to attract those things...

That is up there with the best reasons I've ever heard for school uniforms. I recall a TPFer telling me once that she found white scarves less worrisome, since she felt freer to use aggressive cleaning methods on them if necessary. I like the idea, though I would need to see better success with my own handwashing before I adopt the approach. (I follow the scarf-cleaning thread religiously. I think somebody got motor oil out of a scarf once?! Now THAT is power.)

The combo of red, white, and black is coming in strong overall in this thread. It is wonderful to hear all the variations: how do you tie your BdG when you wear it with the sheath? For me, wearing a black dress/skirt suit with nude pumps is a power combo too, very much in the I-can-crush-you-with-elegance-alone-and-you-haven't-even-seen-my-quarterly-reports-yet vein.

 

[Belphoebe]

Magnets are useful but they can be dicey. A jewellery making forum I am on mentioned an incident when someone's magnetic bracelet clasp collected the cutlery on the table as she served her guests

Too funny! I'm glad I'm not the only one with magnet mishaps. She and I could probably trade some stories. Though the right piece of cutlery, at the right moment, could be effective! A knife leaping into your hand as if of its own accord conveys power! Whereas an umbrella attaching itself to your shoulder conveys . . . that you are stuck to an umbrella.

 

[FizzyWater]

It sounds like there's a business opportunity here for magnets strong enough to hold a scarf but that won't try to abscond with the tableware.

I'm going to plump for Tuiga, which I'm wearing today:


Here's it laid flat: https://www.instantluxe.co.uk/acces...dy-silk-woman-tuiga-yacht-club-monaco-A148175

If I were trying to be super-authoritative, I'd probably wear it flatter, but it's kind of aggressive no matter what. One reason is the red, which is darker and browner than expected - it's not a friendly red.

Along (literally) the same lines, I dearly dearly want Vent Portant II in grey: https://www.lxrco.com/hermes/scarves/hermes-vent-portant-ii-grey-silk-scarf?

In the current season, what about Fleurs de Giverny in the red colorway? http://usa.hermes.com/la-maison-des...eu-gri-131102.html?xtmc=giverny&xtnp=1&xtcr=2

Yes, it's all flowers, but in person it looks to me more like porcelain - you see the white curving pathways - and it reads really pure red. I imagine Christine Lagarde lowering the aggressiveness and raising the florals by picking the white/red/blue or marine/vert CW.

 

[Passau]

This the red Bolduc scarf that I wear with a white shirt and a black skirt suit! Feminine and powerful!
Go Christine, Go! Over 50 and Fabulous!!

 

[Ladybaga]

I'm a school teacher, not a power broker, but I do nave occasions where I want to feel super polished for a parent teacher conference. For those days, I rely on my very conservative Casques et Plumets (reissue in black/white/orange)
In this picture, I am not wearing my black blazer, but that is what I would pair it with on my "serious days." Every day I wear a scarf which is often very colorful. I wear a lot of Pierre Marie, which always get attention from my students. One of my students even caught the irony of the "House of Scarves" design. (YAY!)
For me, I love the feel of the silk and wearing scarves for the past 8 years has become "my look." When I don't have one on, I always have a student ask me why I'm not wearing one (as if I may have a fever or something must be wrong with me.) In my profession (Middle School English Teacher) I want kids to look at me, in front of the classroom, teaching and expressing myself so that they won't fall asleep in my class. In my collection of 100 plus Hermes 90cms, I better wear one everyday! (I'm smiling a bit too much here. Not a very Powerful Pose.) This is an interesting topic!

 

[Ladybaga]

A suggestion for this season's scarves that you may want to check out on Hermes.com would be Jardin a Sintra.
Beautiful garden pattern by Annie Favre in conservative colorways. (I just purchased a dark grey/purple/dark blue/ turquoise and a few orange pops.) This would look great in a simple bias fold draped around the neck, worn under a grey/black/navy suit jacket or with a cap-sleeved sheath dress in the aforementioned colors. Can't wait to see what you decide!