Lumieres de Paris by Natsuno Hidaka is possibly my all time favourite Hermes scarf ever. It shows a stained glass window, depicting an angel who holds in his hands the city of Paris. I have this scarf in a number of colours, and love it like Beverley Nichols loved winter aconites - with a deep passionate unreasonable love which will ruin me one day, just like Beverley was almost ruined by a Dutch bulb merchant.
https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/6540/i-Eranthis-hyemalis-i/Details
Just in case you never heard of Beverley Nichols (a massive and unforgivable ignorance) here is the relevant Wiki link: Beverley_Nichols
Anyway, the scarf came out in 2006/7 and quickly became a 'Grail' amongst scarf fanciers. No collection is complete without it. Photos can't really convey the glow and depth of the colours used in this scarf. This is particularly true of the indigo blue one, which is so beautiful it makes one weep. I rarely wear it, but often take it out to regard. No matter how sad or disturbed by certain events I may be, half an hour with this scarf puts my world to rights again.
This particular scarf has a checkered history - some idiot had had it pleated, and then another one ironed out the pleats, so the scarf is covered in fine lines. It isn't as bad as it sounds, because the lines get lost in the design, which also has lots of lines. It is still a massive crime to have done this to an innocent beautiful scarf like this! 'Course I benefited, because no one else was willing to touch it, so I got it really cheap on Evilbay, with the help of my old mate and best buddy M from Cleveland - ah, the contortions a truly addicted scarfy is prepared to tie herself into to obtain a favoured silk! I recently saw the same scarf sell for £500 and felt really pleased and super smug!
As if having one of these uniquely desirable scarves wasn't enough, I actually amassed a total of five - FIVE! - of them, in different colours. Indeed, if I saw the indigo blue one again for a reasonable price I would shell out for a duplicate, and wear the lined one more often. That's because I am either a complete fool who ought to be sectioned for stupidity, or an unreconstructed sensualist in thrall to coloured perfection, depending on your outlook. I know I am selfish to hoard these scarves, while there are literally millions of people who don't even have a single one, but I don't care - let them buy winter aconites! Just you try to prise one of those beauties away from me!
There is also a light blue version of this scarf, with a chalky background and hints of red - beautiful!
Then there is the sage green one - possibly the most evocative of a church, an old church with Gothic columns and a gloomy atmosphere ...
Like the light blue one, the sage one is a colour-way that suits me very well, but I love the indigo blue one and the two that follow so much more!
Here is the yellow and green one, which I wear the most. It is such a golden gorgeous green, and I have few other scarves with such colours, that it has become a 'go to' scarf for me. I hesitated for a long time before I purchased it, because it was eye-wateringly dear and I ate porridge for a month to pay for it. But once I held it in my hands it was all worth it! By Jove, I sound like I am talking about a baby! But see for yourself - doesn't it look like a spring day on la Banne, with blue skies and golden daffodils and fresh green grass?
The last scarf of this pattern I purchased recently, as a Christmas present. It is bright orange, with reds and greens thrown in, and it one of those 'silky vitamins' that I so adore. I swear, looking at one of those orange scarves for ten minutes is equivalent to eating three large oranges!
And finally, a group shot of my entire collection:
Well, do I have reason to brag or what? Happy scarfing, everyone!
