Can You Wash an Hermès Scarf? - Les Armes de Paris

 

I found a scarf on eBay and the price was right.  Hermès, "Les Armes de Paris".  I knew it was dirty, and now I could test the hypothesis that silk can be carefully washed and will keep a lovely scarf in use.  Will it work?  Will the spots come out?  Will it be possible to block it and iron it to make it a lovely scarf?

Here it is:  

The spots are quite obvious, so this cannot be used without cleaning.  There is no longer a dry-cleaner in our little town, and I'm not sure I would trust a dry cleaner with this anyway.  There are lots of horror stories out there about careless drycleaners who pin tags to the scarf, making holes, who iron the hems flat, who iron folds into the scarf, and so it goes. . . 

The bottom left corner has a large spill on the bottom and the side - coffee?  tea?

Spilled liquid on the bottom center and a couple of splotches.

The bottom right looks like it may be makeup near the top needle.

The side is not as bad as other areas.

The top right has spilled liquid at the top and at the side and a smear of something toward the corner.

The top-center has the spots visible in the picture above, as well as a couple of other spots.

Top left has a serious spot.  I would guess meat dripping, but who knows?  There is also another spot to the side.

Here's what the seller said in the description: 

"The scarf is a 34 inch square. There are two make up marks on the scarf, other than the smudges it is in good condition It belonged to a family member and was purchased in the 1980s in France. The pattern is les Arme de Paris. I am quite sure it has never been washed or dry cleaned."

Here's my take:

This scarf is much dirtier and stained than that description.  The four photos showed two spots, not the multitude here.  It has been cleaned, and the hems are flattened.  If I had known how stained/dirty it was, I probably would not have bought it.  Caveat Emptor!  Now we get to try to clean it.

It was truly filthy.  There were so many spots that I decided not to use woolite but to use dish soap, since dish soap will cut grease effectively.  I spot-treated the spots:

There were a lot of spots!!!

I added the scarf to luke-warm water in the kitchen sink.  Then I swished it around for a while.

I rinsed it five times until I was certain there was no soap residue.

Then I laid it out on beach towels to dry.

I no longer have an ironing board.  I had to buy an iron for this project, too. (I decided years ago on the solution to ironing.  If a shirt or other item needs ironing, I put it in a pillowcase.  I wait until the pillowcase gets full, then I give the pillowcase to a charity shop.)  So, here I am ironing a slightly damp scarf on a beach towel placed on a cutting board over the bathroom sink.  

To insure it was fully dry, I again laid it out on a beach towel overnight.

There are still a few spots, but they are much less noticeable, and I know the scarf is clean.  Now I feel free to wear it.

Bottom lines:

• It is possible to wash an Hermès scarf, but it is  time consuming and may not work perfectly.
• In retrospect, I should not have bought that scarf (but, in my defense, it was not clear just how dirty it was).  And I definitely should not have paid as much as I did.  But I now have a scarf I can wear.
• In the future, I will not spend that much on a scarf that is dirty, and even then, only if it is one I am desperate to have.  
• It's been a learning experience.

To see the other Hermès scarves I have blogged, click here.

Voiles de Lumière - Hermès Scarf

 

Voiles de Lumière, a Hermés scarf, was designed by Joachim Metz and first issued in 1995.   The title means "Sails of Light".

This shows MARE JONIO (Ionic Sea), which is found between Sicily and Greece.  Here's a map:

As the scarf shows, Europe is on the top left and Asia on the top right.

(Notice there is no accent on the first E of Éurope.

Hermès must have lost their accent marks in 1995.)

Asia is ASIE

They have also lost the accent on the title, which should be LUMIÈRE.

In the following picture, the "Hermès Paris" does have an accent mark.

The pennant says, 

Christophorus Columbus Ligur.

Novi Orbis Repertor

Christopher Columbus the Ligurian, Discoverer of the New World.

This image is in the Vatican, Hall of Maps.

"Columbus, dressed in the triumphant guise of a Roman emperor as he speeds away from Genoa and down the Ligurian coast. Compass grasped in his hand like his very own sceptre of power, he sits forward in his golden chariot as his white toga is whipped around his shoulders by a sea breeze. No less a figure than the sea-God Neptune himself guides its course, standing on a massive sea-shell lashed to the backs of four sea-horses thrashing the foamy sea with their hooves. A merman trumpets through a conch as he leads the way, carrying aloft a banner confirming the venerably bearded man’s identity: ‘Christopher Columbus of Liguria, Discoverer of the New World.’"

https://www.througheternity.com/en/blog/art/columbus-hall-maps-vatican-museums.html

At the center top of the scarf is the date of the event shown - 1572.

I have found many interesting things that happened in 1572, but none that relate to this scarf.

If you have any ideas, let me know!

The artist's signature, J Metz, is shown in the bottom right corner.  The three-line care tag is intact.

A pennant with the lion of St. Mark is prominent in the center of the scarf, planted on the center of the compass rose.

The flag is also in the bottom right corner.  Notice that it also has the date MDLXXII.  I have not been able to find out the significance of the flag or the date.  If you can help, please, let me know!  

The other flags on the scarf are also probably significant.  Perhaps that is research for a cold winter day.

-~-

I have no doubts that this is a genuine Hermès scarf, but I wonder why they lost the accent marks.

Hermes Scarf Guide  shows the missing mark on the Hermès copyright on a genuine scarf.  This is interesting because one of the things you look for to determine authenticity is the accent mark.

-~-

Like all the Hermès scarves, this drapes well.  Depending on how it is tied, you can focus on the green or the gold, or the mix.  Another fun scarf!

Joachim Metz has become a favorite.  

I have these scarves that he created:

This one:  Voiles de Lumière.

Luna Park (black and red)

1789 Liberté Égalité Fraternité

Poste et Cavalerie

To see the other Hermès scarves I have blogged, click here.

Garden in the First Half of August 2020

 Everything is taking off.  In July the tomatoes began.  In August, they are abundant.

The three that we are growing this year are San Marzano, our favorite paste plum tomato, and Cherokee Purple, a fairly new heirloom, and Azoychka, an orange tomato.  It is new to us and we find it to be a bit sweet, with great texture, and a fairly tough skin.

Our tomatoes are interplanted with marigolds, zinnias, basil and parsley.  Notice that the tomato plants are severely pruned.  Any branch that does not have flowers or tomatoes is removed.  The theory is that it forces the plant to put its energy into the tomato itself, and also that there is better air circulation to reduce disease.

The great crop is Mara des Bois Strawberries.  They are amazingly sweet and they taste like a strawberry should.  The color is red throughout (no huge white core), but they bruise easily and therefore are not sold commercially.

D has decided that 35 plants are not enough, so he has created three new beds.

. . . 

Check out that kneeler.  It has really saved his knees and makes it much easier to get up and down.  It's quite sturdy and has a side pouch to carry tools.  Another benefit is that the kneeler can be turned over to make a small bench when you're ready to sit and admire your work or when sitting would be easier on your back, for example while pruning tomatoes.

The joy of August, in addition to tomatoes and strawberries, is flowers!

Some of the new daylilies are blooming.  

Look at the size of this gladiolus:

This lily is at least eight inches across and has an amazing scent.   It perfumes the entire garden.

The aconite is almost as tall as he is.

It finally bloomed:

Another name for aconite is monkshood.

The flower does kind of look like a monks hood!

Remember the dahlia support cage?  The plants have gone through the knee-high wire lattice and are now going through the chest-high lattice.

This garden has also been planted with zinnias, so there are zinnias and dahlias.

The dahlia tuber for this dramatic creamy orange flower was a gift from a friend in Oxford.  

Isn't it wonderful?

Some delphiniums are getting dwarfed by the nearby plants.

We have so many different little gardens that it is fun to decide where to sit and enjoy!

To see other garden pics:

This page.

2nd half of July.

First half of July garden.

Garden at the End of June

And the first half of June is here.

You can see the end of May, 2020, here.

Here is the first week of May

Daffodils 2020

The middle of April is here.

First week of April.

Garden in the second half of July

 The world is growing like mad.  

Front yard tomatoes are ripening nicely!

The orange ones are Azoychka.

By July 25, we are harvesting Cherokee Purple, Azoychka, and San Marzano tomatoes.  The green ones were not planned - either the branch broke or they dropped by mistake.  They will have to ripen indoors.

Is this the look of summer?   - barbeque chicken, tomatoes with oil and garlic, macaroni salad, cottage cheese,  It doesn't get much better than this!

Unless it's this.  A month early, on July 21, 2020.

The first fresh tomato pasta of the summer.

Chop tomatoes and add garlic, parsley, basil, and olive oil, and let it sit at room temperature.

Cook "Linguini Fini", a thin linguini, and toss with butter.  

Top with the tomatoes and add a good cheddar and good olives (These are Turkish, oil-cured.)

This daylily is new to us this year.  

Another daylily new this year.  The plant itself is tiny, but the flower is normal size!

A bumblebee enjoys the hosta flower.

We are seeing more bees and more variety of bees this year.

The butterflies particularly enjoy the zinnias:

The aconite (wolfsbane) is finally blooming on July 21.  The pink flowers are zinnias and the orange are calendula (self seeded from in front of the house!)  Notice how the plants are dwarfing the birdbath.

Can you see how tiny the daylily plant is.  I don't think it is 8 inches tall!   It's new this year and is striving to take its place in the world.

The delphinium is a powerful purple!

The structure on the right, with the Tibetan prayer flags, is a frame for dahlias.  Notice that some of the pink zinnias have gone through the second frame of wire.  Come back later to see the August pictures to see how high they really go!

The tall plant, above, left, looking a bit like Cousin Itt, is brugmansia.

The zinnia garden is filling in nicely.  This is the backyard, and this garden extends from near the green shed toward the back door.  The screen house was essential last year because there were so many biting bugs.  This year, so far, we have used it only once.  There are lots of beneficial bugs, like butterflies and bees, but, so far, no biting ones!

To see other garden pics:

This page: 2nd half of July.

First half of July garden.

Garden at the End of June

And the first half of June is here.

You can see the end of May, 2020, here.

Here is the first week of May

Daffodils 2020

The middle of April is here.

First week of April.