Hermès Flagship Shawl 140 70% Cashmere 30% Silk H244091S 08

A flagship store is a kind of theatre, and Dimitri Rybaltchenko paints it like one: the boutique as stage, with its characters, its vitrines and its perpetual opening night. Wearing this shawl is a little like carrying that theatre with you, and on long journeys it has become a favourite of mine, as much for the mood as the warmth.

Airport to arrival, it does the whole itinerary. Doubled around the neck as a scarf for the flight, it unfolds into a proper wrap for an unfamiliar city’s evening; over a simple black outfit the boutique scene gets to perform without competition. At home it hangs on a hook beside the door, and the boutique’s windows have brightened more than one grey arrival day. The blend moves well in both cases: a 70% cashmere, 30% silk hand, soft at the collar, structured enough that a shawl wrap holds its knot across a whole dinner.

It is made in France in the 140 format, around 53.5 inches square, with edges rolled by hand, meaning the finished size can vary a little from any listing and from shawl to shawl. It also packs to the size of a grapefruit, which is the sort of statistic I appreciate.

An honest note: novelty designs are, by definition, a matter of taste, and this one has humour in it that a minimal wardrobe may not know what to do with. If your clothes already talk, maybe skip this shawl. If they do not, it will do the talking for them.