Hermes Palefroi Shawl 140 70% Cashmere 30% Silk H241423S 03

Palefroi is an old French word for a palfrey, the smooth-gaited riding horse of songs and stories, the one knights gave as gifts. Françoise de La Perrière’s drawing has that medieval romance in it, seen with a rider’s eye for the animal rather than a fantasist’s. It is the shawl I take to the countryside, and it looks like it belongs there before I have even unfolded it.

A weekend can serve blundered weather; this wrap is my answer. Into the car, folded wide over the shoulders, scarf and cardigan in one. Into an evening walk, wound close with both ends tucked. It is also, in the plainest sense, a good blanket: substantial, soft, and content to be sat on. And when the weekend is over, it drapes across a chair in the apartment and the whole room gets a little more comfortable, a shawl doing textile duty, which is a thing cashmere-silk does well.

Numbers: 70% cashmere, 30% silk, hand-rolled edges, made in France, and about 136 by 135 cm. As with any hand-finished large square, count the listed figure as close, not contractual. I keep mine rolled in a cotton bag by the door, ready for the next departure.

Understand its size before you choose it: this is a genuinely large wrap, and it has no small mode. For tight collars and fitted layers you want a ninety square; for a travelling companion with a story woven in, this is the one. Once you have one this large, the smaller formats start to feel like accessories.