Hermes Please Hold The Line Scarf 90 100% Silk H004187S 07

Dimitri Rybaltchenko draws like someone who cannot resist a joke, and Please Hold The Line is the wittiest scarf I own. The motif plays with telephone lines and signals, a graphic pun that keeps giving you more detail the longer you look at it.

It is the scarf I take to work on days that need lightening. Knotted small and low over a white shirt, only a fraction of the drawing shows, which lets the pattern read as abstract colour from across the room; open it fully on your lap at lunch and the story appears. Silk twill is ideal for this kind of two-distance design because the print stays crisp where the fabric falls flat. Two of the dial codes are legible from a metre; the rest unfolds only for you, which is my favourite kind of print.

Made in France from 100% silk, with a hand-rolled edge, this is the standard ninety square: 34.8 inches a side, generous enough to knot at the neck, wrap the head, or tie to a bag handle when the weather turns. Hand-rolled hems mean the sides vary by millimetres, if you get out a tape measure. The hem edge sits flush, no flip-out corners, even after years.

One caution: humorous designs rarely pass as formal. This is a daytime piece, for weekends, offices without dress codes and travel, and it looks best with knitwear that stays quiet. Also keep pins away from the silk, which marks easily. I keep it in the office drawer more than the wardrobe, honestly.