Hermes Couvertures et Tenues de Jour Forever Scarf 90 100% Silk H001356S 36

Pictures of horses wearing rugs are, historically, the most domestic form of equestrian art there is: stable blankets, day dress, the animal at rest. Couvertures et Tenues de Jour, drawn by Jacques Eudel in what reads as an engraver’s hand, takes that subject and gives it the patience of a tapestry, horses standing under patterned cloth, detail filed into every corner.

I think of it as a winter scarf. The design rewards a long, slow wearing, over a heavy coat collar, doing a wool scarf’s job on days that are between seasons, or laid on the lap at a country lunch. Spread flat on a sofa back it also works as a small textile, which is how I store mine between wears. Silk twill keeps the print legible even at a distance because the colours sink into the fibre rather than sitting on top. It is also, quietly, a scarf for horse people, since the details reward anyone who has spent real time around a stable.

It is 88.5 cm, pure silk, made in France, with the hand-rolled edge. Since the hem is finished by hand, the square may measure a little more or less than stated, the usual trade of handwork for absolute uniformity. Prints like this age slowly, which is the idea.

One styling warning: this pattern is dense, and dense patterns detest stripes, checks and tweeds with strong lines of their own. Plain wool and solid colour are its natural allies. Between seasons, mine lives over the arm of a chair, folded to show the horses.