Hermes Grand Galop Scarf 90 100% H004311S 06

Ask anyone who actually rides, and they will tell you that horse designs are the only equestrian theme worth wearing; the rest, say the riders, are costume. Grand Galop passes that test. Thibaut Huchard’s galloping horses have real stride in them, muscle and mane drawn by someone who has been close to the animal and is not dressing it up.

I gave one to a friend who keeps a horse, and she wears it the way stable people do: knotted once at the neck under a waxed jacket, ends loose. In town I wear the same square differently, folded into a fat band with no pin at all, letting the motion of the drawing work against a plain coat. The scale of the horses needs room to read, so a loose knot beats a tight one every time. My friend’s verdict, for what it is worth: the only scarf design she has ever been asked about by strangers at the yard.

It is 100% silk twill, made in France, 34.8 inches square, with a hand-rolled edge that keeps the border clean and true. Hand-rolled hems introduce small variations in size between individual scarves, which is worth knowing if you are buying two to match. Professional cleaning only, as silk should be.

Two habits I recommend: wear it wide rather than pinched, and fasten with knots rather than brooches, since a pin through silk twill can lift a thread. Kept loose, it never looks like a costume, even over a jumper, and it is the most quietly convincing horse scarf I have handled.