Hermes Inventaire Poetique pour un Conte Sellier Shawl 140 70% Cashmere 30% Silk H244193S 11

A rainy Sunday, a chair by the window, a shawl that asks nothing of you: that is the life this piece is built for. Florence Manlik’s Inventaire Poetique pour un Conte Sellier, a poetic inventory for a saddler’s tale, reads like the contents page of an imagined story, objects catalogued, drawings annotated, the whole square busy in the way of an old print room.

Worn, it is a home shawl first and an outdoor one second. At the desk it goes over the shoulders with the front hanging loose so the catalogue of drawings can be read sideways; on a train it folds into a generous cushion. On overnight trains I have used it as half-blanket, half-pillow, with the drawings face up. Because the cashmere-silk has grip, the wrap stays where you place it rather than creeping down your arms every ten minutes, a small mercy if you work sitting still.

It is a 140-format piece, roughly 53 by 54 inches, handmade in France with hand-rolled edges, so the measurement can differ a little from the listing. The weight sits between a scarf and a blanket, enough for a cold room, not enough to substitute for a coat.

One styling note: a print this detailed wants quiet clothes and open wearing. Squeezed into a small knot, its whole premise, the reading of it, disappears. Fold it with the annotations showing, and the reading continues on the sofa.