This year has been crazy, to say the least, and I have not been able to dedicate the amount of time I would have liked, to writing about my beloved scarves.

So to alleviate some of my guilt :-), I have decided to write a little something about one scarf a month.  Perhaps about what may have inspired the design, the artist mixed in with some hopefully interesting and perhaps less “known” facts.

---

I have chosen to start with one of the most popular Hermes scarves EVER – the Les Clefs or simply: the Keys.

 

---

Caty Latham(-Audibert) designed this iconic Hermes carre and it was first issued in 1965 and due its overwhelming popularity, re-issued numerous times since.

At the heart of this carré, an 18th-century green velvet and silver purse sits encircled by a surprising number of keys.

This little purse was just one of the countless treasures amassed by Émile Hermès, whose extensive collection of objects, paintings, and statues served as inspiration for so many of the brand’s early designs. The Hermès carré, as we know it today, was born in 1937 under his watchful eye. He worked closely with artists like Hugo Grygkar and Philippe Ledoux, ensuring his personal collection was forever immortalized in their beautiful scarves.

One can only wonder what secrets this purse held that required so many keys. The four prominent keys in ech corner of the design seem to belong to a Chamberlain, the chief officer of a monarch or nobleman’s household. To be entrusted with a kingdom’s treasures, it would certainly be necessary to possess a great number of keys to keep everything secure.

Ultimately, thanks to Ms. Latham, we were given a carré that has been loved and treasured by many generations.

---

• I had provided a link to the Hermes Museum, unfortunately that link so no longer valid. However here a link to a very interesting article in Esquire Magazine from 2019

---

---

^{©Hermès is the exclusive property of HERMES OF PARIS, Inc., subsidiary of HERMES INTERNATIONAL}

All content is the property of Carre de Paris© 2010-2025