As I am preparing to list a couple of Hermès carrés for sale, I am reminded how easy it is to assume that the name/title of a scarf is what we find printed on it. Well not necessarily so.
Probably the most famous example of this common mistake, is the very popular Astrologie, its official Hermès title. Astrologie is not written anywhere on the scarf, but Dies et Hore is, so it is easy to make this mistake. Unfortunately, with the advent of the Internet, these mistakes get perpetuated.
And I too, am part of the problem. In order for someone to find any of my scarves, I need to refer to them by both, the correct and the AKA, names.
Another such misnomer is the La Reale, its official Hermès title. But this Hugo Grygkar creation from 1953 is almost always referred to as Vue du Carosse de La Galere – La Reale or simply Vue du Carosse.
So what is Zoe Pauwels’ stunning Costumes des Départements de la Seine Inférieure… carré really called?
Let me start with what it is commonly called. There is a long version as found on the scarf itself; Costumes des Départements de la Seine Inférieure du Calvados de la Manche et de l’Orne, and a more common, shorter version, Costumes des Departements.
But what is its official Hermès title? Coiffes Normandes, the headdresses of Normandy.
Coiffes Normandes was first issued in 1989 and re-issued in 1992 in this splendidly rich colorway, the same colorway that was featured in the 1992 Carres de Voyages or “Love Letters in Silk” booklet.
But no matter what we call it, this carre is not just for the Lover of romantic novels. It is for all of us who love not just Zoe Pauwels’ artistry, but the HERMES carre itself.
Enjoy…
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