This Week...

Thinking about my Grandmother. And English Silk Scarves.

This is always a bit of an odd time of year, with the rush of Christmas over, but the focus and renewed energy of the new year not yet upon us. Where every day feels like a Saturday.

And with about a foot of snow on the ground and with an arctic air blast chaser, things are particularly still outside. While I am no longer a massive fan of snow, it does give a respite from the tiniest of creatures that plagues one throughout the warmer weather, and now even the slightly larger creatures have all gone to ground.

It is a wonderful time for wood fires. Our house is so well insulated that we heat both floors with just one woodstove, and we indulge ourselves, using kiln dried wood, the luxury line of split and cut firewood. Once you try it, there is no going back. No more worrying about how seasoned your wood really is. And if we are lucky, we get a bit of Hickory which gives that added benefit of smelling like bacon. Some of the pleasure with none of the guilt.

Two Vendor Deliveries

Two deliveries arrive from vendors just a day or two before Christmas. One vendor’s item I cannot share as it is brand new and not yet on their website, but it is completely fabulous, Made in New England, and I am quite excited about it. Stay tuned.

And then there was this glorious box from London’s Cordings of Piccadilly, filled with Made in Britain items, with the purest of pure fiber content. Some incredible British knitwear and silk.

A Made in Scotland 100% Cashmere Scarf from Cordings, which I selected in a Brilliant Pink. Why, I ask, is it only found in the Men’s section?? (Shown with my (past season) Ladies Tweed Shoot Coat and Navy Cashmere lined gloves, also from Cordings.)

I don’t know if anyone “does” silk scarves quite like Cordings. While they do offer a massive amount of silk handkerchiefs, I am particularly focused on their larger scarves, the style one wears with outerwear, and which are also effortlessly unisex.

• Buff Medieval Hunting Silk Scarf <https://www.cordings.co.uk/us/buff-medieval-hunting-silk-scarf.html>

• Rust and Gold Madder Silk Scarf <https://www.cordings.co.uk/us/rust-and-gold-madder-silk-scarf.html>

• Green Medieval Hunting Silk Scarf <https://www.cordings.co.uk/us/green-medieval-hunting-silk-scarf.html>

• Navy Conrad Keepers Tweed Car Coat <https://www.cordings.co.uk/us/navy-conrad-keepers-tweed-car-coat.html>

Two extraordinary silk scarves, Made in England, from Cordings of Piccadilly.

Their Scottish knitwear is as outstanding as their silk. It is thick, yet soft, and these days it is necessary to say, 100% wool.

These two hefty silk scarves, “Screen-printed in England using age-old techniques” are nothing short of extraordinary. And for this level of quality, which is rare, they are priced surprisingly well.

You will literally pay over twice as much at Turnbull & Asser for such a scarf, one of which is most likely made at the same English silk mill. But the Turnbull & Asser scarf is half cashmere, which you only find out if you read the finer print. (A lovely item in and of itself, Cordings also offers that combination, but they label it as such up front.) (And I may be biased, as one Turnbull & Asser scarf, bought in the New York store a decade ago, and probably not made in that same mill, promptly lost all its fringe.)

I wear these scarves with all types of outerwear - dressier wool coats, tweed shooting coats, and with my Barbours. They are nothing short of brilliant.

One of our Cordings silk scarves from a past season, but still available on their website. Shown with the also Made in England, Men’s Keepers Tweed Conrad Car Coat, now on sale.

Painting Antique Furniture

Also this time of year with the snow, I focus energies inward.