The "Difficult" Scarf: Sepia and Light Grey

 One of my friends asked me specifically to suggest some ways to wear this scarf - Musique des Spheres, from Hermes.  The scarf came out... at least 10 years ago?  And thus is only available on the secondary market, but as you can clearly see, it's a stunner.  There is NOT a pink patch in the upper left corner... I struggled to find the best image of this scarf I could, and this was what I found.

Identifying the adjectives that convey the aesthetic of this scarf is difficult - I had to think and study for quite a while.  But I found that I kept coming back to the ideas of contrast (the clarity of the lines against the background), balanced with an overall sense of muted coloring (the scarf is not pure white, and the lines are NOT pure black), and a feeling of swirling grace and curvilinear fluidity, along with the clear-cut squares and parallel lines of the music staves. Basically, lots of lines...

So when I looked at jewelry, I was drawn to the ring, because of the tones of the pearl, and the contrast of the round and square elements.  The bracelet has the same sort of greyish pearl feeling, with the strongly curving lines of the metal links. (and it's on sale!) The watch - muted contrast, a feeling of the parallel lines, and an overall delicacy that the scarf certainly demonstrates.  Maybe it's just me, but the earrings look almost like treble clef symbols with pearls dangling!  And the pearl necklace (YUM...) echoes the not quite black, almost sepia tone that's found here.   Sometimes,  I would just scroll through pages and pages of jewelry, with the scarf visible on one side of my computer, and the jewelry rolling by on the other, and just let me subconscious take over...

Hermes Musique des Spheres, ring – Delfina Delettrez, grey pearl and link bracelet – Slane, silver knot and pearl earrings – Majorica, baroque pearl necklace – Majorica, watch – Anne Klein

 So when it came to choosing clothing to wear with this scarf, I sort of started from the same point of view that I adopted with the Maillons black and white scarf - let's look for some red!  But this red is muted, shadowed, toned down a notch or two, and the neutral with which it will be worn is something off to one side of stark black - either taupe or a deep grey...  (note the trim around the garnet earrings - parallel lines that curve, and small, delicate detail)

Hermes Musique des Spheres, silk blouse – Marc Jacobs, taupe pants – Burberry Prorsum, bag – Ina Kent, flats – DKNY Active, garnet stud earrings – Blue Nile,  sweater – L.K.Bennett, skirt – Comme des Garcons Shirt Girl, ankle boots – Kurt Geiger

Blue, again, is a color to always consider, but as with the red, I was looking for a more subdued blue.  And the white is going to be softer, and closer to beige or ivory.  These earrings share the same general aesthetic with the red ones above - this type of earring could become a beautiful personal signature!  (and note the subtle rectangular jacquard pattern of the capri pants - little touches of linear detail everywhere...)

Hermes Musique des Spheres, cardigan – Prada Sport, twill pencil skirt – J. Crew,  clutch bag – Mondrina, pumps – Isaac Mizrahi New York, pearl stud earrings – David Yurman, jacquard pants – Chloe, tee shirt – James Perse, espadrilles – Balear Mania

Warm colors are always an option, and this is another case in which I looked for a more low-key, but still saturated, color.  Note that the curves on the handbag echo the violin, the green ring bears the parallel lines that recur in this work, and the tweedy pants are the same colors as the scarf...

Hermes Musique des Spheres, tee shirt – Aniye by Women, corduroy pants – Isabel Marant Etoile,  cross-body bag – Beara Beara, loafers – Rose Petals, green sweater – Authentic Original Vintage Style, ring – Elizabeth and James, tweed pants – Haider Ackermann, loafers – Bernardo

I always like to include a warm-weather outfit with scarves, even though your hair or your handbag might be your only wearing options!  This outfit is very basic, but reflects the only two colors in the scarf, and are a perfect platform for sandals with a touch of linear ornamentation, and a textured bag that comes pretty close to the line colors of the scarf.

And the tweed skirt... Lots of linear details, squared off, includes the two colors of the scarf.  This is a skirt which could be worn with any of the other blouses or tee shirts...  The knit of  the sweater has patches of clearly grid-like texture too...  And another pair of earrings - these with subtle facets - which combine the circular and the square motifs of your beautiful scarf.

Hermes Musique des Spheres, silk sleeveless top – Acne Studios,  linen shorts – Zenobia, flat sandals – Apepazza,  cross-body bag – Cole Haan, earrings – Judith Ripka, cabled sweater – Velvet, tweed skirt – Marc Jacobs, pumps – Trotters

You have a lot of options from these garments!