Cashmere shawl restauration - Chantal Rammendo Invisibile

My favorite cashmere shawl, the Hermès 'Ex-Libris' in black/naturel, has been in a sad state for some time, it acquired pulled threads, snags, and pillings,

and a small, but visible hole. It was mainly because of the hole that I stopped wearing it, for fear it would become bigger and bigger, hereby damaging the scarf beyond repair.

While too precious to be left in the drawer, I was also aware that a less than perfect repair job could easily ruin it forever, which left me in a dilemma.. The solution came when I found Chantal Roy, a born Parisian who is based in Italy's fashion capital Milano (she speaks fluent english, french and italian), and owner of Rammendo Invisibile, specialising in restoration of fabrics. Her unparalleled service has brought her clients from all over the world, individual customers, as well as high-end fashion houses who trust her with their after sales services (our cherished Hermès and the fabulous Loro Piana amongst many).

When looking at the before/after shots of the restored shawls and stoles on her site, I thought she could not have named her company in a more fitting way: Rammendo Invisibile is italian for invisible mending. Invisible mending has got a deeper meaning though, it is an ancient technique which involves tremendous skill, and consists of taking individual threads from hidden parts of the fabric (which sometimes get dyed or undyed to provide an exact match), and reweaving them one by one, stitch by stitch over the damaged area, thereby recreating the original part. The end result is like a miracle, as if the damage never existed.

When I received my cherished Ex-Libris back, I was blown away by how she had transformed it from a poor wreck to it's former glory. All pulled threads have been put back into their original position, resulting in the printed design being restored in all places.

I wish I could have taken better pictures of the miraculous transformation my Ex-Libris went through, a professional photographer could have done a much better job. Also, every little particle of dust and fluff looks like a snow-capped mountain! So please excuse the rough look on some pics, which is much exaggerated, but I preferred not to retouch any of them.

THE DAMAGE

PART ONE:

These two pulled threads were the longest, measuring 30 cm on the vertical run (marked in pink), and 25cm on the horizontal run (marked in blue)

click image to enlarge

IN DETAIL
2/3 of the vertical run, before

and after

Top of the vertical run, before (includes also a stain)

and after

Part of the horizontal pulled thread, before

and after

horizontal pulled thread continued, before

and after

PART TWO
click image to enlarge

Details, before

and after

PART THREE - MISC. DAMAGE
A pull in the border, before

Close-up

and after

another snag, before

close up

and after

PART THREE - The hole presented a bigger problem, as the missing fabric included a part of the print, which happened to be very thin and in high contrast.

the area was too weak to be restored by reweaving alone, so additional embroidery was applied, and although difficult to photograph, the result is simply a 'miracle mending'.

Like Phoenix out of the ashes,

my favorite GM is ready for many happy autumn and winter outings...

Happy faces at last!

The good news does not stop here.. during the process, Chantal Roy has been most gracious and kind in answering my many questions about cashmere shawls, especially how to treat, store and clean them. Her knowledge and experience of these subjects is exceptional (I only ever had vague ideas, and as it turns out, some of them have been plain wrong). I am most happy and grateful to announce that she agreed to share her advice and expertise here, which will result in a new series 'All about cashmere', each episode featuring another cashmere topic. Please feel welcome, dear ladies, to submit your questions in the comment box below. Between all of us, there should be no cashmere/shawl related topic left unanswered! Mille merci, dear Chantal.

CHANTAL RAMMENDO INVISIBILE
Via Cernaia 6 - 20121 - Milano - ITALY
Phone: +39 02 29001310
Mobile: +39 348 5851 365E-mail: chantal@rammendoinvisibile.com
Web: http://www.rammendoinvisibile.com

Wishing you all a great weekend, and many happy 'boo's!' for tomorrow ;)

Capsule wardrobe # 50 - greys, cream and black

This morning I looked through the photos I took in Paris last week, and thought the one below captured the autumnal atmosphere better than any other. I was crossing the little park by the Rue de Sevrès, on my way to the Bon Marché department store (pictured in the background), when coming across this calm and beautiful sight..

Inspired by the golden light, and the grey, cream and blacks colors of the above, I picked the La Presentation de Chevaux for today, and folded it into soft pleats (again!), this time in a wider strip with fewer pleats, resulting in loose and relaxed folds

Capsule pieces: jeans and black blazer
Shoes: black suede loafers
Accessories: La Presentation de Cheveaux 90 Carré, Grand Apparat extra wide enamel bangle and black Birkin
Scarf tying method: Pleat your scarf into a strip (have fun experimenting with the width and number of pleats), place around your neck and secure ends with a grande scarf ring in criss-cross knot (instead of using a scarf ring, you could also tie the ends into a double knot, which results in shorter ends and a more compact knot)

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Rue de Sevrès - Koto Bolofo booksigning 'La Maison'

The vibrant and playful window of the Rue de Sevrès store could not have been in bigger contrast to the rich decor displayed at FSH, but of course much in tune with the colorful and lively atmosphere of the 6th arrondissement the store is located in.

Last Tuesday night, the boutique hosted Koto Bolofo's 'La Maison' booksigning event,

it was a truly fun and fabulous evening

Meeting the artist was more than special, I so much admire his work
Koto Bolofo

About ten of the book's 1000+ photos were on display throughout the store, on simple yet beautiful easles. One of my favorites is a portrait of Jean-Claude Ellena, creator of Hermès parfums ( the 'Hermesessence' line amongst many others ) since 2004.

The host of the evening, Pierre-Alexis Dumas, Hermès' creative director

It could not have been a more fun and lovely event, merci!

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Autumn splendor at FSH - revisited

Last week in Paris, FSH's windows appeared unchanged from my previous visit, but since I missed out some details last time, I decided to take a few more pics anyway. Back home, when checking against those I took a month ago, I noticed that most settings have been subtly rearranged, while no items have been added or exchanged... spot the differences!

September

October

September

October

September

October

Wish I'd taken more comparison pics, and will certainly look closer next time a window appears to be just the same. Below some more windows/details in addition to my previous post

Jewelry window, please click to enlarge



the two small vitrines flanking the Rue FSH entrance


'Siesta' china