What Makes a Silk Scarf Worth the Price?
A silk scarf that costs $79 and one that costs $400 both feel smooth. What you are paying for is not always obvious until you hold them side by side. Here is what actually separates a good silk scarf from a cheap one.
The fabric
Cheap scarves labeled silk are often a blend, or they use very thin, low-thread-count silk that pills or tears after a season. Real silk chiffon has a particular weight and drape. It moves a certain way and catches light differently than polyester satin. You can feel it in a few seconds.
The edges
Machine-stitched edges are flat and uniform. Hand-rolled edges are finished by hand: the hem is rolled between the fingers and stitched individually, leaving a slightly rounded edge with a softness that a machine cannot replicate. This is what you find on a good Hermes scarf, and it is what you find on every scarf in this collection.
The design
Most printed scarves use patterns licensed from a stock library. The same floral or geometric print appears on hundreds of different products from dozens of different brands. It is not wrong, but it is not yours either.
Every Teascarf Brooklyn design starts as an original artwork made in Brooklyn with steeped tea bags on paper. The tea pigment creates colors that are layered and natural, the same way a painting is layered. The design is then reproduced on silk at high resolution. It is one of six designs, in limited production. You will not see it on someone else on the subway.
What it comes with
A good scarf should arrive as if someone thought about how you would receive it. Every Teascarf Brooklyn scarf comes in a silk pouch, ready to give or keep. Every order over $50 includes an original 4x6" tea print on paper, signed and dated by me. Free US shipping.
The math
A scarf you wear twice a week for five years is not $175. It is $175 divided by 500 wearings. The cheap scarf that pills in year one is more expensive.
Small scarves start at $79. Oversized scarves start at $175. Two or more pieces get 15% off.
Rare Earth Silk-Wool 24" - $89
Rare Earth Silk-Wool 52" - $195