what makes people buy expensive scarves?

I am doing a brief for university that has to complement my final collection and I am developing a scarf range. I went on a trip to London on Tuesday and researched all the different types of scarves that Libertys http://www.liberty.co.uk/ had to offer.

It was fabulous just standing there discreetly in the background (with permission of course) and observing what types of customers just walked up to an awesome looking scarf and picked up maybe two or three and just went to the till spending hundreds if not thousand pounds at a time. I was very privileged to be able to take photographs and document the ranges of scarves that they stock. I know that I can view them on their website but seeing them in person is a completely different experience. The texture and the amount of work that goes into each of these scarves is amazing.

My main aim of going to Libertys was to see how the prints are composed on each of the scarves and how they are finished. The finishings was a real eye opener. I never know that there was such a variety of finishings. I am not very good with my fabrics so it was a great opportunity to learn about them and the weights and what I could achieve with them.

The above Hermes scarf was phenomenal, I was walking down Conduit Street and the first thing I saw in the Hermes window was this gorgeous scarf. My gaze was directly attracted to the contrast in the edging of the scarf. Viewing from the window I was thinking of ways this could have been achieved. At first I thought that it may have been an extra piece of coloured fabric which was separately hand sewed on.

How wrong was I!? I went into Hermes as soon as it opened at 10am and I spoke to the most loveliest sales assistant ever. I asked her about the finishing of the scarf above and she explained to me that the edging is actually printed on whilst printing the pattern of the actual scarf and is then hand rolled and stitched to give it it's unique value. She was so sweet and let me look openly at the scarves and unfolded so many for me and showed me what fabrics they did and was explaining to me the stories behind each scarf. She gave me a little booklet on each of their SS/11 scarves in which was a brief story about each about the scarves and who the designer was for each one.

I saw another Hermes scarf in Harrods and immediately fell in love with it. The colours were absolutely stunning. I was not allowed to take photos in Harrods but I managed to find a picture on Google of the beautiful scarf.  Below is the image of the scarf. This picture does that scarf absolutely no justice as it does in reality, but you get the hint. The hand rolled and stitched edging makes each scarf very unique as no scarf is the same.

I most definitely think that the above scarf represents me as a designer in a nutshell. My signature style as a designer always has hints of geometry whether it be in use of pattern or shape. The influences of pop art and optical art are ever present in my work and I believe that is what makes me stand out as I am not aware of anyone at university who works the way I do.
 

The above image is a paisley Etro scarf in Browns on South Moulton Street in London. I was quite interested with this finishing. I just always assumed that you would have to be extra careful not to get this scarf stuck in a zip for example or around a button or even your nails. I am pretty sure this would cause the warp and weft threads to pull; resulting in a very unattractive looking scarf.

This Balenciaga top had a very interesting neckline. Using the crepe de chine as a contrast against the silk gives the garment an extra level in depth and helps create a more interesting texture.

The above Etro scarf was one I saw in Libertys. The detail in this scarf was incredibly intricate resulting in such a heavily delicate scarf made from 100% silk. The scarf was a rectangular shape 68cm x 190cm to be precise and one end of the scarf had the above double chain stitches and french knotting to create pattern and texture. 

The other end of the scarf had both the above and below french knotting, beading and satin stitching from both jute yarn and olive green embroidery yarns. The plastic effect of from the jute yarn reflects the light very well and certainly makes you look closer at the detail involved.

Another finishing I was very impressed and wowed by was the above scarf by Laura Bernens. How hard must it have been to hand roll the edges and then machine stitch it precisely without a single bump or lump out of place!?

What makes you as a customer want to spend that much money on scarves? If you had a thousand pounds to spend in Libertys what would you spend it on and why? What is so special about each one to you as a customer? I would love to read all of your comments and work out what makes people tick so that I can develop myself as a better designer.