Hi Lady Melbourne,

I have some scarves from my late Great-Aunty, I know they are vintage, but how do I work out if they are also designer, I have not been able to find a website that will help! Can you?

Many thanks
Leah

Hi Leah,
There are a number of ways to tell and the easiest would be in person but for lack of viewing pleasure I will offer you these tips!:

Designer scarfs almost always have a signature or logo worked into the print, and invariably it tends to be found on the outer corners. All big houses- Dior, Chanel, Gucci, Cacharel, Lanvin, Pucci- assuming these are of your Great Aunt's time- print their logos onto their scarfs. I have not yet come across one that hasn't- and I own a few.

Sometimes you may also find a label, often small attached to one of the corners. If the scarf is authentic designer you will be able to tell. The label will generally say which house it is from and where it is made. Vintage designer scarves tend to come with hand rolled and stitched edging as well. This website might be of help.

Failing that I would look for iconic prints relating the the various houses- Gucci has the horse bit and a lot of floral. Chanel tends towards images of Paris, Coco Chanel herself and the interlocking CC's.
If you are unsure of what to look for I would do two things-
Go to Borders and have a look through the various fashion books on the big fashion houses mentioned above. They will almost always refer to the iconography of the label, which is generally reflected in their accessories.

Or, get onto eBay and type in various designer names with 'scarf' after it. Make sure you search internationally for better coverage.
There are loads of authentic vintage scarfs for sale on eBay, you will quickly be able to sort through what is real and fake.

Best of luck, you sound like a lucky girl with such an inheritance- what a treasure you can wear and keep!

LM

LADY MELBOURNE'S RULES OF CIVILITY