Pocket square quality - Page 2

Hermés hanks are nice, but paying $120 for something as arbitrary as a pocket square is exorbitant. 

Edit: Arbitrary in the sense that there is no functional use for them, nor is there an enormous difference between how expensive ones look in comparison to cheaper ones. 

Oops, I thought it was one of these from Drake's:

After some Internet sleuthing ... perhaps you weren't so off base. While most of the pocket squares and scarves in the photo I posted were by David Evans for Holland and Holland ... a old post (on another forum) by Sam Hober indicates that a few years back Evans merged with Adamley, a company that now prints silk for Drakes.

Quote:

Interesting.

Yes, they are truly beautiful. Little compares.

Per Hober, all the files/designs were transferred.

I only wear white linen. I have Kent Wang ones for $20 and Simonnot-Godard ones for $65. I basically look for rolled edges and how much material there is. The Wang's are much smaller, tee hee and suit certain jackets better. The SG ones are a much finer softer linen have a slight pattern and are much larger giving you more folds and heft in the pocket.

Like some other folks here, Hermes is probably the only time I'll spend more than $100. I don't really notice that much difference in quality between my Charvet's, RLPL's, Brioni's, etc vs. my cheap squares, to be honest. The edges are maybe a little nicer with the higher-end stuff, but 95% of the thing is buried in a pocket.

The ONLY advantage (or disadvantage, depending on how you construe it) I have found is that if my pocket square cost more than a certain amount, I'm never going to use it as a makeshift handkerchief/tissue in times of dire nasal congestion. Yes, this has happened on more than one occasion, and no, they are no longer in use as pocket squares

When it comes to buying on eBay, much depends upon the reliability of the seller. There are certainly many cases of fakes being sold on eBay ... particlarly with known designers that have a significant market share. To date I've had no issues, but I stick with reliable -- mostly 'small-time' -- sellers and rarely buy 'designer' merchandise.

I have no idea of the retail price of Tom Ford pocket squares, but $55 doesn't strike me as too little for something sold at clearance. I just took a look at what's available on eBay, and I can't imagine many people are willing to pay over $100 for those particular squares. Then again, there are those who buy name alone.
Edited by RSS - 3/21/12 at 2:14pm

ill pay UP TO $50. but it would have to be a fantastic pattern that i couldnt find anywhere else.

does it really matter though ?

Nope, but a glut in the market forced the prices way down to nothing. Its a buyers market.

As the Macclesfield printers went out of business the designs either were sold or in many cases given away to two local museums.

So currently most of the old designs are available - some actually in the David Evans/Adamley files, some in museums and some in other corporate collections such as Silk Industries which owns Vanners the weavers and used to own David Evans and Adamley.

David Evans/Adamley is now independently owned and operated by its management.

Some printers in Italy (and perhaps other countries) are licensing the old designs from the museums. This is not making the few remaining Macclesfield printers happy...

In regards to the opening post of this thread i would divide pocket square quality into:

Fabric, construction, printing/weaving and design.

Hermes is a master at design and printing with good construction and fabric.

Simonnot-Godard has wonderful fabrics and good construction

Most other top makers have beautiful designs, very nice fabrics and good construction.

Our Sam Hober pocket squares have good designs as well as beautiful fabrics like Simonnot-Godard's; but our construction is our claim to fame as our experts spend 2+ hours per pocket square. The big names typically sew the edges of their squares very quickly for a rustic look - with a few exceptions.

So in the end value is determined by a combination of fabric, design, construction and printing/weaving.

If I thought there was enough demand I would print the old classics again and make pocket squares and then keep them in stock forever.