History classes have always been a hit or miss for some. It’s either you’re yawning and fighting to stay awake with tears rolling down the side of your cheeks. Or on the other hand, you may be so intrigued, that a million butterflies fill your stomach with emotions of happiness. But if you’re anything like me, visual and curious, you’d want to jump ten steps, miss, all the nitty-gritty and get to the good part.
As you browse through Amidé Hadelin products on their website, it’s reminiscent of a beautifully curated art gallery with all their rare masterpieces showcased. Readily accessible to be enjoyed and admired. Amidé Hadelin has been passionate about creating premium quality accessories with the world’s finest materials and fabrics.
The unique collection celebrates the exclusiveness of designs with traditional and long perfected craftsmanship. There is no substitute for quality and that is why the finest materials such as silk are predominately used throughout the collection. Silk takes colour well, washes easily, and is easy to work with in spinning, weaving, knitting, and sewing.
Because of its natural protein structure, silk is the most hypoallergenic of all fabrics. The sumptuousness of pure silk, brilliant colours, and the creativity of master artists turn otherwise ordinary garments into wearable works of art. The pocket squares are printed in Macclesfield, a town in England with a history of over 300 years of silk production and printing. All of the pocket squares from Amidé are finished with hand-rolled hems by their artisan tie makers in Italy.
A starter of conversations pocket square – ‘The Merry Drinker‘ or in Dutch ‘De vrolijke drinker’ was painted by Dutch Master Frans Hals. This oil on canvas painting is believed to be a genre piece, rather than a portrait, and is part of the collection of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. The pocket square measures 42x42cm.
Pair this with warm tones, and a white shirt for autumn. For the colder months of winter, pair this with navy tones, and deep red (almost wine coloured). Enjoy summer with a clean and crisp look by pairing this with linen ivory, sandy beige and light blue shirt. The silk pocket square in burgundy with the paisley pattern can also be styled in the same way. A general rule of thumb when styling with colours are either match and compliment or contrast and mismatch.
A little tip for the forgetful gentleman, using a needle and a thread sew the tip of one of the pocket squares into the bottom corner of the pocket lining to ensure you always have a pocket square ready. A small little stitch will allow you to either fold the pocket square or gently scrunch it to create multiple envious looks with your outfit.
Apart from the stunning pocket squares, Amidé offers a range of sophisticated and polished ties. The Grenadine tie in forest green is a star in this season’s top pick of colours. Fine grenadine – or ‘garza fina’ in Italian – makes for the ultimate versatile tie. The open weave of this silk makes for an interesting pattern, while still being unobtrusive enough to easily pair it with formal business attire.
One of the very best mills producing grenadine in the Como region – and also the oldest mill in Italy – is that of Fermo Fossati. The silk for this ancient madder tie was hand printed by Robert Keyte Silks in the UK – worldwide the only source for hand printed ancient madder silk – and made into a beautifully handcrafted tie by our artisan tie maker in Italy. This ensures a perfect look, feel, and drape. The ties are 8cm wide, 150 cm long and the construction is a 3-fold untipped.
Both ties would look exceptionally well with textured fabric such as linen, cotton gabardine or Egyptian cotton for a bit of natural lustre and sheen. Keep the fabric of your shirt simple to ensure the tie is the centrepiece. Pair with a cashmere wool blend coat for winter, a lightweight coat for autumn, half lined dinner jacket for spring and a cardigan for summer. Simple, easy, dapper lux.
