Fireworks, the Year She Arrived
A 1987 silk square for a 39th birthday
The ask
A longtime client turns 39 this month. She is also a friend, she runs a large organization, and she already owns everything I would think to give. She wears silk scarves well. I want something from the year she was born that she will actually wear. Around $1,000.
The gift
A 90 cm silk twill square made in France in 1987 by a Paris harness maker founded in 1837, which named its 150th year the Year of Fireworks. The design is a horseman holding up two Catherine wheels inside a blue ring of sparks. This one is unworn, with hand-rolled edges, in its original box and the red anniversary box printed for that year. It arrives in the linen box with a wax-sealed card.
Why it's extraordinary
She was born in 1987, the year the house marked its century and a half with fireworks. The square was made for that year and has stayed folded in its box ever since.
The moment
It is worn to her birthday dinner, knotted loosely at the neck, and the red anniversary box stays on her dresser.
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