The Latest on Nieman Marcus and Hermes

Is there anything more beautiful than the wearable art of the Hermes scarf?

I've spent several days (in spite of the distractions of my campaign to save the City of Los Altos' apricot orchard and the time I have to set aside to feed my tame Jay friend, Ms. Gimpy) trying to get to the right person at Nieman Marcus, to find out about the loss of Hermes scarves in their stores.

I did get a call back today from their corporate HQ in Texas. An executive told me this "was an Hermes decision, much regretted at Nieman Marcus."

From now on, Hermes scarves will be missing from every Nieman Marcus in the U.S. except the one in Washington D.C., known as the Mazza Gallery store. Since Hermes scarves are an essential accessory for female staffers at the White House and the State Department, it is a good thing NM at Mazza was spared. Those Georgetown girls wouldn't feel fully clothed without a Hermes!

The title of each scarf is generally a French one.  But as in this case, when the scarf has a North American theme, sometimes they do stoop to using English.

One source at the NM store in San Francisco told me today: "To put it simply: the vendor pulled out."

This one is called "Ombrelles et Parapluies" and it is all umbrellas and parasols. Gorgeous.

The executive I spoke with at Nieman HQ in Dallas, said the store's buyers would look for new and exciting things from around the world to surprise and delight customers. He also said one never knew--Hermes might one day return to NM.

Bergdorff Goodman--owned by the Nieman Marcus Group--will have an Hermes boutique in its New York store, which, he told me, is the way Hermes prefers to sell its products.

Still, New York is a long way to go to buy a scarf.  Even for me.

This fellow is called "Le Timbalier" which I think means the kettle drummer.  He is from a Victor Hugo story and appears on a number of Hermes scarves.

The nearest Hermes Boutique to me here in California is on Grant Avenue in San Francisco, 43.9 miles away--according to Google Maps.

It certainly puts the kibosh on an impulse purchase!

Well, we can't take this stuff with us when we go. So it is just another reminder to take joy in the moment and delight in these lovely works of fashion art while we are here. I'm pretty sure the accessories in the next world are going to be even better.

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